Campaign Trail Results: Game #736683
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1976
- Player Candidate: Gerald Ford
- Running Mate: John Anderson
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Jimmy Carter | 434 | 42,338,501 | 51.55 |
| ---- Gerald Ford | 104 | 38,049,063 | 46.33 |
| ---- Other Candidates | 0 | 930,700 | 1.13 |
| ---- Eugene McCarthy | 0 | 812,118 | 0.99 |
Visits:
- New York:5
- California:4
- Ohio:3
Answers:
- What will your overall campaign strategy be this year?I'm an approachable, open guy with an open Administration. Let's emphasize my mainstream values and positions, and avoid extremist rhetoric or attacks on Jimmy Carter.
- A lot of voters are concerned about honesty and integrity in our government. What can you say about yourself in this aspect, particularly in light of your pardon of Richard Nixon?I will let the cameras into the White House so the people can see for themselves. I'm a normal, approachable, friendly President. I didn't spend my whole life trying to run for the office.
- Your Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz, will be quoted in next week's Rolling Stone as making some very crude and racist jokes. Some have suggested you fire him before the article is released. What are your thoughts?Let's wait and see and how the public reacts to this.
- There is talk of a Presidential Debate for the first time since 1960. Is this something that you're interested in doing?I think this is a good idea, and we need something to shake this campaign up.
- You have vetoed a significant number of bills in your two years as President. What was your reasoning?This is an issue that has been blown way out of proportion. In many of these cases, I've proposed my own alternative to a given bill, and Congress has acted on it.
- Some of your operatives want to attack Carter for the way he has equivocated on abortion, gun control, busing, labor issues, and so on. Will you approve a series of ads labeling him as a "flip-flopper"? Maybe some limited spots, asking if we really know who Jimmy Carter is. Or attacking him on one of these issues. But let's not go overboard.
- Your campaign has just received a big break in the form of a controversial interview that Carter did with Playboy, where he confessed to "committing adultery in his heart" and used some coarse language. Any thoughts?This is great. We need any good news we can get at this point.
- You have selected John Anderson as your running mate. Can you speak a little more about that?John Anderson always speaks his mind and fights for what he believes in. These are the kind of people we need in my next Administration.
- Ronald Reagan and some of his allies can't hide their disappointment in your running mate, and some of them are even saying Carter is better than a Ford-Anderson Administration. Do you have any comment?John Anderson is a lifelong Republican and he has the right views on all the important issues for our country. We need a guy like him if we hope to win the independent voters away from Jimmy Carter.
- General George Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has made some comments that Israel has become a "burden" to the national defense effort. Do you agree with this?I don't have any comment. The General's views are his own.
- What is your position on the federal government making loans to states or cities in need of financial help? An obvious recent example is the $2.3 billion bailout of New York city.I couldn't really comment until I saw what the specifics of the case would be.
- What is your position on a pardon of Vietnam War draft evaders?I would need to think about this issue a little more before reaching a final decision.
- Do you support the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which states "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."?I don't really have a strong statement to make on this Amendment. This is an issue for Congress and the states to decide.
- What is your opinion on the court-ordered busing of students within school districts, in a way designed to achieve racial balance in our schools?I can see both sides of this. It is a hugely disruptive practice, yet we need to fight for integration somehow.
- Do you believe that the United States can afford a reduction in defense spending?I don't support cuts, to be sure, but neither do we need increases. We have made great strides in reducing tension with the Soviet Union.
- What is your opinion on abortion, and specifically the recent Roe v. Wade decision?People disagree on this practice and decision, but the Supreme Court deserves our respect.
- How can we best prevent another episode like the 1973 oil crisis, which paralyzed the country?We need to do anything we can, including reducing our consumption, working for peace deals, producing domestically, and stabilizing our relationships with oil-producing allies.
- Do you have a position on the gun control issue?I'm an opponent of gun control overall, but some common-sense measures like the 1968 Act are appropriate.
- Do you think that the Panama Canal should be turned back over to Panama?This is an issue I would have to consider more closely over the next couple of years. Let's see how the current negotiations go.
- The United States started selling large amounts of grain to the Soviet Union, in 1973. What is your opinion on this policy?I don't really care too much one way or the other. As long as we have sufficient supplies in the U.S., we should ship grain to whoever will pay for it.
- Could we have done more to save South Vietnam in 1975, such as air strikes or a limited engagement?We did our best in Vietnam, but unfortunately things didn't turn out the way we wanted.
- Do you support the Humphrey-Hawkins Full Employment Act?I can see both sides of this issue, but if Congress passes this Act I won't veto it as President.
- Would you support a law for universal health care in this country?It would depend on things like how the law worked, and how we would pay for it. But I'm not opposed to it in theory.
- What are your feelings in the Gregg v. Georgia case, recently decided, that allows capital punishment in the U.S.?I'm neutral when it comes to the death penalty. This is an issue for the states to decide.
- Where will you focus your efforts on the last day before the election?The Midwest is critical. We'll hit as many states as we can between Iowa and Ohio.