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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, NOVEMBER 9, 1984
There is already considerable speculation as to who the next candidates
might be. One journalist thought that Governor Mario Cuomo of New York (un
like Mondale, an excellent public speaker--style, not substance, that is}
would be a good Democratic choice, pitted against California Governor
George Deukmejian. Incredibly, some journalists are already calling Mr.
Reagan a "lame duck president."
The election proceedings brought forth one interesting phenomenon--the at
tractiveness of Mr. Reagan to young voters, even the college crowd. Be
lieve it or not, there is now a Young Republicans chapter at the University
of California, Berkeley, site of so much radicalism in the 1960s. Some
young people are even dropping out of college to go into business, becoming
their own entrepreneurs. Why waste time in college, when the business cli
mate is so good? NBC news one night profiled the meteoric rise of one 24-
year-old college dropout who is now a supermillionaire.
The other day a cartoon showed a driver of a Mercedes plastered with "Rea
gan-Bush" and "America: Love It or Leave It" slogans, conversing with a mo
torist next to him, who was driving a battered VW bus, sporting "Mondale"
and "No Nukes" stickers.
The first driver said: "I swear I' 11 never understand your generation.
You• re more worried about peace, justice and equality than you are with
making a buck."
"Lay off me, will ya," came the reply, to which the first driver responded:
"Okay, see ya later, Dad."
During the campaign, Mr. Reagan took many unjustified jabs for his alleged
tilt toward the rich. One of the best lines was his supposed definition of
the "truly needy"--anybody who has to wash his own Mercedes. On the other
side, Mr. Mondale was often criticized for his dullness. (The day after his
defeat, Mr. Mondale confessed: "I've never really warmed up to
televi
sion.") On his lack of charisma, the September 21 NATIONAL REVIEW remarked
that "the wags say he can't even get automatic doors to open when he walks
up to them." Even his running mate, Geraldine Ferraro, when asked what
should be done in the next election, candidly replied that it would prob
ably be necessary to project a better television image. Speaking of run
ning mates, Republican Senator Paul Laxalt reportedly remarked that Mondale
had picked a better running mate than Jimmy Carter had in 1976.
One can't help wondering how long the supposed conservative and patriotic
"tide" will last. Very likely not beyond the next recession or the next
real war.
One final thought to consider. The large voter · registration
drive among blacks in the southern states failed to amount to much on Novem
ber 6. Many new registrants, turned off because Jesse Jackson was not on
the ticket, simply did not vote. On the other hand, nervous whites turned
out heavily (89% of white Alabamans voted for Reagan). The result is an
even greater racial cleavage.
The ones who really turned out the voters were the Moral Majority religious
fundamentalists. The movement's leader, Jerry Falwell, even proclaimed a
fast prior to the election so that candidates supporting nchristian
n
views
would win. He set his fast from sundown Sunday November 4 to sundown Novem
ber 5--a "true biblical fast" he explained, although he said those fasting
could partake of liquids. One can't help reflect on Isaiah 58 in this re
gard. "Is it a fast that I have chosen?" God asks (verse 5).
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau