1980: Jimmy Carter got the best of Ford in 1976, but things were different in 1980, when the incumbent went up against former California governor and former movie actor Ronald Reagan. What you might remember: Reagan summing up the debate this way: Next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls, will stand there in the polling place and make a decision. I think when you make that decision, it might be well if you would ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? What you might have forgotten: A month before Carter and Reagan met, Reagan debated independent candidate John Anderson, a former congressman from Illinois.