What must it have been like to be a Democrat after the 1984 election?

[deutsey]

16. The Democrats still had control of the House, I think

I recall they did relatively well in mid-term elections so that kept them viable.

That's just my memory, though. I don't have time to confirm this.

It was no surprise to anyone that Reagan won in '84, despite his bumbling performance during the debate with Mondale, or the disaster in Lebanon (241 Americans killed? yawn...but we sure kicked Grenada's ass!), etc.

They were masters of propaganda and knew how to promote their brand in a way that a lot of people just gobbled up. They swooned over the "pageantry" Reagan supposedly brought back to the White House (ooooh! look at all those flags!) and swallowed the grandfatherly cowboy schtick hook, line, and sinker.

It wasn't until his administration was caught secretly selling weapons to Iran and illegally diverting money from the sales to the Contras that cracks began to appear in the Reagan facade, but he still managed to survive, living up to his reputation as the Teflon President thanks to a tamed news media and a docile political opposition.