In March 1976, Time magazine profiled a Democratic governor from Georgia who was making a long-shot bid for the presidency. A former peanut farmer, he was viewed as an oddity in progressive circles. He talked about his relationship with Jesus and promised not to tell a lie when (not if) he was elected president. Even more shocking, he promised to slash bureaucracy if elected, pledging to reduce the number of federal bureaus to 200 from 1,900. 

“If you don’t want to see the government completely reorganized,” he told one audience, “don’t vote for me.”