Jimmy Carter had zero shot at beating Reagan, with or without the oil shocks. Carter and Ford were both extraordinarily weak candidates. Ford was a Bob Dole ti

Jimmy Carter had zero shot at beating Reagan, with or without the oil shocks. Carter and Ford were both extraordinarily weak candidates. Ford was a Bob Dole tier candidate (ie incapable of winning the Presidency in an election), with the Republicans still mired in the consequences of Nixon, and Carter still struggled to beat him in 1976. Reagan's carry of California was a near certainty, and it guaranteed the end of Carter with or without the energy problems. Carter was a weak southern Democrat that couldn't pull Texas and couldn't pull New York - there was nowhere for him to win from, there was no angle of victory.