KEYWORDS: war, carter, people, reagan, they

Reagan Reaction, The

David Berg

—By Father DavidDFO 9465/11/80

—Why Did He Win?

1. THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION CARTER HAD A CHANCE TO REALLY CLAIM A VICTORY, but Carter's reply & Muskie's reply to the Iranian offer was‚ "Well, it will take a great deal of study & we're not going to be railroaded into this thing!" I think he must have been so sure of re-election. I guess that 3-day ultimatum was the thing that Carter should have done. The job will probably kill Ronald Reagan, if it doesn't kill the country!

2. I BELIEVE THAT IF CARTER HAD EVEN MADE A SLIGHT VICTORY & A PARTIAL RESTORATION OF THE HOSTAGES, any progress at all at the end besides just negotiations, the people would have given him a chance. But they got so furious & so mad that he did nothing, still did nothing & made no decision! He's indecisive, a typical Libra! Even in the final analysis when he had a chance & they laid down their conditions the day before the election—in fact it was even hinted two or three days before the election—he still didn't accept them!

3. (MARIA: WHY DID THEY KEEP SAYING THEY WERE RUNNING NECK & NECK, THEN SUCH A LANDSLIDE?) Well, everybody said it was those who were undecided who were going to decide the election, & from what I hear‚ he won by a landslide of 60% of the vote & carried 42 States. Most of the presidents only squeak through by a very narrow margin. One presidential election not too long ago was only a 1 1/2 million majority, & they were even contending they should throw the thing into the college of electors. I started to say the college of cardinals!—Ha!—They might have been better off!

4. I WAS TELLING YOU THAT IF HE HAD MADE A VICTORY OUT OF THIS HOSTAGE EXCHANGE, even at the last minute, I believe the people would have given him another chance & he could have claimed some kind of progress, if he could have claimed any kind of progress, but all he was able to say was that they were negotiating.

5. THE THING THAT COMES TO ME IS THIS: I wonder in the nefariousness of his mind & some of his advisers if he actually had the thought, "The American people certainly won't dump me right in the middle of these negotiations. Rather than settle right now for whatever I can get, for a partial deal which they may not like & may turn them against me & I might lose the election, why not hold out for all or nothing at all, & hope that the American people will figure, 'Well, let's not rock the boat, let's not change horses right now while he's almost got the hostages!’"—I wouldn't be a bit surprised that's why they stalled off accepting the terms.

6. I WAS DUMBFOUNDED, ACTUALLY SHOCKED, WHEN I HEARD! We really were in difficulty getting the news the last few days because of this electrical problem & a few other things‚ but at the last minute when Muskie announced that they were negotiating but it would take a great deal of time, I was shocked that they would have said such a thing! Here it was the last minute before the election, but now I see why he said it!

7. THIS IS WHAT THEY WERE THINKING: "If we tell them it's going to take us time, they certainly won't dump us right now in the middle of the river‚ change horses in the middle of the stream! Certainly they'll give us a chance, they'll vote us back in just to be sure these negotiations continue." Well, he guessed wrong!

8. I BELIEVE THE HOSTAGE ISSUE WAS THE LAST STRAW! They were already fed up with Carter & his wishy–washy indecisiveness, they were fed up with his do-nothing presidency, they were fed up with the economy & that he wasn't able to solve the economic situation & the recession, they were fed up with the oil situation & that he wasn't able to do anything about that.

9. THEY WERE FED UP ESPECIALLY ABOUT THIS HOSTAGE SITUATION‚ that he had let those hostage go one full year & still done nothing!—Always saying, "We're making progress, we're negotiating, just be patient, blah blah!" Well, I think that was the last straw. When they heard that he wasn't going to settle it before the election, they just decided they were fed up & they were just going to dump him!

10. THE SMART THING FOR HIM TO HAVE DONE WAS IMMEDIATELY TO HAVE ACCEPTED THOSE IRANIAN TERMS! The fact that the Iranians even came out with the terms before his election—the very thing they said they weren't going to do, that they weren't going to help get him re-elected—they came out with the terms before the election & he still had a chance to accept'm, & didn't! I think that sealed his fate, absolutely sealed his fate!

11. I WAS FULLY REALLY EXPECTING HIM TO AT LEAST MAKE A PARTIAL DEAL, because it was the sensible, wise, logical thing to do! That's all he could have hoped to have done, at least partially have accepted the conditions or even claimed to accept them all, as a politician. After all, a politician can promise anything & it's not necessarily their fault if they can't fulfill the promises.

12. SO I THINK THAT WAS THE LAST STRAW‚ I THINK THAT REALLY DID IT! They were all really ready to dump him, fed up, sick of him & his do-nothing policies, indecisiveness, weakness & wishy-washiness. I mean, he has to ask everybody what to do, including his daughter Amy! (Maria: And I think the personal appearances at the last minute of both of them probably made a lot of difference‚ because people go a lot on who they really like as a person.) Yeah.

13. THEY WERE ALL SAYING THE REACTION TO THE DEBATE WAS DEFINITELY IN REAGAN'S FAVOUR, but they said that the Carter people were hoping that would wear off in a couple of days before the election & they'd forget about that. But it shows you how they remember what they see more than what they hear. Carter almost looked a little dazed, his eyes were glazed & he looked worried & real stern & hardly cracked a smile the whole time.

14. REAGAN WAS RELAXED & JOVIAL & HUMOUROUS & REALLY MORE POISED & AT EASE THAN CARTER WAS. Carter was stiff, really stiff. Reagan‚ both times, before & after the debate, went over & congenially shook hands with Carter & showed a good spirit, whereas Carter just stood there stiff like a ramrod! (Maria: Reagan was more like "one of the guys," somebody you could sort of relate to.) Oh, absolutely! (Maria: He was like one of the regular American men.)

15. WHETHER HE WAS ACTING OR NOT, AT LEAST HE'S GOT IT! He's got the personality & the personal appearance. Everybody believed that he won on personality. That's what we said beforehand, that from the debate & their public appearances & all the other things we've seen & heard, etc., who would you choose as the most likeable fellow & the best personality?—And of course it was Reagan!

16. CARTER WAS TOO STIFF & TOO WORRIED-LOOKING & VERY TENSE & HIS WIFE TOO, of course. She was a kind of very fierce personality that a lot of people have been afraid of, that she was really running the president—which she probably was! Whereas this Nancy Reagan seemed to be like Reagan himself—relaxed, happy, smiling, much more poised & much more personality & not that fierce steely look that Rosalyn Carter had.

17. I THINK REAGAN & NANCY BOTH WON ON PERSONALITY & HUMOUR & POISE & A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CONFIDENCE. They seemed to be very self-confident even right through to the last minute, the debate & all the rest; whereas poor Carter really was tense & worried & lacking in self-confidence. Carter seems to have a brilliant mind in some ways with facts & memory & all that, but it didn't do him any good as long as he doesn't do anything with it. He seldom made any serious decisions & he let the hostages rot for a whole year!

18. I BELIEVE REAGAN WILL PROBABLY BE A DO-SOMETHING PRESIDENT. He's promised to do something about the situation, which Carter didn't! It's almost better for a person to do something, even if he makes mistakes. As the old saying goes, "The only guy who never makes a mistake is the guy who never does anything!" So that was what really held against Carter, not just that he made so many mistakes, but he just didn't do anything!—Besides making a lot of mistakes! Ha! Well‚ God gave him his chance. Did we ever get out that "3-Day Ultimatum" (No.913) in time for that word to get to him? One of his advisers could have seen it on the street or something.—But he certainly didn't do it!

19. SEE, NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT HE LOST, HE CERTAINLY CAN'T GIVE A 3-DAY ULTIMATUM NOW! But therefore now we know it was God's advice to Carter‚ what he ought to do. He ought to get tough, set a deadline, give'm an ultimatum, & that's what I think he was trying to do there at the very end just before the election. He was trying to set sort of an ultimatum‚ apparently, & push'm to a decision. And he got the decision, & then he muffed it‚ of all the ridiculous things!

20. HE GOT THEM TO MAKE A DECISION & TO DECLARE THEIR TERMS & THE BALL WAS IN HIS COURT—& HE MISSED IT! He really missed it, he didn't make a decision. And the only thing that could possibly have made him make such a silly mistake was that he thought, "If we make a decision now‚ the American public may not like the decision & turn against us; whereas if we don't make any decision..."—again Carter's idea of being indecisive.

21. HIS WHOLE POLITICS WAS, "IF YOU DON'T MAKE A DECISION, THEN YOU DON'T MAKE ANYBODY MAD!—Because if you make a decision, then somebody's going to be mad & somebody's not going to like it, so just don't make any decisions!" Well, they got mad anyway because he didn't make a decision, & they dumped him!

22. SO I THINK HE THOUGHT IF THEY JUST CARRIED ON THE NEGOTIATIONS & POSTPONED THE DECISION, THAT THE PEOPLE WOULD RE-ELECT HIM saying, "Well, let's don't rock the boat now while there's a chance of getting the hostages back. Let's not change horses in the middle of the stream & let's give Carter another chance!" I think he really thought, apparently, that by postponing the decision the people would keep him in to make it later—& he guessed wrong.

23. (MARIA: IN THE DREAM THERE WAS AN ULTIMATUM BUT YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT HAPPENED, it was sort of open–ended.) Yes, yes, exactly. He issued the ultimatum but didn't say what he was going to do—typical of him as a do-nothing president! The reason it's so surprising is because what the Lord gave us on it before is what he should have done, either the 3-day ultimatum or to press the Iranians for a decision & even be willing to accept a partial release.

24. THIS IS WHAT WE WERE REALLY EXPECTING, BECAUSE TO ACCEPT A PARTIAL DEAL WAS THE WISE THING & THE ONLY THING HE COULD DO. He could have accepted the Iranians proposition & said, "I'll do all in my power to do what you ask," & they probably would have released at least half the hostages. This is what I saw, but he didn't do it. He muffed it! God gave him his chance‚ & once again he did what he nearly always did, postponed the decision, postponed any action, do nothing, don't rock the boat, & he lost.

25. SO NOW WE'VE GOT A TOUGH DO–SOMETHING PRESIDENT who at least has seemed tough & has promised to do something. We shall see! He's been much more warlike than Carter, & this shows you the attitude of the American people. Carter promoted Reagan by saying he was more warlike & apt to get us into a war.

26. WELL, IT SHOWS YOU WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT! THEY WANT WAR! They're mad! They're fed up! They want him to do something! They're also smart enough to know by this time that war brings prosperity, & they somehow still think maybe they might escape the bombs. "To hell with the bombs" as far as they're concerned, "I want my prosperity now! I want my job & my money now! The Devil take tomorrow!"—& he will!

27. THEY KNOW THAT RONALD REAGAN'S PROGRAM OF REARMAMENT BRINGS ALMOST IMMEDIATE ACTION & PROSPERITY, the reopening of armament plants, the reopening of aircraft plants, re-employment, rise in wages & all the rest. And his promises to cut taxes & welfare, everybody knows that that's virtually impossible, but they just sneeze that off as a political promise. He may try, but you can't very well rearm a country & pay for those billions of dollars worth of arms, & cut taxes.

28. HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CUT DOWN ON SOME OF THE WELFARE BONANZAS A LITTLE & TRIM SOCIAL SECURITY A LITTLE, but the people aren't going to stand much of that either. The people & their representatives in Congress are going to fight that. They know they're protected on that, & no matter what he said, he can't necessarily fulfill those promises‚ so I don't think they were afraid of him being able to cut their welfare.

29. THEY WOULD LOVE TO HAVE SEEN HIM CUT THEIR TAXES‚ but that's another thing which is not really in his hands but the hands of Congress, which he can't do. But there is one thing which he can pretty well do, & that's to promise to rearm‚ because the people are in a rearming mood. Congress will vote for it because it means money in their districts, it means the reopening of all those arms plants & aircraft factories & tremendous government spending, jobs & wages.

30. THIS WAS THE ONLY THING THAT MANAGED TO PULL THE U.S. OUT OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE '20s & '30s, was FDR's do something presidency in which he created jobs. He did massive government spending, for government jobs on government projects just to get people to do anything, count the nuts on the trees or count the trees, or count the squirrels or do ridiculous stupid things! But at least they were jobs, even if they were for only a dollar a day!

31. AND OF COURSE THE FINAL THING THAT REALLY DID THE TRICK & GOT'M OVER THE HUMP WAS REARMAMENT FOR THE COMING WAR. FDR … was determined to get into that war on the side of Britain. They accused him of being an Anglophile, an England-lover‚ but that wasn't the main reason he got in the war. …

32. THEY WOULDN'T HAVE HAD ANYTHING ELSE BUT TO DEFEAT HITLER & TO RESCUE THE JEWS & the World from Hitler. So that die was cast, that was almost predetermined; of course the U.S. would get into the war. He just needed something big to push'm over the hump into the war, so when he was warned of Pearl Harbor he did nothing about it deliberately so that it would happen, which would infuriate the people enough to declare war! And it was immediately after Pearl Harbor that the U.S. declared war on Japan & then Germany.

33. BUT IT WAS HIS REARMAMENT PROGRAM‚ HIS PREPARATION FOR WAR & HIS DO-SOMETHING PRESIDENCY THAT PULLED THE U.S. OUT OF THE DEPRESSION. He just did everything he could to establish all kinds of agencies & tremendous government projects, building of dams, reforestation, CCC camps. He took the young people out & put them in the forest to plant trees at a dollar a day. They were almost like concentration camps, but at least it got them out of the city & into the country & out of crime & gave them something to do.

34. CARTER'S JUST SAT AROUND & DONE NOTHING! He just seemed to have no imagination, done nothing. It's amazing, it's just almost like he's a little bit dimwitted, like the idiot that they portray him as all the time in the caricatures & cartoons! He just seemed to be dull of mind & not know what to do, asks everybody else what he should do, & then in the final analysis he doesn't do anything, he didn't make any decision!

35. SO I THINK THE PEOPLE JUST GOT REALLY FED UP, because that's the biggest landslide victory for a president in the United States in an election in years! That means Reagan got an amazing victory, probably one of the biggest since FDR!—And for one of the first times in recent history, the defeat of an incumbent president by a newcomer, which is unusual.

36. USUALLY THE INCUMBENT PRESIDENT, THE ONE WHO'S ALREADY PRESIDENT, GETS ELECTED because he has all the advantages. Carter had all the advantages but he was just a dumb cluck who didn't know how to take care of'm & how to use'm—probably following dear Rosalyn's advice & his advisers instead of the Lord! He should have looked to the Lord for advice & God could have gotten him the word‚ even the 3-day Ultimatum word & a few others, because I think the people just got fed up with him asking everybody what to do!

37. WELL, NOW WE'VE GOT A PRESIDENT WHO'S PROMISED TO DO SOMETHING! He's promised to rearm, which will bring prosperity, jobs, wages, etc. He's promised to get tough with the enemies‚ which could bring on, of course, a war, & they hope, of course, just a conventional war, a limited war that wouldn't destroy everything. Well, that's what they always hope, but these wars always have a habit of spreading & growing beyond control.

38. HE'S PROMISED TO CUT TAXES, WHICH OF COURSE IS ALWAYS VERY POPULAR BUT SELDOM EVER DONE, & it's doubtful if he can do it. He can recommend in his budget recommendation for a cut in spending, which will mean they can make a cut in taxes, & Congress may be in the mood to vote for it. They're in an economic mood‚ in a way, & they're in a mood to please the people, but it's hard to do both!

39. THEY CAN SEE THE SENTIMENT OF THE PEOPLE IN SEVERAL ASPECTS BY THIS ELECTION, that they're fed up with high taxes & they're fed up with doing nothing. They virtually almost have voted for war in this election because they said, "You vote for Reagan‚ you'll get war!" This has been the biggest thing that Carter has emphasised, that "he's a warmonger‚ he's a militarist, he's rash & he's going to get us into a war"—so the people voted for him! They voted for war!

40. THIS VOTE WAS LITERALLY A VOTE FOR WAR, A POSSIBLE WAR, & REARMAMENT FOR IT! Definitely a vote for rearmament, a vote for war, a vote for do something about the hostages, a vote for do something about the economy, a vote against high taxes, a vote for cutting taxes. All the things that Reagan has promised to do were things that you can see now the American people were in the mood for & are popular issues.

41. REAGAN RODE THE CREST OF WHAT APPARENTLY HE & HIS ADVISERS KNEW THE AMERICANS WANTED! He was more in tune with the public than Carter was. I don't know where Carter was getting his signals; he certainly wasn't getting them from public opinion, & he certainly wasn't getting them from the Lord, that's for sure, because he sure did all the wrong things!

42. (MARIA: REAGAN HAD THE EVANGELICALS BEHIND HIM WHO FINALLY GOT OUT & BEGAN TO DO SOMETHING!) Yes, finally the Christians awoke & decided they had to do something about the political situation, & the real Christians finally organised.

43. THE FAKE CHRISTIANS, THE MODERNIST CHRISTIANS, THE SOCIAL GOSPEL CHRISTIANS‚ THE UNBELIEVING CHRISTIANS, the formal churches, the big modern denominations in the Council of Churches & all that, have been behind Carter because he's a liberal, he's soft on everything & for the [minorities] & for Israel‚ & his whole program just fitted their policies & their ideals to a tee! Whereas Reagan is old-fashioned & accused of looking backward to the past through rosy glasses!

44. REAGAN WANTS TO SEE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! He wants to see America do something again, he wants her to assert World leadership again, etc. Well, that's exactly apparently what the people want, so they voted for him. But this is the exact opposite of what the World Council of Churches & the National Council of Churches & liberal pacifists advocate. The National Council & the World Council of Churches is the organisation of the Modernists, the unbelieving Sadducees.

45. THE EVANGELICALS HAVE NEVER REALLY GOTTEN TOGETHER BEFORE. The Fundamentalist Evangelical Jesus-&-salvation-believing Christians have never really gotten it together & organised & forged a genuine political weapon before & gone to bat for a candidate like they have this time. Well, the genuinely Christian Churches—the Evangelicals, Fundamentalists & salvation-believing Christians—decided to get together, organise, & encourage the nation to vote for Reagan! Wow!

46. LAST TIME, THEY IN A WAY DISORGANISED & WITHOUT A LOT OF UNIFICATION, VOTED FOR CARTER just because of his testimony of being a born-again Christian, etc., & I'm sure that helped him get in. He got the Christian vote, the Evangelical vote, the Negro vote, the Jewish vote‚ the Labor vote, the World Council of Churches vote, the whole works! The World Council of Churches voted for him because he was so liberal in spite of his testimony of being an Evangelical!

47. THIS TIME THE EVANGELICALS REALLY GOT BEHIND REAGAN & VOTED FOR HIM AS AN OLD-FASHIONED AMERICAN! (Maria: Through television, too, which is a powerful means.) So obviously it did the work. The World Council of Churches with its Council of Catholics‚ Christians & Jews all working together awoke a little too late to see how effective this Evangelical program was of the religious Right in backing Reagan.

48. THE JEWS WOKE UP A LITTLE TOO LATE TOO! The Times & the Post didn't come out for Carter until the last two or three days before the election. So the Jews were putting off their decision too long too, just rocking along. But in the last minute when they saw they were going to lose their Carter—this softy that they could push around—they apparently woke up & decided‚ "Well, at least he's not as bad as Reagan might be!"

49. REAGAN HAS PROMISED TO GET TOUGH ABOUT ISRAEL, not for the sake of the Jews or Israel itself, but for the sake of Israel as a military base. This is what he has been pushing. Reagan has promised to stand behind Israel as the U.S. military base in the Mideast & their only dependable ally there, obviously, since the Shah has fallen, to react against any threat to the oil fields & the oil lines, counting on Israel to help them or give them bases there from which they can operate to try to hang onto the oil.—Not necessarily for the sake of the Jews or the Jewish vote, but for the oil.

50. BUT OF COURSE THAT MAY HAVE HELPED REAGAN'S VOTE TOO, because he came out staunchly, firmly, behind backing Israel & continuing to arm Israel for this reason. It's a military reason & a security reason & an oil reason, not because he loves the Jews. (Maria: Because you said traditionally the Right & the conservatives are usually not too pro–Jewish.)

51. YEAH, THE JEWS ARE … LIBERALS & SOCIALISTS. … They're very socialistic & liberal, & Carter's policies fitted them to a tee—especially since he was such weak president & they could push him around & tell him what to do!

52. EVERY TIME HE SAID THE WRONG THING OR DID THE WRONG THING THEY WAITED ON HIM IN THE WHITE HOUSE IN COMMITTEE‚ & the heads of the Jewish organisations in the U.S. came to tell him that they didn't like it. So immediately he would change his decision & say he made a mistake in the vote in the U.N., or he'd say, "Well, I didn't mean that"—& he'd back down on everything he did or said if the Jews came up in strong opposition. They could force him to back down every time! Pilate!

53. CARTER WAS THEIR LITTLE PUSHCART THAT THEY COULD PUSH AROUND WHICHEVER WAY THEY WANTED TO PUSH HIM‚ but I don't think they're going to be that successful with Reagan; he's tough & I don't think he's going to let himself be pushed. But he backs Israel & therefore pleases the Jews for military reasons, that Israel is a reliable American base in the Mideast. We don't know how reliable they are or what would happen if it did come to the crunch, but the U.S. has stuck pretty much behind Israel, & … it probably still will.

54. SO IT LOOKS LIKE AT LEAST WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A DO-SOMETHING PRESIDENT WHO'S PROMISED TO DO A LOT OF THINGS. The most important thing & his greatest most leading plank was rearmament‚ make America strong, resume its place of leadership & dominance in the World, etc. And this will mean, as I say, the reopening of the armaments plants & aircraft factories, & jobs, wages, money & prosperity. That's his strongest plank, I think that appealed to the American people more than anything else. They know that rearmament means money, as well as making America strong.

55. THEY'RE SICK & FED UP WITH HAVING THEMSELVES PUSHED AROUND BY LITTLE PIPSQUEAK GOVERNMENTS LIKE IRAN! They want somebody to get tough & do something! I think they would have preferred if Carter had pitched in & waged war on Iran, even if all the hostages got killed! It would have at least saved America's reputation & their pride instead of having them humiliated by this little ridiculous government telling America what to do, & Khomeini dictating American foreign policy in Tehran!

56. THEY'RE JUST FED UP ALL THE WAY AROUND! I mean, we've said enough about Carter & his sickening policies before in "Carter in Disneyland" & "Carter the Dandy Bad Example"! (See Nos. 909 & 910.) I could have said "Carter the Idiot," in fact I think I did call him an idiot in some of those things! So the American people are just fed up.

57. THE AMERICAN SENTIMENT NOW IS ALL FOR WHAT REAGAN STANDS FOR, a tougher stronger America that's willing to stand up to the Russians & stand up to the Iranians & all the rest; a rearmament program which will bring money & prosperity & solve the economic problem. I've been preaching this for many years, that this is the vicious cycle that America always goes through. (See "War–Boom-Bust," No.H.)

58. THE WORLD HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH A DEPRESSION, ALTHOUGH THEY DON'T WANT TO CALL IT THAT, & IT'S THREATENED TO GET WORSE. It's Worldwide right now, threatening to get worse all the time in spite of all the cosmetic bandaids they've been putting on it to try to solve it. The only way the capitalist system has ever pulled themselves out of a recession or depression has been through war!

59. YOU CAN SAY WAR-BOOM-BUST, BUT IN SOME WAYS THE BOOM EVEN PRECEDES THE WAR. Because as they rearm for the war it creates boom, & this is what helped FDR pull the U.S. out of the Depression—rearmament. That was the biggest government spending program of all in preparation for WW2.

60. WW2 & PREPARATION FOR IT PULLED THE U.S. OUT OF THE DEPRESSION. It got it into the war, of course‚ but the people didn't seem to mind. Frankly, I lived through that war & saw public sentiment, & the people didn't mind the war near as much as they had minded the Depression! Because after all, they figured they were the strongest & they were winning & why not? It created jobs & they had wages & money & were a lot better off during the war than they were during the Depression!

61. THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO REGRETTED THE WAR BEING OVER, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, who worried about the closing of the factories & the ending of their jobs, which it meant, & that it was going to be hard times again. Well, they've struggled through with government regulation & spending & all kinds of things, & they've gradually slowed down that depression—the bust which should follow any war—by all kinds of government programs & special regulations & new laws & everything else to ensure that they never had another depression, that they never had another crash, that the stock market couldn't ever crash again, blah blah blah!

62. BUT AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, ALL THIS DID WAS, AT THE SAME TIME THERE WAS A GRADUAL RECESSION slowed down by all these governmental brakes—the government's feet on so many different brakes it looks like a centipede—that at the same time‚ all these things which prevented depression & recession or slowed it down, guaranteed inflation—which is a whole new thing entirely which is contrary to the natural laws of economics—that there should be an inflation along with a depression.

63. BUT THAT'S WHAT THE GOVERNMENT'S RULES & LAWS & REGULATIONS & all these stopgap measures to try to prevent the depression have guaranteed—they have guaranteed an inflation, which in the long run is just as bad. You can't get away from God's laws!

64. YOU CAN'T GET AWAY FROM GOD'S ECONOMIC LAWS & GOD'S RETRIBUTARY LAWS, the retribution of the Lord, His promises that "whatsoever you sow, that shall ye also reap"! (Gal.6:7.) America has sown selfishness economically, so she's gonna reap depression!—God's retribution & judgment on her selfishness with the poor & her unwillingness to share‚ so she's going to be hurt economically.

65. SHE HAS SOWN VIOLENCE IN THE WORLD, war & destruction on poor little countries that even finally defeated her, so she's gonna reap what she's sowed! And actually in order to do that‚ they've got to have a tough president who's going to be warlike & get'm into a war!

66. THIS WILL BE A SWITCH, BECAUSE IT WILL BE ONE OF THE FIRST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTS IN RECENT HISTORY THAT EVER GOT THE COUNTRY INTO A WAR! Almost always it's been the Democratic Party & the Democratic president which got the country into the next war, & it has been the Republican Party who has gotten them out of the war! So the Democratic Party has become notorious as the War Party, & the Republicans as the Peace Party. Well, we may have a switch this time!

67. DEAR CARTER BECAME THE PEACE PROPHET & THE DEMOCRATS THE PEACE PARTY & KEPT US OUT OF THE WAR THUS FAR, just by doing nothing & letting the enemy have his way! That's one way you can keep out of war: Let the enemy get what he wants without war, since you don't do anything about him & you don't stop him! But Reagan has promised to stop him & to do something about it, even if it's war. He's definitely going to rearm for war & try to make America strong.

68. REAGAN OBVIOUSLY PROMISED THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANTED, SO THEY ELECTED HIM HOPING THEY'LL GET IT, & VERY LIKELY THEY WILL! They'll probably get it in more ways than they realise! (Maria: Do you think that's where "The Spider Dream" comes in‚ that eventually he'll get smashed & he won't have any power? Since it obviously didn't happen right now & he did get in, maybe it's going to happen later.) (See No.879.)

69. WELL, THAT SPIDER DREAM WAS MOSTLY IN RELATION TO US & US PERSONALLY. We could almost say it's already happened, in a way, as far as we're concerned, because he came out against us & he didn't succeed. He came out as our bitter enemy & used Black Lightning to persecute us & tried to crush us, but he didn't make it.

70. HE WAS VENOMOUS IN HIS ATTACKS ON US BECAUSE HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE HIPPIES & HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING, neither did the Evangelicals. They're all against us, & he sides with them & they side with him & so they're all our enemies, not understanding us & not understanding the Youth Revolution & the Jesus Revolution.

71. IT ALL LOOKED LIKE HIPPYISM TO THEM & THEY HATED HIPPYISM & said, "The hippies are a bunch of Communists & a bunch of radicals & Reds," etc. The Right are ultra-conservatives & naturally they're against hippies, & against us along with them. They just figure we're another phase of the hippy movement, & the Jesus Revolution is nothing but the hippy Jesus Revolution. It's all the same to them, as far as they're concerned, & in some ways even worse.

72. THE HIPPIES DIDN'T GET SO COMPLETELY INFATUATED EVEN WITH DRUGS & HIPPYISM AS THEY DID WITH JESUS! So this really frightened the [ACs] & parents & the System‚ that they should become so infallibly loyal to Christ, or as they put it, a religious cult, more than they were even to their drugs & their hippyism! Some said this kind of religion was worse than a drug! We've had several of them say it's worse than drugs, & call it hypnotism, brainwashing, changing into zombies, blah blah blah blah!

73. SO HE BECAME OUR BITTER ENEMY, OBVIOUSLY, THROUGH BEING MISINFORMED OR INFORMED BY OUR ENEMIES & tolerating their persecution & inquisition & deprogramming & all the rest. So I doubt if he's changed on that a bit. If anything, the Evangelicals who helped elect him will encourage him in it, to crush the sects & crush the cults & to persecute & deprogram. I'm sure he's thoroughly behind it.

74. HE'S FROM SAN DIEGO WHICH WAS FreeCOG's BASE. He's from that militaristic base, the home of the Navy & the Army & the Air Force & everything! San Diego, California is one of the most militaristic cities in the United States, & I'm sure he agreed with FreeCOG & what the parents were doing, & probably a lot of his friends. So I doubt if he's changed on that at all, he's still probably our bitter enemy.

75. EITHER IT MEANS THAT HIS PLANS TO TRY TO CRUSH US WERE FRUSTRATED & THE LORD CRUSHES HIM INSTEAD‚ or it means in the long run he'll still be crushed by his opposition to the Lord & His children, one way or the other. I mean it's continuative! Prophecy has immediate fulfillments & it has long range fulfillments.

76. THERE WERE IMMEDIATE FULFILLMENTS: his designs against us, or the designs of our enemies backed by him against us‚ were frustrated & their venomous poison didn't make the grade, it didn't crush the Truth‚ & we almost virtually swept'm under the rug or into the trash can & out! We got away & we're still thriving & still prospering more than ever, the Lord's blessing more than ever!

77. SO EVEN IF HE CONTINUES IN THOSE POLICIES, THE LORD'S STILL GOING TO CRUSH HIM. And of course the final crush will probably be the destruction of America, & possibly under his leadership. I don't see how they can hardly go another four years! Here we are in 1980, that'll be 1984—a very significant number made famous by the book—& in our chronology a very serious time which we have estimated may be near the rise of the Antichrist.

78. IT'S GOING TO TAKE THE THIRD WORLD WAR OR AT LEAST ITS AFTERMATH TO PUT THE ANTICHRIST IN POWER!—The crushing of the giants, or at least the crushing of the one giant & serious blows against the other; probably the destruction of America & the partial destruction of Russia, which is going to take a mastermind & a superman to solve the problems afterward, to pick up the pieces & rebuild & restore, & that's going to take, I believe, the Antichrist.

79. SO CARTER MISSED HIS CHANCE! He could have accepted the Iranian terms & at least tried to or promised to, & I think if he'd done it right then just as the election was dawning, the people would have voted for him to try to give him another chance. But they were just sick & fed up with him‚ & when he passed up that opportunity to do something for them, that was the last straw! But this guy is going to be tough & he may not accept the terms. He may rather get tough with them & go to war with them, even if the hostages get killed!

80. A WARLIKE PEOPLE EXPECT MARTYRS! They expect to die for causes, & they would expect those hostages to be willing to die for the honour of their country! And I would say a lot of them probably would almost prefer to die than to have been in prison all this time & so humiliated & see their country humiliated & see their idols destroyed. They would have almost preferred to have died for the cause & see Iran crushed‚ or this particular government of Khomeini & their persecutors. What do you think?

81. I THINK IF THEY'VE GOT ANY GUTS AT ALL, if they've got any courage, if they've got any honour or pride or whatever you want to call it‚ it looks like they would have been willing to die for their country! But people aren't willing to die for their country any more, because they're fed up with the country & its government & its rulers.

82. BUT THIS KIND OF A PRESIDENT IS THE OLD-FASHIONED HONOUR TYPE: "Come on & die for your country! Come on, you hostages, be willing to die for your country so we can restore in America its self-respect & its honour & overcome this humiliation & punish Iran for its wickedness against you!" I think he's that kind of a president. So, PTL!

83. WELL‚ I THINK THAT'S WHAT REAGAN'S ELECTION MEANS, & I think that's what Carter's defeat means & why he was defeated. He still had a chance there in those last two or three days when the Iranians finally issued their terms—even before the election‚ which they didn't want to do & said they wouldn't do, & many of them fought to the last ditch to try to keep from outlining their demands before the election because they were afraid that would help Carter get reelected.

84. WELL, THEY DID IT‚ BUT HE DIDN'T ACCEPT THEM! He literally did not accept the terms, which he could have, & he would have gotten at least something out of them! He could have at least offered to accept them or promised to accept them or do what he could, but he didn't. So I think that was the last straw amongst everything else that people were fed up with.

85. NOW, WHAT DOES REAGAN MEAN? WELL, JUST WHAT I'VE SAID‚ I THINK IT MEANS A TOUGH NEW PRESIDENCY. It looks like he's going to be what they call a warmonger or a militarist or at least a bold national hero that's gonna save the hostages, crush the Iranians, rearm‚ cut taxes & everything else that apparently the Americans voted for.

86. I THINK THE AMERICANS ARE PRETTY FED UP WITH SOME OF THESE WELFARE PROGRAMS & the horrible waste of government spending, & he's promised to cut that, which of course he has to cut in order to cut taxes, but it's pretty hard to cut taxes when you're going to raise armaments. And that ultimately, of course, could very well mean war, which it usually does.

87. WHEN A COUNTRY GOES IN FOR ALL-OUT ARMAMENT, REARMAMENT, IT'S NOT USUALLY WITHOUT A REASON. It's not because they don't intend to use'm, & when they've got'm, they usually finally use'm when they think they're strong enough. We know that the Lord has shown us clearly that the World is heading for war‚ & therefore the U.S. has got to get into it sooner or later, so he may be it.

88. REAGAN MAY BE THE WAR PRESIDENT, THE FIRST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT IN YEARS THAT'S GOTTEN US INTO A WAR! And it may not even be his fault, personally, except that he gets tough & rearms & gets ready for it. If they're going to have it anyhow, well‚ they figure they might as well be ready for it!

89. AND I THINK THE TOUGH ATTITUDE OF THE AMERICANS NOW IS SO FED UP, their attitude about the hostages is, "Well, if we can't rescue them, as least we can wreak vengeance on the Iranians & avenge their suffering! Even if they're killed, we can avenge'm & restore America's honour & self-respect!"

90. SO I THINK REAGAN WOULD BE SMART TO ACCEPT THOSE IRANIAN TERMS & PROMISE THEM EVERYTHING whether he gives them anything or not! We'll see if he's that smart. Otherwise‚ if he wants to just get tough to refuse to let America be humiliated by a compromise, or getting himself accused of being a compromiser & not tough enough by accepting partial terms & a partial release, well, that could get him in trouble too.

91. HE MAY BE SO TOUGH HE DOESN'T WANT TO ACCEPT THE TERMS & REFUSES: ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL! Well, Jimmy tried that & it didn't work. But I think Reagan is the type that'll do something about it. I think he might decide to mine the harbours or he might decide to make a direct attack or help the Iraqis or who knows what! But if he's smart, I think he really ought to do what Carter should have done: The 3-Day Ultimatum! Maybe dear Reagan will do it instead.

92. THAT WOULD BE HIS TYPE, HIS KIND, TO GIVE THEM A TOUGH ULTIMATUM & SAY, "EITHER RELEASE THEM IN 3 DAYS OR ELSE!"—And I think he would do it! He wouldn't just pussyfoot around & back out at the last minute like Carter did. Carter asked for the terms, then when he got'm he backed out & refused to make a decision. He said‚ "This is going to take time." I think they really thought that if they stalled it off the American people would keep Carter in order to finish the deal. Well, he guessed wrong, & that in fact sealed his doom!

93. SO REAGAN IS PROBABLY GOING TO BRING TEMPORARY PROSPERITY THROUGH REARMAMENT & PREPARATION FOR THE WAR LIKE FDR DID. In fact, FDR is one of his idols‚ one of his heroes, & they were really making fun of him for quoting FDR—he used to be a Democrat, you know, in those days—& for singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" which was the theme song of the FDR presidency, at his election. In fact, some of the cartoons even pictured him as FDR smoking FDR's long cigarette holder & acting like Franklin Roosevelt!—Both Aquarians!—Ha!

94. WELL, HE MAY SMARTLY FOLLOW THOSE VERY POLICIES!—Create jobs through government projects & spending & rearmament, & then get us into the next big war, just like FDR did. So they've probably got temporary prosperity coming as they rearm‚ & the next war.

95. AND WHAT HE DOES ABOUT THE HOSTAGES MAY BE TOUGHER THAN WHAT JIMMY CARTER DID. I don't know if he's smart enough, or he might be afraid to make a compromise deal that isn't "all or nothing at all," for fear it would reflect on him as being soft when they elected him to be tough.

96. I THINK THE AVERAGE AMERICAN PEOPLE REALLY COULDN'T CARE LESS FOR THE HOSTAGES, THEY CARE MORE FOR THEMSELVES & THEIR OWN PROSPERITY‚ their own self-respect & the honour of their country & its strength. I think they would have preferred to have had Jimmy Carter make an attack on Tehran & the embassy & do something, & then of course he even muffed that! It just seemed like he couldn't do anything without muffin' it!

97. BUT I BELIEVE REAGAN'S PRESIDENCY MEANS PROSPERITY, or at least a slowing down of the recession as they spend billions on war, & then of course it will mean war. Because whether he was president or Carter or anybody‚ I think we would have gotten the war anyway. Which means things are going just like the Lord promised & predicted & has shown us all along, regardless of who's president. Only the Lord can solve the situation.

98. REAGAN, BY THE WAY, WAS THE ONLY ONE OF THE CANDIDATES who right at the convention said, "I'm going to do something that I'm almost afraid to do: Let's bow our heads in a moment of prayer!" I thought that was pretty courageous! Jimmy Carter hasn't done that, I don't think he's ever done that! He's hardly ever mentioned God! He's supposed to be a born-again Christian‚ & yet he never even mentions God, much less Jesus!—He never called for prayer! He sure needed to!

99. IF CARTER HAD JUST ASKED GOD WHAT TO DO instead of every Tom, Dick & Harry & Amy & Rosalyn, maybe he'd have made it. But he just couldn't make up his own mind & asked everybody else to do it for him except God!

100. LET'S HOPE REAGAN CONTINUES TO PRAY & ask God what to do!—And let's pray he'll do the right things God wants him to do, even if it's to bring America to its doom!

101. EVEN SO, COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS!—For the quicker the End the quicker He comes!—Amen? God help us to finish our jobs of witnessing & warning the World & winning as many souls as we can before He comes‚ because He's waiting for us! Are you doing your best to win souls & hasten His coming?—If not, start TODAY—& help others who are!—Tomorrow may be too late!