Jimmy Carter in What A Party, by Terry McAuliffe

On War & Peace: OpEd: re-election failed with 1980 Iranian hostage crisis

We didn't know it right away, but Jimmy Carter's reelection hopes probably went south on him the night in April 1980 when the attempt to rescue the US hostages being held in Iran turned into a fiasco. There was a dust storm raging and one of the helicopters the military had sent in crashed into a transport plane, starting a fire that killed 8 soldiers.

The next day we found out Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who had opposed the rescue attempt, had resigned in protest.

We were in a tough spot with Carter sticking to his Rose Garden strategy of staying at the White House and sending out the Vice President and First Lady to campaign for him. You need your biggest star to go out there and get people excited.

Source: What A Party!, by Terry McAuliffe, p. 30 Jan 23, 2007

The above quotations are from What A Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals by Terry McAuliffe. Click here for other excerpts from What A Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals by Terry McAuliffe. Click here for other excerpts by Jimmy Carter. Click here for other excerpts by other Governors.
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