"RUSH: Yesterday on this program I discussed the 1980 election, Ronaldus Magnus and Jimmy Carter, and in it I described the election night coverage that night and how I will never forget it. Because this was the election that they called it for Reagan before California had even closed the
polls, it was such a landslide. Yet the last polling data going into the election in 1980 had Jimmy Carter winning by nine points.
Election night coverage November 4th, 1980, NBC. We start with the late John Chancellor. John "Chance'eh'or," as Tom Brokaw pronounced his name. John Chancellor.
CHANCELLOR: Good evening, and welcome to NBC News' coverage of 1980 presidential election. Our team of correspondents, analysts, pollsters, and commentators is assembled here in New York and around the country to see if Jimmy Carter can win reelection or if Ronald Reagan will be going to the Oval Office. We have been polling around the country in the key states, NBC News and the Associated Press, and what we're learning in the key states is that makes us believe that Ronald Reagan will win a very substantial victory tonight. Very substantial. That's our belief as of the moment based on polls in key states.
RUSH: That was how coverage opened. And he was talking about the exit polls. AP and the
networks all combined to pay for and conduct the exit polls back in 1980, and it's still the case pretty much 'til today. But how rare is it to have the election-night coverage kick off with:
Up next was Judy Woodruff. She, at the time, was the White House correspondent for NBC News, which means that she was very, very tight with the Carter administration people.
WOODRUFF: The only way to describe the mood here at the White House, John, is just to say that it's very sad. Perhaps the best indicator was Jody Powell's teenage daughter, Emily, who I saw a few minutes ago with tears in her eyes. It does seem obvious that the miracle story of Jimmy Carter, the unknown Georgia governor who finally made it to the White House, is -- is just about at an end.
RUSH: See, they can't... Even though Reagan is winning a landslide here, it's all still from the perspective of Jimmy Carter and how sad that it is, how unfortunate. Jody Powell's daughter was in
tears! "[T]he miracle story of Jimmy Carter, the unknown Georgia [peanut farmer] governor who finally made it to the White House ... is just about to end." Up next, Tom Brokaw, NBC election night coverage, 1980.
BROKAW: John, there's been a lot of talk in the course of this election that someone may win an electoral victory but not the popular vote here tonight. We're gonna somehow the popular vote right now and show you that Ronald Reagan is not only running ahead in the electoral vote but he is running substantially ahead in the popular vote as well. Three percent of the precincts reporting in nationwide, Ronald Reagan with a percentage lead of about 11 points now over President Jimmy Carter.
RUSH: Three percent of the precincts nationwide, Reagan was up by 11 over President Carter. They're on the verge of calling it. We go back to John Chancellor.
CHANCELLOR: Well, the time has come. You've seen the map, we've looked at the figures, and NBC News now makes its projection for the presidency. Reagan is our projected winner. Ronald Wilson Reagan of California -- a sports announcer, a film actor, a governor of California -- is our projected winner at 8:15 Eastern Standard Time on this election night.
BROKAW: It certainly is 8:15 on election night. This race has been volatile, mercurial, fluid, whatever, but I don't think anyone anticipated that it eventually would become a floodgate.
RUSH: Back to our special coverage of NBC special coverage, election night 1980. Our last sound bite comes from David Brinkley, who at the end of the evening, he was the resident experienced guru at NBC at the time.
BRINKLEY: I'd like to ask a question of you folks. We have here what I think reasonably could be called a landslide or certainly something approaching a landslide. Where did it come from? Nobody anticipated it. No polls predicted it. No one saw it coming. How did that happen? I don't want to knock the polls, because I believe in them, and they generally do very good work. One thing I wondered. Have a lot of people -- did a lot of people decide to vote for Reagan, but didn't want to say so?
RUSH: No, no, no. Don't misunderstand. I'm not predicting anything here. I stand by what I said yesterday: I don't know, folks. I just don't know. I just find this interesting that Reagan was regarded much the way Trump is except Reagan was governor of California." RUSH
Election night coverage November 4th, 1980, NBC. We start with the late John Chancellor. John "Chance'eh'or," as Tom Brokaw pronounced his name. John Chancellor.
CHANCELLOR: Good evening, and welcome to NBC News' coverage of 1980 presidential election. Our team of correspondents, analysts, pollsters, and commentators is assembled here in New York and around the country to see if Jimmy Carter can win reelection or if Ronald Reagan will be going to the Oval Office. We have been polling around the country in the key states, NBC News and the Associated Press, and what we're learning in the key states is that makes us believe that Ronald Reagan will win a very substantial victory tonight. Very substantial. That's our belief as of the moment based on polls in key states.
RUSH: That was how coverage opened. And he was talking about the exit polls. AP and the
Up next was Judy Woodruff. She, at the time, was the White House correspondent for NBC News, which means that she was very, very tight with the Carter administration people.
WOODRUFF: The only way to describe the mood here at the White House, John, is just to say that it's very sad. Perhaps the best indicator was Jody Powell's teenage daughter, Emily, who I saw a few minutes ago with tears in her eyes. It does seem obvious that the miracle story of Jimmy Carter, the unknown Georgia governor who finally made it to the White House, is -- is just about at an end.
RUSH: See, they can't... Even though Reagan is winning a landslide here, it's all still from the perspective of Jimmy Carter and how sad that it is, how unfortunate. Jody Powell's daughter was in
BROKAW: John, there's been a lot of talk in the course of this election that someone may win an electoral victory but not the popular vote here tonight. We're gonna somehow the popular vote right now and show you that Ronald Reagan is not only running ahead in the electoral vote but he is running substantially ahead in the popular vote as well. Three percent of the precincts reporting in nationwide, Ronald Reagan with a percentage lead of about 11 points now over President Jimmy Carter.
RUSH: Three percent of the precincts nationwide, Reagan was up by 11 over President Carter. They're on the verge of calling it. We go back to John Chancellor.
CHANCELLOR: Well, the time has come. You've seen the map, we've looked at the figures, and NBC News now makes its projection for the presidency. Reagan is our projected winner. Ronald Wilson Reagan of California -- a sports announcer, a film actor, a governor of California -- is our projected winner at 8:15 Eastern Standard Time on this election night.
BROKAW: It certainly is 8:15 on election night. This race has been volatile, mercurial, fluid, whatever, but I don't think anyone anticipated that it eventually would become a floodgate.
RUSH: Back to our special coverage of NBC special coverage, election night 1980. Our last sound bite comes from David Brinkley, who at the end of the evening, he was the resident experienced guru at NBC at the time.
BRINKLEY: I'd like to ask a question of you folks. We have here what I think reasonably could be called a landslide or certainly something approaching a landslide. Where did it come from? Nobody anticipated it. No polls predicted it. No one saw it coming. How did that happen? I don't want to knock the polls, because I believe in them, and they generally do very good work. One thing I wondered. Have a lot of people -- did a lot of people decide to vote for Reagan, but didn't want to say so?RUSH: No, no, no. Don't misunderstand. I'm not predicting anything here. I stand by what I said yesterday: I don't know, folks. I just don't know. I just find this interesting that Reagan was regarded much the way Trump is except Reagan was governor of California." RUSH
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