you destroy yourself i must say to you that the state of the union is not good. >> will these people, somehow, turn politics into power and make the government work. >> we are privileged to witness a significant achievement in the cause of peace. >> what was once a distant foreign policy issue has become a domestic issue. >> there is no malaise in the spirit of this country. >> we can turn this country around and we can turn our economy around and the time to do it is now.

snlt ♪ ♪ ♪ in just a few moments now president nixon will be appearing before the people perhaps for the last time as president of the united states. >> hale hail to the chief!

hail to the chief! >> good evening. i shall resign the presidency effective tomorrow. turning over the government to vice president ford, i know that the leadership of america will be in good hands. >> in those first few days and weeks when gerald ford ascended to the presidency you could say if you were casting someone to play the role of a president to heal a nation that gerald ford would be that person. >> ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the united states, and mrs. ford. >> gerald ford was one of the most popular people in congress, conservative and republican to the core, but always willing to talk, always willing to compromise. >> my fellow americans, our long national nightmare is over.

>> part of what gerald ford wanted to do was move beyond watergate. and so to say our long national nightmare is over was to try to tell the nation my main job as president will be to heal this country. >> may our former president who brought peace to millions find it for himself. >> david, what do you think? >> i would guess that in his term we may see a little of what we were promised in the preamble to the constitution but seldom see, and that is a little domestic tranquility. >> when gerald ford became president, he understood the public needed something completely different. he seemed to be the right man for those times. >> change from nixon to ford is likely to give the nation's economy a psychological lift. but it is going to take more than a new president to cure the economy. >> it was an extremely difficult time. ford inherited the deepest recession since the 1930s. but he was spending 25% of his time on leftover nixon matters. >> ford is in a brand new job and faces this really consequential choice, pardon

nixon and try to put watergate behind the country or let the investigation run its course. >> this year, especially the past few months and weeks have been filled with extraordinary days today is another one historians will be thinking about for years to come. >> i, gerald r. ford, president of the united states, do grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto richard nixon for all offenses against the united states. >> do you think president ford's action is wrong? >> wrong. absolutely wrong. >> ford did a generous thing. i think the american people must forget about nixon. >> good morning. we are about to see something which as far as we know may never have been seen before in american history. a sitting president of the united states testifying before a congressional committee. >> the committee will be in order.

>> i had just been out of law school for a few years. i was the last person on that subcommittee to ask a question. and i thought for sure somebody in the subcommittee would ask president ford the tough questions about the pardon. nobody asked the questions. >> i would like to point out, mr. president, that circumstances of the pardon which you issued, the secrecy with which it was issued made people question whether or not in fact it was a deal. >> mrs. holtzman i repeat with emphasis if we had had an indictment, a trial, a conviction, that the attention of the president, the congress and the american people would have been diverted from the problems that we have to solve. >> ford now looks very smart in history for issuing the pardon. it did not look that great at the time. he took a beating for it. >> if we had a trial of nixon, the country would have been stopped. you got to remember, presidents

are there to govern. we hadn't had much governing. >> wherever you look across the united states, plants are closing, industries are slowing down, businesses are failing. and at least 6 million people are out of work. unemployment in the united states is at its highest level in 13 years. >> economically the country began to pay a very heavy price for the long vietnam war for which tax increases had not been passed to pay for it. >> we have stagflation, a new disease, stagnation with inflation. >> the chuck steaks have gone up, they're 94 this week. which is ridiculous. i can't afford it. >> for many pensioners the struggle is to find enough to eat, from garbage if necessary. >> inflation went through the roof. >> people would be coming into my congressional office and they would be crying. >> americans were feeling poorer and poorer. their salaries weren't going up as quickly as the cost of milk and cheese. something was wrong with the system. >> there is only one point on

which all advisers have agreed -- we must whip inflation right now. unless every able american pitches in, congress and i cannot do the job. >> gerald ford is a conservative republican, so he is trying to figure out how do you deal with economic problems without strong government. so he puts together this program which relies on voluntary action by americans. >> there was no program, basically the president was saying buy less. >> the win buttons were part of the propaganda, there were pamphlets and posters. >> are you suggesting, sir, that buttons and flags are trivial? >> yes. >> abc news presents live coverage of the president's state of the union message to congress. >> the president of the united states.

>> when he goes to give the state of the union address, he is under tremendous pressure. i remember being there and it was palpable. >> a lot hangs on this. this being his very first state of the union. >> 26 years ago, a freshman congressman who was out to change the world, stood at the back of this great chamber. as president truman said, i am happy to report to the 81st congress that the state of the union is good. today millions of americans are out of work, recession and inflation are eroding the money of millions more, prices are too high and sales are too slow. and i must say to you that the state of the union is not good. this one's got detachable keys

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former california governor ronald reagan is about to hold a press conference in washington where he is expected to announce that he is a candidate for the republican presidential nomination. >> one of the things that was a problem for ford is the fact that his party was coming apart at the seams. reagan was able to mount a formidable challenge to ford in the '76 nomination contest. >> i am running because i am growing increasingly concerned

about the course events in the united states and the world. >> reagan was the great two-term governor of california, and he goes after gerald ford as being weak. >> i am quite critical of our foreign policy right now. matter of fact, i think that it is all most anchorless and almost aimless. >> he is a good actor. but he also is a formidable challenger. >> ronald reagan was challenging a sitting president in his own party, relatively conservative president, and basically calling him a liberal sellout. >> in the texas primary reagan wiped out the president in a stunning victory. >> in august of 1974, this country had some very difficult, formidable obstacles ahead of us. >> and you blew it! >> we blew it in the right direction, young man. and those of you -- [ indiscernible ] >> this was a period of time in the wake of watergate.

americans were very, very suspicious about government and about people who had spent too much time in washington, d.c. jimmy carter could run as someone who called himself an outsider, a guy who wasn't tainted by washington, d.c. and its corruption and its culture. >> i remember when i announced for president, there was a major headline on the editorial page of the "atlanta constitution," that said, "jimmy carter is running for what?" i'm running for president. >> jimmy carter. >> jimmy who? >> i don't know who he is. >> i picture him like one of us. one of the common people. >> jimmy carter grew up in a very small town in the south plains, georgia. he had grown up in a family of farmers. became a peanut farmer himself. from georgia he basically started his political ascent.

>> the idea that someone from the region could aspire to national office, i mean, people didn't even try. >> yesterday about 50,000 democrats in iowa met in caucus to choose delegates for their state party convention. former georgia governor jimmy carter did extremely well. >> the iowa caucus was something no one ever paid attention to, but carter and his team said, hey, if we go and we win, the media is going to treat us look a serious political front-runner. >> mr. carter is also deeply religious. he prays in public and speaks openly about his religious beliefs. >> carter was a person who you thought would lead america to some kind of spiritual redemption, which at the time we really needed. >> nothing has happened tonight to change the feeling that jimmy carter is on his way to a kind of coronation in madison square garden. [ applause ] >> the battle for the republican nomination turned out to be really close. it was close enough to make the

ford people's fingernails sweat. but by a whisker gerald ford got the nomination. >> when ford was nominated, reagan's supporters staged a demonstration on the convention floor. and it went on and on and on and on. >> by the end of that convention, it's clear that although gerald ford may be the nominee, ronald reagan won the hearts and minds of conservatives. >> reagan did great damage to ford. look at the poll numbers. you will see jimmy carter starts surging. over 30 points ahead of gerald ford. ford had a weak position in the national race. so he challenged jimmy carter to a debate.

>> mr. president, i would like to explore a little more deeply our relationship with the russians. max frankel asked ford a question about whether the united states was accepting of soviet domination of eastern europe. >> there is no soviet domination of eastern europe and there never will be under a ford administration. >> i'm sorry, could i just follow. did i understand you to say that the russians are not using eastern europe as their own spirit of influence? >> everybody's jaw just dropped. are you alive? are you aware? what he meant to say is i will not accept any soviet domination of eastern europe. >> governor carter, have you a response? >> charitably that was a momentary blip. uncharitably it was a loss of touch with reality. >> clearly a huge moment where the country makes the judgment, you know, that maybe we do need to go in a different direction and replace the president. [ indiscernible ]

>> ford had never lost an election in his life. won 15 straight terms in the house. here he is beaten by a one-term governor of georgia. he was crushed. >> my voice isn't up to par. let me call on the real spokesperson for the family. peggy. >> it's been the greatest honor of my husband's life to have served his fellow americans during two of the most difficult years in our history. >> i think the real test comes now. will these people who have taken apart the old system can somehow translate politics into power and make a government work. that's their real test. we are on the threshold possibly of the greatest change since the new deal in 1932. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great.

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♪ the parade has started. he is out of the car. >> this is a change in the schedule. he is walking. most presidents in our time have wanted to do this. but in recent years after our various tragedies it has been discouraged and there has not been very much of it. >> jimmy carter and rosalynn get out of the car. it was game changing. people looked at that and said

this is what we need, a real person as president. >> carter was a man of the people. glamour was not what we were in the market for. we were looking for a redeemer. >> take a look around. >> bring you upstairs. take a look at the living quarters? >> president carter had four years to do what he thought was important. fix the economy. try to bring some peace to the middle east. fix energy and some other things. >> we will have available for public scrutiny and congressional action by april the 20th, a comprehensive long-range energy policy. >> the winter of 1977 is one of the worst the country had experienced and this comes at a time the economy is still doing poorly. >> the severe weather has already led to a serious shortage of natural gas. >> federal power commission estimates at least 200,000 layoffs due to industrial gas

curtailments so far. >> in the dayton area, school districts must close for 30 days. >> congress will consider this week emergency gas legislation. >> good evening. president carter is about to speak to the nation from the white house on the subject of energy. >> tonight i want to have an unpleasant talk. the energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly. we need to shift to plentiful coal while taking care to protect the environment and to apply stricter safety standard to nuclear energy. this difficult effort will be the moral equivalent of war. >> the policies that he rolls out around the speech really don't go anywhere. one of the key reasons for this is that jimmy carter really had poor relations with congress. >> for the producing states i think it would be a catastrophic, cataclysmic calamity. >> he is trying to prepare the public mind to accept only the carter proposal and nothing else. >> carter alienated the powers that be in congress.

so when jimmy carter began to falter, he didn't have friends coming out and speaking for him. in fact, i was getting calls from democrats criticizing him. >> i have always heard about the advise and consent role of the congress. so far they have been a little stronger on the advice than they have the consent. >> carter inherits a financial mess, and there was no magic wand to cure it all. he needed a big feather in his cap quickly. >> it's almost a white house cliche that when a president is in trouble at home, his counselors advise a trip abroad. >> a president on the road. his first overseas trip to the middle east and western europe. mr. carter met not only with anwar sadat of egypt but king hussein of jordan, king khalid of saudi arabia and the shah of iran. >> the united states had always

backed the shah of iran and that goes back to 1953, in fact, when america essentially put the shah into power. >> iran is an island of stability and one of the more troubled areas of the world. >> even though western government loved the shah, they weren't really paying attention to the fact on the ground. and there were many people who were discontented with the shah in part because of his extremely oppressive policies. >> iran was seen as important for its oil resources but also because the shah was an ally when it came to regional goals. this was a natural alliance of the united states. >> the president and the shah of iran spent a long time speaking abut the middle east. >> jimmy carter saw the middle east and the settlement of the conflict between israelis and arabs as central to any kind of stability for the next generation.

>> hopes for a middle east peace settlement were never higher than they were last november when sadat went to jerusalem to meet begin. after begin returned the visit, the enthusiasm dropped off. while the world watched, sadat and begin took to bickering and negotiations broke down. >> jimmy carter took advantage of sadat's willingness to talk to the israelis. i think he thought he might be able to do something that his predecessors couldn't. it was a huge gamble. >> good afternoon. the stage is set and the participants are now beginning to arrive here in the washington area. president carter, egyptian president anwar sadat and president begin will sit down in the solitude of camp david.

>> failure here would increase the impression that is being reflected in the public opinion polls that mr. carter is a nice man but inept president. >> there are hundreds of reporters here, interviewing each other. what the three are discussing whether the talks are friendly, intense, we don't know because of unprecedented secrecy. >> by the end of the second day, rosalynn says you could hear them screaming at each other at the top of their lungs. carter had to physically separate them. block them from leaving. >> the middle east summit at camp david is a week old and no official word on how the talks are going but how they might end. their length has given rise to reports of a stalemate. >> carter had a photograph of the three men and made up copies for begin's nine grandchildren and signed each of them, "love jimmy carter." very reluctantly, carter went back to see begin. carter handed him the photographs and said, "i had hoped to write that this is where your grandfather and i made peace." and begin begin to weep. carter went back to his cabin to tell sadat that the signing was off. and the phone rang. and it was begin saying that he

would sign. >> we are privileged to witness tonight a significant achievement in the cause of peace, an achievement none thought possible a year ago. >> the peace treaty changed the tenor of politics across the region. an arab country, which accounted for a quarter of the arab population, recognized israel's right to exist. it changed the dynamics of the middle east. >> they embrace. what a picture. what a picture. and the room of course has erupted in cheering. applause. as begin said peace now celebrates a great victory. racing can share critical t&t,l information about every inch of the car from virtually anywhere.

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the camp david accord was carter's crowning achievement. but it was very shortly there after diminished by the crisis with iran. thereafter diminished by the crisis with irawith iran.

>> ayatollah khomeini, the rebel priest, was called on to depose the shah. >> khomeini called on an islamic state. >> i don't think the united states as a secular country understood that islam could oust a monarchy that prevailed for a system of government. >> we support the shah. >> we did put the shah in but you are saying we can't keep him in? >> i think that's a decision to be made by the people of that country. >> good evening, the shah of iran is in egypt tonight. his countrymen are deliriously rejoicing at his departure. and all around the world, government leaders are trying to come to grips with the fall of the man known as the king of kings. >> the old chant of "death to the shah" replaced by a new one, "death to carter." >> jimmy carter knows we want freedom. we don't want his human rights anymore. >> the source of energy was a core question. the iranian revolution is drying

up our energy supply. we are literally running out of gas. >> can i have your attention, please. there has been a state of emergency declared on three mile island. >> a nuclear power plant near harrisburg, pennsylvania, the cooling system broke down this morning. some radioactive steam escaped in the air. and radiation passed through the four feet concrete walls and detected a mile from the plant. >> the first big nuclear disaster. the federal government and the state government couldn't do much about it. it was scary. >> it is the beginning of mistrust of nuclear power as the magic salve to the energy problem. >> the president said today that he believes this incident will make it necessary to reassess the country's present nuclear safety regulations. that comes from a president who has been claiming that more nuclear reactors are needed to offset the demand for foreign oil. >> the energy crisis which had been going on all decade only gets worse with middle eastern turmoil.

>> californians sat fuming waiting impatiently in long lines wondering who and what put them there. somehow there wasn't enough gasoline to go around. but prices rose elsewhere and lines began forming and americans began realizing that california was not unique. california was first. >> people in this country always worry about the price of gas. but this is a worry about availability of gas. >> while the oil producers were getting ready for another price increase, president carter's state visit began today. >> is there anything immediate you can do to reduce the gas lines in the united states? >> my information is in the next few weeks, hopefully sooner there will be an increase of supply of gasoline to the affected areas. >> i think it's phony. i think they're trying to get the prices jacked up. that's my personal opinion.

>> what was once a distant foreign policy issue has become a domestic issue. >> a truck strike has driven food prices upward, slowed industry and resulted in violence. the bloodiest episode in levitt town, pennsylvania, 32 people were injured when motorists joined the protests. >> the crowd of 2,000, to 3,000. mostly young teenagers, packed the intersection and then it turned violent. >> this is levittown, pennsylvania, the quintessential symbol of middle america. middle america is in torment about the gas crisis. >> sunday, july 1, carter flies home from the tokyo summit and announce is a television speech off to the nation thursday. then to camp david by helicopter presumably to work on that energy speech. but then, a sudden change. the energy speech is canceled with no explanation. critics speak of indecision. >> carter decide he wants to meet with advisers from all walks of life.

>> the latest group includes schlessinger, oil experts and three governors. >> now he has been up there eight days and there is still no word on when the camp david domestic summit will end and the president will come down from the mountain. >> most expect the president to arrive from his chopper carrying with him two tablets of stone. >> sources say mr. carter will address what he calls a malaise affecting the nation. >> this is an abc news special report. >> 15 seconds, sir. >> stand by. >> good evening. i want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. it is a crisis of confidence. for the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. human identity is no longer

defined by what one does but by what one owns. >> so the president has concluded his speech. what a remarkable speech it was. almost a sermon. >> after he gets a bump in the polls. people are like, hey, this is good. then the op-eds begin to drip in. >> i think the president and his advisers are making a mistake if they think out there in the country people think there is a crisis of confidence in themselves. they feel there is a crisis of confidence in the president. >> it was analysis of the speech that really begin to turn things for him. and right after the speech heave then basically fired his cabinet. >> when members of the cabinet gathered at the white house this morning for a two-hour meeting with the president they seemed to be in good spirits. but by the time they left things had changed. along with the senior white house staff, their resignations were requested. >> don't you think someone should come out and assure the country? >> i don't think there is a --

>> do the american people have the right to know who is running the government? >> they do have a right to know. the american public isn't confused. the president is running it. >> sometimes perception is more important reality. and the perception became that jimmy carter made one big mistake after another. from skylines to coastlines, out in the country, deep in the city. we got you covered. 311 million americans and counting. and we won't stop. come see why t-mobile is #1 in customer satisfaction. so we know how to cover almost alanything.ything, even mer-mutts. (1940s aqua music)

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the shah of iran is in a new york city hospital tonight. an american government source in washington says he is suffering from cancer and blocked bile duct. >> the shah was admitted that he not engage in political activity while here.under tthat he not engage in political activity while herhthat he not engage in political activity while herethat he not engage in political activity while her that he not engage in political activity while hercthat he not engage in political activity while herothat he not engage in political activity while hernthat he not engage in political activity while herdthat he not engage in political activity while herithat he not engage in political activity while herhat he not engage in political activity while heriothat he not engage in political activity while hernthat he not engage in political activity while her that he not engage in political activity while here. not engage in political activity while herwhile herhere here. the present iranian government was assured of that. meanwhile, tighter security measures have been put into effect. >> carter agreed to allow the shah to come to the united states for medical treatment. and at that point it was the match that lit this conflagration.

>> the american embassy in tehran is in the hands of muslim students tonight. spurred on by anti-american speech by ayatollah khomeini, they stormed the embassy, overpowered them and took dozens of american hostages. >> the iranians burned the united states flag and denounced the u.s. government saying they would stay until the u.s. sends the deposed shah back to iran. >> what i remember, this was the second day, was that the provisional government of dr. bosergon, the prime minister, essentially the people we dealt with had resigned. at that point i remember thinking we are definitely in the soup because there was no one to talk to. there was no government for our government to talk to. >> in tehran it is tuesday morning. the hostages at the american embassy, more than 60 of them, have spent another night, their ninth as prisoners of the iranian captors. and today president carter made his first public response to their ordeal. >> i am ordering that we discontinue purchasing of any oil from iran for delivery to this country. >> high administration officials believe that through today's action they have removed a bargaining tool that can no longer be used in dealing with the hostages. other officials say candidly that today's announcement was

also intended to dampen the outrage and frustration expressed by americans over the country's seeming helplessness. >> how they treated our diplomats was humiliating. that put extraordinary pressure on jimmy carter. >> the meeting is on. but there is nothing to suggest the meetings have produced any new ways of solving the crisis. [ indiscernible question ] status quo? >> yes, i'm afraid so. >> first sign of hope in two weeks from the embassy in iran, the students holding the hostages promise to obey an order from ayatollah khomeini to free all women and blacks. the ayatollah explained, quote, islam has respect for women and blacks who spent ages under oppression and tyranny. >> the president was apparently confident that at least some of

the hostages will soon be free. we are thankful, said his statement, the ordeal may be over for them and soon reunited with their families. but it went on to urge that the authorities in iran now move to secure the safe release of all of those still being held. >> what can you do? you can bring pressure. you can bring sanctions. you can go to the united nations. you can send emissaries. but america can't do a damn thing. >> ted koppel on abc news, walter cronkite, america, day 15, day 100, day 200. it started wearing on people. and carter started becoming the symbol of lost american prestige. >> ronald reagan is running officially. he got in the race tonight in new york city at a fund-raising dinner. and he taped a speech yesterday for showing tonight on about 90 independent television stations. >> i'm here tonight to announce my intention to seek the republican nomination for the president of the united states. president of the united state the crisis we face is not the

result of any failure of the american spirit, it's a failure of our leaders. >> the country is looking for optimism, looking for a new dawn, new beginnings. and ronald reagan epitomized all those things. >> between '76 and '80, reagan's building a coalition, bringing in christian fundamentalists, and law and order nixonian people. >> reagan is realizing to sell conservatism, you've got to do it with a smile. you have got to do it in a way that makes people feel good, not scold them. >> we can turn this country around. we can turn our economy around. and the time to do it is now. [ chanting ] >> there are many democrats who are worried that carter is not going to win. so ted kennedy, a senator from massachusetts, decides to take him on. >> today i formally announce that i am a candidate for president of the united states.

[ cheers and applause ] >> many democrats believe carter moved too far to the center and he abandoned the traditional ideal of the party. >> jimmy carter and kennedy became the polar opposites within the party and jimmy carter on top of that had a feeling that the kennedys felt that they were above we southerners. >> it's a nasty contest. when some one asks jimmy carter in passing what you think of being challenged by ted kennedy, jimmy carter says "i'll whip his ass." this is a special report from cbs news. >> the 174th day of the iran crisis brought a startling and tragic turn of events. the united states mounted a military operation into iran last night to rescue the american hostages. but it failed. >> eight helicopters took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier "nimitz." the eight helicopters headed to a desert staging area 200 miles southeast of tehran.

>> two of the helicopters experienced problems en route. >> but once on the ground, yet another helicopter malfunctioned, leaving only five for the mission. at that moment, the president scrubbed the mission. >> in the rush to pull out, one of the helicopters taxied into a c-130 fuel tanker. both burst into flames. >> eight of our men were killed. four others suffered burns. the bodies of the dead have not yet been returned. >> seemed to enjoy stage managing in this grizzly theater as the bodies were shown. the soldiers, obviously, took no joy here. >> it was my decision to attend the rescue operation. it was my decision to cancel it when problems develop. the responsibility is fully my own. in geico's mobile app? mobile app? look. electronic id cards, emergency roadside service,

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why do you want to be president? >> well, i'm -- >> kennedy should have been prepared to answer that question. in some ways, he'd been preparing to answer that question his entire life. instead, he gave a stammering, halting answer that instantly told people this guy does not know why he wants the job. >> there's more natural resources than any nation of the world. >> the interesting thing is that after it became clear that kennedy couldn't win, he became

a great candidate. >> there is no malaise in the spirit of this country. >> kennedy's primary challenge has a big effect because many democrats are not that enthused about their candidate once the convention takes place. >> live from new york city, the 1980 democratic national convention. >> the democrats have had their first day of the convention. senator kennedy lost the first and decisive fight. jimmy carter is the nominee of this party. >> i congratulate president carter on his victory here. i am confident that the democratic party will reunite on the basis of democratic principles and that together we will march towards a democratic victory in 1980. >> people are cheering kennedy on. the enthusiasm for what he has to say is much more than the response that carter gets. >> in good times and bad, in the

valleys and on the peaks, we've told people the truth. >> carter then wants kennedy to come on stage and they can hold up their hands together and show people that this party is unified. but when kennedy comes up, he doesn't really do that. >> there will be no pictures in tomorrow's paper and none for prosperity of jimmy carter holding senator kennedy's hand aloft. >> kennedy did not win. could not win. and, yet, he had ripped the party apart when what they needed to win that election was full democratic unity. >> this country needs a new administration with a renewed dedication to the dream of an american, an administration that

will give that dream new life and make america great again. >> ronald reagan will call carter out for this whole idea that we live in an age of limits and say, no, america's future is just as expansive as it always was. >> next tuesday, you will go to the polls. i think when you make that decision, it might be well if if you ask yourself are you better off than you were four years ago? >> this is continuing abc news election night coverage. >> it is beginning to look like, well, the word is landslide for ronald reagan tonight. if they're not breaking out the champagne at the reagan headquarters now, it's only because, well, they can't find an opener. >> jimmy carter, though beaten at the polls, did not act like a beaten man. he said that he didn't feel people had turned against him

personally but had voted over america's lost dominance in world affairs. mr. carter showed a flash of anguish only once when he said his wife had seen a majority of preachers the morning to put a true christian in the oval office. >> we knew that reagan had won the election. the iranians told us that. a certain gloating feeling that they were responsible for jimmy carter's defeat. >> mr. carter is back in his office burning the midnight oil. and perhaps that's characteristic of the jimmy carter presidency. he's doing it here on his last night in washington. >> up until the last moment, right before he actually has to shake ronald reagan's hand during reagan's inauguration, jimmy carter is doing everything he can do get those hostages home. >> jimmy carter is seen as the ultimate ally of the shah. they didn't want to give any rewards to jimmy carter. we had to wait until ronald reagan had taken the oath of office before the plane was allowed to fly out of teheran to

>> everything was delayed by agreement to make sure that jimmy carter didn't get nip credit for the freedom of the hostages. >> it was a bittersweet moment as jimmy carter left the andrews air force base to go home to georgia. >> luck is a big factor in a presidency. and jimmy carter had some very bad luck. >> because of the blow back from vietnam, it will be recognized that jimmy carter inherited a national situation that was almost completely unimaginable. >> a few moments ago on air force one, i had received word officially for the first time

that the aircraft carrying the 52 american hostages had cleared iranian air space on the first leg of the journey home and that every one of the 52 hostages was alive, was well, and free. tonight television takes a look at itself. >> what's on the idiot box. >> it's only an idiot box if an idiot is watching. >> this golden age will be looked upon as the platinum age. >>