Quote:
Originally Posted by MS Fowler
Seriously,
This situation is bone-chillingly similar to events during the Carter administration. Rioters took US embassy personnel hostage and held them. and held them. That event may have had some impact on the election of Reagan. The hostages were released as he was being sworn in.
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I'm sure it did have a significant impact on the election. Carter was seen as weak and bumbling, and the rescue attempt (sandstorm, helicopters breaking down) months before the election was still fresh enough in voters' minds. I'm not sure Carter would have been reelected even if the hostages had been released or successfully rescued, but this was probably one of the final nails in Carter's coffin, politically.