Hercules Taffs' presidency was marked by:
• Two new cabinet departments: The Department of Education and Department of Energy.
• Education reform: Aside from the creation of a government department, trade schools became publicly funded, with teachers' wages being increased and pell grants expanded.
• Energy independence: Offshore drilling was expanded by Taffs' administration, with a federal subsidy program for renewable energy, and windfall profits tax being implemented.
• Efforts to reform healthcare: Taffs unsuccessfully tried to create a federal healthcare system in the United States; conservative Democrats prevented it from going into effect.
• Criminal justice reform: Strict constructionists were appointed to the courts by Taffs, with the criminal code being overhauled to emphasize rehabilitation; funding for local police was doubled.
• A hawkish foreign policy: The Taffs Administration supported rebel groups such as UNITA in Angola, RENAMO in Mozambique and the Afghan Mujahideen; while maintaining strong relations with anti-communist governments like Zaire, Iran and Chile; sanctions were imposed on Cambodia, Albania and Equatorial Guinea.
• Employment reform: Taffs unsuccessfully pushed for a federal Job Guarantee, and signed the Humphrey-Hawkins Act into law.
• Social Security reform: Taffs reduced the cap on taxable income, and slightly raised benefits.
• Crackdown on corruption: Several people involved in Watergate were given long jail sentences.
The Iranian Revolution led to an oil shock and hostage crisis in Iran; Taffs' failure to rescue the hostages damaged his popularity, as did a primary challenge by Senator (and follow Southerner) Lloyd Bentsen.
Ronald Reagan campaigned as a fiscal and social conservative, calling for economic policies dubbed "Reaganomics", consisting of tax cuts and deregulation across the board. He ran an optimistic campaign.
Hercules Taffs, on the other hand, emphasized the successes of his first term, while promising higher spending and more federal programs to get people back to work, making employment guaranteed, universal healthcare, strong action on the Soviet Union, ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, and tuition-free trade schools.
US Representative John Anderson campaigned as a moderate Republican, supporting a gas tax and the Equal Rights Amendment.
President Taffs' campaign was damaged by his refusal to debate John Anderson; the President called his campaign "wholly irrelevant", adding to the issue, but Taffs' good campaiging and relative popularity kept the race fairly close.
