Could Gary Hart have at least made the '84 summer/fall race competitive?

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Competitive as to actually threathen Reagan?

No. Me might not even outperform Mondale. Hart was a bit of empty suit. If Reagan was able to humiliate Mondale as a political dinosaur, he would have easily destroy Hart as a shallow amateur.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

If Mondale ( a rather average pol) could take apart Hart with three words (Where's the Beef) it doesn't say much for Harts skill

This. Also, Hart this year thought Martin O'Malley was his ideological soulmate and would succeed where he failed. That tells you a lot about his political acumen.

I can't even process this information.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Competitive as to actually threathen Reagan?

No. Me might not even outperform Mondale. Hart was a bit of empty suit. If Reagan was able to humiliate Mondale as a political dinosaur, he would have easily destroy Hart as a shallow amateur.

The irony is that Mondale was both an out of date New Dealer, whilst also being 'youthful and inexperienced' in the words of Gipper.

If Mondale ( a rather average pol) could take apart Hart with three words (Where's the Beef) it doesn't say much for Harts skill

The "youthful and inexperienced" line was a joke, given that Mondale was clearly neither.

But it did work, didn't it?

If Mondale was able to own Hart with "where's the beef?", imagine what would Reagan do.