We face a grave situation in iran. The u. S. Embassy has been seized by iranian students. The american diplomatic staff are now prisoners. More than 60 american citizens continue to be held as hoages. We are using every available channel to secure their release. There is an ancient principle of diplomatic immunity, which means that embassies are off limits. So we were shocked by it. I couldnt believe it was possible. Americans felt helpless that this had happened. It felt as though the United States was losing its power in the world. The perpetrators are supporters of irans revolutionary leader. Ayatollah khamenei. Jimmy carters humanitarian gesture to the shah of iran, who is dying from cancer, angered the Iranian Revolutionary of students. In 1980, the great satan was n carter. Not that he is mr. Popular back home. There was a feeling that jimmy carter was a 7 unemployment. 0 growth. You begin to see gas lines forming across the country. Which lead to vie rens. Violence. People are shot. People are stabbed. And here, you have jimmy carter really trying to juggle all of those things. Particularly, at a moment where the nation just does not have confidence in being america anymore. As the election approaches, carter needs his party behind him. Instead, he feels the chill of growing discontent. Jimmy carter spent much of his presidency seeming to reject the culture and values of the Democratic Party. He was a fiscal conservative. That was a problem. Sometimes people would say that if carter had a a quarter, a half dollar, he would squeeze it until the eagle choked. In particular, the liberal wing of his party feels very deeply that carter has thrown liberalism under the bus. And so they begin to turn their attention to other politicians, who they feel like really embody the qualities of leadership they want from a president. And the figure that people really circle around is ted kennedy. Whereas president carter veered to the center. Kennedy was this crystalclear, liberal lion. Kennedy was the kind of guy, if he walked in the room, you knew he was there. Carter, if he walked in the room, you might not notice that he was there till somebody said, president of the United States. And you say, oh. President of the United States. How are ya . Nice to see ya. Ted kennedy and jimmy carter may as well have been raised on different planets. Jimmy carter age 6 was running around on a farm in southwest rural georgia. His house didnt have Running Water or electricity. Ted kennedy, about the same age, is living in a massive mansion in london. His father is the ambassador to the united kingdom. And ted kennedy lacks for nothing. Jimmy carter looks at Teddy Kennedy and sees an entitled playboy. Ted kennedy looks at carter and basically sees a hick who is in over his head as president. To todday, i formally announ that i am a candidate for the president of the United States. I was deeply upset. I thought this will divide the party, and it threatens the democratic control of the presidency. The Iowa Republican debate. Republican hopefuls are also squaring off. At the first big showpiece of their primary calendar, there is one notable absence. I wish governor reagan was here. Oh, how i wish he was here. Ronald reagan is at home in sunny california. Ronald reagan is the heir apparent in the republican party. Ronald reagan is the man to beat on the republican side. He had been a hollywood actor. He had been the governor of california, where he had earned a National Reputation as a new voice in the republican party. Lets get a real leader in the white house. Reagan had run so strong in 76 against ford, that he was the preemptive nominee. He was the favorite. And so the decision was just keep out of the debates and coast to the nomination, which they thought they could do. And the six candidates spend 90 minutes pounding on Ronald Reagan. I think he has other ideas about how he wants to run. If, indeed, hes running and i think he is. I want to say to governor reagan, wherever you are, i hope youre having fun tonight because we are. By ducking the debate, Ronald Reagan dramatically boost the stock of george bush. We have a 2. 3 trillion economy. It can work. George bush is a world war ii hero of the pacific. He had served as director of the cia, our envoy to china. But hes not well known on the national scene. Nobody knew who he was. Nobody. George h. W. Bush ran a terrific campaign. And i can remember that morning of the iowa caucuses. I was on an elevator and theres bush. And he said, hey, pat, ive got the big mo. And he meant the big momentum. Its a shocker to the world. I mean a shocker to the world. George bush wins the iowa caucuses. Because of whats happened in iowa, were going to go all the way to the white house. And he played into these fears, was reagan really up for this . Maybe he wasnt the political heavyweight like people thought. I ran into reporter in iowa. And he told me, pat, hes a straw man. You punch him and straw comes out. How big is the wound to governor reagan . Ronald reagan, for president , is effectively dead. President kennedy has been assassinated. I cannot bear this burden alone. Lyndon johnson wants to earn the office in his own right. Barry goldwater really was the embodiment of the american west. Those attack commercials were pandoras box. It was just chaos. We figured out that we must be being bugged. Race for the white house. Lbg versus goldwater. Tomorrow at 9 00 on cnn. Download robinhood now. Apps except work. Rywhere. Why is that . Is it because people love filling out forms . Maybe they like checking with their supervisor to see how much Vacation Time they have. Or sending corporate their expense reports. Ill let you in on a little secret. They dont. 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The president undertook what was called the rose garden strategy and what that meant was he wasnt going to actively campaign while the hostages were in tehran. The president told us what we wanted to hear. That the hostages are the only issue at stake here. The message was the vote for carter was a vote to free the hostages. All of a sudden, america rallies behind the president. Carter has 638. Kennedy has 385. The rose garden strategy pays off. Carter races to victory in a string of early primaries. But hes not the only one running ahead of his rival. George bush is only 55. And a very younglooking, a very athletic 55. Ronald reagan is 68 years old. Many people assume that a man who was 68 was too old to assume the mantel of the presidency of the United States. Bush is doing jumping jacks and pushups. Saying, well, lets see reagan come here and do this. Reagan is pissed about this. Reagan wants to steal back the show with a televised debate. Bush is weary. George bush knows right now he is the frontrunner. So why should he put up with other challengers in the party taking potshots at him . Hoping to sway his rival, reagan proposes a oneonone debate. And offers to pick up the check. And now, bush can just share the stage with the great actor Ronald Reagan. And show how good he is on his feet. Terms are agreed. But reagan has a trick up his sleeve. Then at the last minute, reagan decide that instead of a oneonone debate, he wants all of the republiceans who are running to be part of the debate. Ronald reagan wants it opened up to the other challengers under the guise of fairness. But bush was very committed to the idea that he had given his word, and this was the way it ought to be. He challenged me to a one on one. Thats what id like to do. And so there is a fight brewing before this debate about who is actually going to be included. The debate is scheduled for 7 30. And by 8 15, theres still no candidates. Its hot in there. The tension is just terrific. Finally, reagan comes in. Hes followed by all these other candidates. George bush. He doesnt know what to do. Hes frozen. And is looking very much like the second banana in this debate. I i asked these gentlemen to come out here, and make this a debate including all of the candidates. Reagan starts talking about how important it is to include everybody on the debate. The crowd is on his side. But the debate moderator wants to play by the rules. Would the would the sound man please turn mr. Reagans mic off for the moment . Remember, reagan paid for this debate. Would you turn that microphone off, please . I am paying for this microphone. You see a real flash of passion from reagan. And its clear that whatever else comes out of this debate, thats going to be the moment everyone remembers. I am paying for this microphone. I am paying for this microphone. I am paying for this microphone. Everybody out there watching on television saw that replayed again and again and they said tis back. It was, for all intents and purposes, the end of george bushs serious effort in 1980. And it was a sign that Ronald Reagan was a political maestro. The 100th day. The last american reporter out. The problem on day 100 is basically the same as it was on day one. Which is nobody knows what khamenei or the militants will do. Carter is really bogged down. Unable to solve the hostage crisis. Iranians are now threatening to hold the american hostages forever. Khameneis statement to, quote, fight against america until death, shattered the first real hope in this prolonged crisis. Walter kronkite ended every single nights report day 102, day 305. It was like a drip of poison every single day. You start to hear more people criticize the president for being weak on defense. Criticizing the president for not having a forceful response. And this gives kennedy a little boost. Ted kennedy surges forward. Winning the new york and connecticut primaries. The Carter Campaign is incredibly frustrated because they felt like they had kennedy on the mat. No more american hostages. And no more jimmy carter but instead of a knockout punch, the boxing match is going to continue to go on and on and on. Carter has suffered a bruising blow at the hands of his rival. And, still, america is relying on its commander in chief to bring the hostages home. There is a decision thats made to try a military operation. Its called operation eagle claw. The mission would take a rescue team into iran. Where they would pick up the hostages and take them out to safety. The rescue was a courageous thing for carter to do. But everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. At kay, weve learned the most important one will always be your own. Every yes. Oh my gosh, yes. Begins with kay. And i like to question your im yoevery move. N law. Like this left turn. Its the next one. You always drive this slow . How did you make someone i love . That must be why youre always so late. I do not speed. And thats saving me cash with drivewise. My son, he did say that you were the safe option. And thats the nicest thing you ever said to me. So get allstate. Stop bossing. Where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. This is my sons favorite color, you should try it. [mayhem] you always drive like an old lady . [tina] youre an old lady. With Td Ameritrade tools, and help from pros. Its almost like youre training me to become an even smarter, stronger investor. Exactly. rocky theme music fiftysix straight, come on thats it, left trade right trade. Come on another trade, i want to see it more 80sstyle training montage . Yeah. Happens all the time. Officially hitting the us. Virus man the markets are plunging for a second straight day. Vo Health Experts warn the us is underprepared. Managing a crisis is what Mike Bloomberg does. In the aftermath of 911, he steadied and rebuilt americas largest city. Oversaw Emergency Response to natural disasters. Upgraded hospital preparedness to manage health crises. And hes funding Cutting Edge Research to contain epidemics. Tested. Ready. Mike im Mike Bloomberg and i approve this message. On april 24th, 1980, commander in chief jimmy carter launches an audacious to rescue the hostages. The helicopters entered iranian air space. The joint chiefs asked for six helicopters. Carter added two more. Eight. One helicopter turned back because the warning light showed a hydraulic failure. A second had a rotor blade problem. Another hit a sandstorm and had to return. It was as we used to say in the south where im from, as if you were snake bit. Things were always going wrong. They had eight helicopters needing only six. Who would have assumed that three would go wrong . So at that point, they decide theyve got to abandon the operation. But the failures and tragedies didnt end there. As they began to withdrawal, the helicopter collides with one of the transport planes and there is an explosion and eight people die. Jimmy carter gets a phone call. Sort of goes blank and he looks crestfall crestfallen. It was a horrible blow i dont think hell ever get over. To those who were died and those who were wounded, i want to express the admiration i feel for the courage of their loved ones. After that, whenever you went over the white house, there was this increasing air of gloom that sort of settled in like a fog. On august 14th, Ronald Reagan arrives at the Republican National convention. Reagan has this really sunny optimism in a moment when the American People are dealing with a real crisis of confidence. I had a dream that jimmy carter asked me why i wanted his job. And i told him i didnt want his job. I want to be president. Reagan has fended off george bush to bring his white house dream one step closer to reality. Thank you very much. The primary had had become quite bitter. Quite divisive. The untold secret of reagan bush relationship was that reagan didnt much like george bush. But guess who he picks as his running mate. George bush has more Foreign Policy experience than reagan, is more moderate than reagan. So picking him made sense. He was competitive. He would always come down to the station that made the most sense in terms of winning. I pledge to you, to restore to the federal government, the capacity to do peoples work without dominating their lives. Reagan was all about limited government, lower taxes, strong economy, strong defense. He was a real authentic conservative. And we had come to believe that reagan was the leader of our national movement. Well make America Great again. President carter seems to have the nomination in his grasp. Or so he thinks. Senator kennedy won a lot of the primaries at the end. The big states. California. But we were so far behind in delegates, we couldnt catch up. The delegate advantage was almost two to one, carter over kennedy. Carter invites kennedy to the white house. Expecting a white flag of surrende kennedy will have none of this. I welcomed the opportunity to tell the president i have every intention of continuing in this campaign as a candidate. Okay. The fact that senator kennedy stayed in the race, it pissed us off. It was, i think, unforgiveable. Kennedy makes a last grab for victory by trying to tear up the rule book. I come here to seek a free and open democratic convention. The rules of the Democratic Party bound delegates to the candidate for whom they were elected. And to install kennedy as a nominee, they were going to have to change the rules and give people a chance to vote for another candidate. Even if they were committed to carter. We traveled and met with our delegates. And we told them were coming to fight for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party. And dont be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. We were going in strong. Carters forces greatly fight to block kennedys lastditch bid for the nomination. I say to you, as a democrat who worked for john f. Kennedy but who is now a carter delegate, that we dont change the rules after the game has been played. It is basically a minutebyminute, hourbyhour, political trench fight. Trying to make sure not one delega delegate deserts them because one delegate can lead to a trickle can lead to a flood. We set up a pretty sophisticated Communications Operation with delegates and i remember one of my assistants saying we are going to enclose all the wires to the phone in copper tubing. I said why are we going to do that . Isnt that going to cost a lot of money . He said because if we dont, someones going to cut the wires. There is reason to be paranoid. Ted kennedy has some heavyweight supporters. Jane burn, the mayor of chicago, flew in with a rough bunch. And they kind of parachuted into the convention, and went out on the convention floor. And started trying to buttonhole carter delegates to change their votes. Suddenly, a brawl erupts because there was great hostility between the kennedy and carter forces. And it was just complete mayhem. A wounded veteran said to us, i havent seen such sweat and anger since world war ii. Is changing things up. With an app thats changing the way we do money. Download robinhood now. Apps except work. Rywhere. Why is that . Is it because people love filling out forms . Maybe they like checking with their supervisor to see how much Vacation Time they have. Or sending corporate their expense reports. Ill let you in on a little secret. They dont. By empowering employees to manage their own tasks, paycom frees you to focus on the business of business. To learn more, visit paycom. Com when i needed to create a better visitor experience. Improve our workflow. Attract new customers. Thats when fastsigns recommended fleet graphics yeah, and now business is rolling in. Get started at fastsigns. Com to give his money to charity, giving pledge yeah, and now business is rolling in. When this californian walked away from his billion Dollar Company for good. He drives a chevy volt, flies commercial, and spends his days building grassroots campaigns for social and environmental justice. Why . Tom steyer believes every child deserves the same opportunities as his. A healthy planet. Good schools. Quality healthcare, living wage jobs, and life without fear of discrimination. Tom im tom steyer and i approve this message. The great state of arkansas cast six votes for ted kennedy. And 25 votes for the next president of the United States, jimmy carter. The carter forces maintained their delegate lead. And carter is now, finally, the victor. Kennedy had seen the writing on the wall. After kennedy concedes, hes not going away quietly. Someday, long after the signs come down and the crowds stop cheering, may it be said of our campaign that we kept the faith. I remember standing on the floor of the convention. Listening to the stories that teddy told. And crying my eyes out. The work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives. And the dream shall never die. I could see this massed ocean of people cheering, clapping. Its one of the most extraordinary sights ive ever seen in my lifetime. And i think, for carter, it was a big problem because it set a very high expectation for what he had to do in his acceptance speech. I thank you for the nomination youve offered me. Jimmy carters not on his game somehow. And goes to give praise to Hubert Horatio humphrey, the former Vice President of the United States, who had passed of cancer fairly recently. This is a guaranteed applause line. You know, this is a guaranteed emotional tug at this crowd. Of a great man, who would have been one of the greatest president s in history. Hube Hubert Horatio horn blower humphrey. Did he say horn blower . I think every one of us on the podium sort of gasped. Its at every step, carter attempts to not only be the victor but appear the victor are going horribly wrong. There is still a large balloon carrier that will not empty itself. Got one end of the net holding those balloons down. Even when hes done, the balloons on the roof dont fall when theyre supposed to fall. The speeches had not gone well from our perspective. So what we hoped is to put a big bow on it and say, ah, yes, but all is forgiven. And were waiting for senator kennedys arrival in the hall to join everybody on stage. Ted kennedys motorcade is stuck in traffic on the other side of times square. We wait and we wait and we wait. During that time, the singing the music almost dies out. And carters aides are calling everybody and their mother onto the stage to try to keep some sense of momentum going in the hall. Finally, kennedy arrives. Carter wants kennedy to get on the stage with him, and hold his hands together in a sign of unity. I said to kennedy, now, remember, youre going to raise this hand. And he said yes. But instead of kennedy raising hands with carter, he shakes his hand but does not raise it up in the air. Theres no embrace. No holding of hands. No v for victory. I thought, enough already, give it up. Youve made your point. Now, you know, think about the party. It was, in fact, a middle finger to jimmy carter by a poor loser. And teddy white, famous journalist, said it was as if kennedy had showed up at the wedding of his chauffeur. Kennedy was too proud to admit defeat. And so, in return, he actually humiliated carter in front of the entire country. Carter looks pathetic. Kennedy sent a clear signal to people that he was not 100 behind jimmy carter. So kennedy backers were given permission to basically not unite behind their nominee. Its been a disastrous convention for carter. But as he embarks on the fall election, he has one reason to be optimistic. His opponent. If jimmy carter thought Teddy Kennedy was a playboy, he thought Ronald Reagan was a total lightweight. Reagan has to show that hes not a stupid actor. That he is not too old. That hes not too muddle headed to be president. Reagan takes aim at carter and misfires. Im happy to be here. And he is a openiopening his ca down in the city that is the parent body of the ku klux klan. First of all, that isnt true. The klan was founded in pulaski, tennessee. Second of all, it turned white southerners against him. He also makes a statement about vegetation causing pollution. That was a faux pas. And they played it pretty big. And we went to california, went on here to claremont colleges. And from a big oak tree is hanging a 4 by 8 sign that says chop me down before i kill again. Now, that said it all. That said it all. Reagans gasps come giftwrapped for carter. He said thats where the pollution comes from. I dont think carter really could imagine himself losing to Ronald Reagan. Celebrating a successful business trip together is easy, if youre staying at holiday inn. Were there. So you can be too. Its not getting in my way. . I had enough joint pain, swelling, tenderness. Much better. My psoriasis, clearer. Cosentyx works on all of this. Four years and counting. So watch out. I got this watch me. Real people with active Psoriatic Arthritis are feeling real relief with cosentyx. Cosentyx is a different kind of targeted biologic. It treats the multiple symptoms of Psoriatic Arthritis to help you look and feel better. It even helps stop further joint damage. Dont use if youre allergic to cosentyx. Before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. An increased risk of infections and lowered ability. To fight them may occur. Tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms, if your inflammatory bowel disease symptoms develop or worsen. Or if youve had a vaccine, or plan to. Serious allergic reactions may occur. I just look and feel better. I got real relief with cosentyx. Watch me feel real relief. Ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. Ronald reagans blunders are damaging his campaign. But his aides hope he can fight back with a winning performance on live tv. I had confidence in reagan in a debate because, to me, a debate is as much visual as it is context. How you handle yourself, what you look like, et cetera. And, boy, you know, reagan wins that one going away. President carter buckles down for a debate that will take place just one week before the election. Carter, as always, is confident in his own intelligence. He thinks that he will outclass reagan, simply because he can explain things better. I had prepared a briefing book with foreign and domestic questions and answers. Its a very detailed book, which gives carter background on policy. But also, gives him lines of attack. And they produced three sets of volumes. One for carters review. One for walter mondales review. And a backup copy. And the third, backup copy one day just disappears from the white house. The mastermind of the theft is never proven. But theres one chief suspect. In preparation for writing my book on the campaign, i went through the registration book for people coming to visit individuals at the reagan campaign. And around the same time the carter briefing books go missing, a man signs in. Then picks up a check for 1,500 for professional services. And hes not your typical reagan man. Paul corvant was fiercely loyal to the kennedy family. He hated jimmy carter and he wanted to get reagan elected in 1980. And then ted kennedy defeats Ronald Reagan in 1984. Ted kennedy knew nothing about what paul corbin was doing. It shows how deeply many in the republican camp hated carter. They actually wanted a republican who many thought might be unfit for president , to win the presidency. He, of course, denied it. But in all likelihood, paul corbin gave the books to the chairman of the Ronald Reagan campaign. Bill casey had put a black book on my desk. All he said was, here, you might want to give this to your debate people. I probably should have said whered you get this, bill . Did that book that they stole make that much of a difference . I cant say that. But when you know the strategy, the tactics, the arguments, the counterarguments of your opponent, it gives you an enormous advantage. Please, welcome president jimmy carter and govern Ronald Reagan of california. Its the mostwatched president ial debate in history at that point. So the stakes are high for both candidates. Both of you have expressed the desire to end the Nuclear Arms Race with russia. But through vastly different methods. You cannot both be right. Will you tell us why you think you are . The president s team has been preparing him for this very question. They want carter to paint reagan as a nuclear cowboy, and himself as a safe pair of hands. We had a fullscale debate preparation. Cameras. Someone playing reagan. A question is asked, what would you do about the spread of Nuclear Weapons . And he said i talked to my daughter amy about this. And she told me that, at school, that they know the greatest threat to the country is nuclear arms. Well, we all laughed. This was going to trivialize a very important issue. Thats not a good idea. Hamilton jumps on him and jody jumps on him. And i said, okay, guys, he gets it. Hes not going to use that. I had a discussion with my daughter amy the other day before i came here to ask what the most important issue was. Bingo. She said she thought nuclear weaponry. And the control of nuclear arms. Oh, no. Weve got a major problem on our hands. Thank you, mr. President. Thank you, sir. At turn after turn, carter overestimates his own abilities. And that overconfidence really leaves him vulnerable. Undeterred, carter presses on. Governor reagan began his political career campaigning around this nation, against medicare. Carter thinks its a Winning Strategy to accuse reagan of wanting to cut medicare. Social security benefits should not be taxed. And there would be no preemptory change in the standards by which Social Security payments are made to the retired people. The only problem is he is saying it in such a way thats dogmatic and overly detailed and not very relatable. And reagans skill is in deflecting these attacks, and coming across as being comfortable with himself on stage. Governor reagan, again, typically, is against such a proposal. Governor. There you go again. That moment, its remarkable. Its a fourword line but it pushes the president off stage. Next tuesday, all of you will go to the polls. Youll stand there in the polling place and make a decision. Reagan ends his final statement with the coup de grace against jimmy carter. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago . That freezes the election right there. Its carters status quo versus the reagan change. He didnt win because he won because he came across as talking about the concerns of the American People. There was no better person on Television Ever than Ronald Wilson reagan. We can turn this country around and we can turn our economy around. And the time to do it is now. The white house looks within reagans grasp. But the selection may be decided by players on the other side of the world. What if the iranians released the american hostages and give jimmy carter a huge victory just before the election takes place . We have seen during the past 12 hours several developments in the hostage issue. Robinhood believes now is the time to do money. Without the Commission Fees and account minimums. So, you can start investing wherever you are even on the bus. Download now and get your first stock on us. Robinhood. Afterat kay, weve learnedions othe most important one will always be your own. Every yes. Oh my gosh, yes. Begins with kay. I get a call at 3 00 in the morning from a white house operator. Air force one is going to leave in 45 minutes to go back to washington, be ready. Two days before the election, the iraniparliament offers to re the hostages, with conditions. It has the approval of the ayatollah khomeini. The iranians want an apology. They want to be immune from my part of legal prosecution for what has happened and carter is resolute that he cant do that. So carter feels he has to tell the country. Carters last chance to get the hostages home before election day has vanished. But his advisers think he can turn the situation to his advantage. We were urging him, i would say, begging him to really attack the iranians for trying to give us an inadequate offer. All of us said, be tough. This can actually help you. You can turn a lemon into lemonade. Carter is hearing from advisers that you have to think politically about how to handle this. You have to make a statement, which is defiant in part, so you can be victorious in the election. And he says, we dont play politics with this. He was concerned that our rhetoric would jeopardize the safety of the hostages. Get those hostages home. That was more important than winniwin winning and losing, as far as we were concerned. We are within two days of an Important National election. Let me assure you that my decisions on this crucial matter will not be affected by the calendar. Carter was really committed to doing the right thing. And that was great for a sunday school preacher. It wasnt necessarily good for a president running for reelection. We were all very depressed that he did that. He didnt have the right political stwininstinct at the time. The snoumt absolutely devastating at that moment in the campaign. Carters support really starts to plummet. As one person has said, if this little guy carter cant handle a twobit ayatollah, im going to take a chance on the cowboy. Ladies and gentlemen, the president elect, Ronald Reagan exactly one year after the start of the hostage crisis, reagan turns america red in a political tsunami. 44 states to 6. People were stunned at the magnitude of the victory. It was just an historic and astonishing triumph. Governor reagan, we just wanted to tell you what the map of the United States looks like as of 8 00 tonight. Its all yours hey a genuine conservative affiliated with a conservative ideology that had been at the margins of the party had now taken center stage. When that began to slide, i thought that maybe the world was going out just as i was getting in. Reagan was the right person to restore americas pride and confidence in itself. I promised you four years ago that i would never lie to you. So i dont stand here tonight and say it doesnt hurt. Day after the election, we were all as low as hound dogs. And he said, get your chin s of the floor, were going to make this the best transition out. He immediately went back to work and worked tirelessly to secure the agreement to get the hostages released. The orderly transfer of authority is nothing less than a miracle. Reagan is giving this powerful peace of oratory and gives a compliment to carter. Mr. President , i want our fellow citizens to know how much you did to carry on this tradition and the camera cuts to carter and you can tell his mind is completely focused on whether the hostages have gotten out or not. The hostages were sitting in the planes at the end of the runways, waiting for Ronald Reagan to be president. God bless you and thank you. Thank you very much. The situation is this. The hostages have left tehran, were told, by air. Reagans inaugurated noon, january 20th, 1981. The hostages are released minutes later. The iranians, i think, purposefully tried to deny president carter as much credit for it they could. What a punishing blow that must have been to jimmy carter. But in the end, all of the hostages returned safely, not one of them died. It wasnt good for him politically, but its hard to argue with the success of that approach. President carter put whats right and moral above politics and you could not change that. And in retrospect, you wouldnt have wanted to change it. Youre the junior senator from illinois, and you barely know your way around the hill. And now the party bosses want a meeting. They have a proposition. They want you to take a shot at the white house. Not eventually but now. Think about it, will you . Well, first you have to get past her, the senator with decades of experience and friends in high places, already at home in the oval office. And then you have to get past him, a senor