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I loved politics as a kid, so I actually remember the wild Democratic race in 1976. 17 candidates facing a vulnerable incumbent at a time of profound anxiety and instability. (Sound familar?) This 2015 @julianzelizer piece is an outstanding summary: politico.com/magazine/story…
@julianzelizer “When asked why he was running, [PA Governor Milton] Shapp said: ‘I saw the caliber of these people and I said, ‘What the hell.’”
@julianzelizer “Despite [Carter’s] gubernatorial experience, he was little known nationally, prompting the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to joke, ‘Jimmy Who is Running for What?’”
@julianzelizer “A bigger problem for Carter was the late entrant California Gov. Edmund ‘Jerry’ Brown. The 37-year-old Brown offered a hipper, more Zen-like version of Carter.” (Brown’s father Pat, of course, was CA governor 1959-67, but Jerry himself had been governor for less than 2 years.)
@julianzelizer Prescient analysis by @julianzelizer. He was applying the lessons of 1976 to Republicans in 2015, but they would seem to be even more relevant to Democrats today. Grateful for the reminder of how quickly (and how much) we forget. 
