Perhaps the most revealing and poignant moment of the campaign came when President Ford, asked what sacrifices he would call on the American people to make, replied: "The American people will be called upon to tighten their belts a bit in meeting some of the problems that we face domestically." That would mean less spending, but Ford quickly added, "We could, I think, have a long overdue and totally justified tax decrease for the middle-income people." Then, with no sense of irony whatsoever, he repeated a call for reduced federal spending and "a tax reduction primarily for the middle-income people," adding that "the American people would be willing to make those sacrifices...in the next four years."

The idea that a call for sacrifice to meet threats to national survival might counter bread-and-butter economics never appeared in the President's briefing book and was obvously absent from his thoughts.

Carter's most obvious and most heavily publicized electoral base was his overwhelming support from black voters, North and South (which seems a permanent Democratic asset), and backing from his Southern heartland (which may be a one-time occurence). Even so, Carter would have been defeated had he not scored substantially among white industrial workers and their families. These votes provided the narrow margin of victory in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. Had Ford won two of those three states, he would have been elected.

These blue-collar voters are the nation's deepest well of patriotic fervor. The antidote to Democratic bread-and-butter arguments must be a call for sacrifice at a time of international danger -- precisely the call that Ford did not make and apparently was incapable of making. [ital in orig]

Source: Novak, Robert D. Fiasco '76. National Review. p. 1398. December 24, 1976.