The Most Important Election of My Lifetime - 40 Years Ago
As we await Tuesday's results, looking back on one of the consequential outcomes of the 20th century
I know you are worn out from this election, but indulge me one last thought, this time reflecting on an outcome from four decades ago. I was six years old, but I believe it was the most important election of my lifetime, to use that cliche. Here is a new piece I wrote on it for National Review:
He was an aging incumbent president who had just been drubbed in the midterms by the opposing party. The country was combating inflation and facing interest-rate hikes. His popularity, dipping into the 30s the year before his campaign for a second term, made a lot of his political handlers nervous about his reelection. And in his first debate with his opponent, a populist former vice president, he appeared old and unprepared.
Yet, in 1984, Ronald Wilson Reagan not only won reelection but prevailed in the second-biggest landslide in American history, winning 525 electoral votes, 58 percent of the popular vote, and every state of the union except for the home state — Minnesota — of his opponent, Walter Mondale.
Four decades later, we should not underestimate the historical importance of Reagan’s win. Every election year, partisans fire up voters by telling them that it’s the most consequential election of their lifetime. But it is not hyperbole to wonder how history might have turned out differently if the former California governor had been sent back to his Santa Barbara ranch by the voters.
A loss by Reagan would have been a referendum on his pro-growth, small-government economic policies, which ultimately ushered in an area of opportunity and prosperity. It would have sent a message, during the height of the Cold War, that appeasement rather than rhetorical confrontation was the key to confronting the evil of Soviet communism. Perhaps most importantly, a Reagan defeat would have wounded America’s self-confidence. Yet he did prevail, and we can be thankful that he did.
You can read the rest here:
In other news, I’m busy working on a few projects. I went through a round of edits for my book on patriotism with Harper Collins, due in Fall 2025. I’m working on a book chapter on Southern Baptist ethicist TB Maston for a compilation my seminary is putting together. I’ve got two essays about public theology due by the end of the year. I’m also contributing to a young men’s study Bible for Crossway and have a project for BH on biblical wisdom due by the end of next summer. Plenty to work on, for which I’m grateful.
My latest podcast is with Chris Crawford, who knows a thing or two about how our elections and vote counting work and how people of faith help secure them.
My book, The Characters of Christmas, is now on sale on Amazon. Get it if you are planning your Advent season. You’ll like Jesus and The Characters of Christmas if you have little kids.
If your church is looking for a resource about understanding spiritual gifts, check out my study with Lifeway.