"No question about it. This is the most important election in our history.”
Rush Limbaugh, on the election of 2000

“I think it’s the most important choice we’ve faced in history on the direction our country should take and the kind of future we’re trying to build together.”
—Ronald Reagan, on the election of 1984

“I am working hard in this campaign because I think it is the most important election in many, many years. The future of our country is wrapped up in the decision.”
—Jimmy Carter, on the election of 1980

"It was the most important election in U.S. history ... Victory was vital in 1972.”
—The Realist, on the election of 1972

“I believe that when we are trying to determine who should lead the free world—not just America—this is perhaps, as Senator Kennedy has already indicated, the most important election in our history.”
—Richard Nixon, on the election of 1960

"I am campaigning for the Democratic ticket because this is the most important election ... since the Civil War.”
—Harry S. Truman, on the election of 1952

"This may be the most important election in our nation’s history.”
—Stephen Douglas, Illinois senator, on the election of 1856

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Table of Contents: August 30, 2004 issue of New York | Subscribe!