Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for September 21, 1976
September 20, 1976
September 22, 1976
Transcript:
Voice: Sir, the Walnut Street debate will last 90 minutes. Each of you will first make a statement, and then field questions. You will be permitted to rebut. On your opening statement, just try to be yourself, and play it as Presidential as possible. When Carter's up, be sure to make hard eye contact. Ford: And in my rebuttals? Voice: Take charge. Flaunt your superior command of facts. Use classified information if you have to. Ford: I can do that? Voice: Uh-huh. And don't be afraid to make fun of his accent.
I remember one Barney Miller episode that aired while Carter was president. An FBI agent from Dixie was visiting the squad room when one of the detectives said the agent had an accent. The agent responded, “With Carter as president, I don’t have an accent now; you do!”