The AP’s David Bauder writes about what viewers can expect tomorrow night by looking at elections’ past. Before the magic wall there was…

…in 1976, when NBC built a giant map of the country as a backdrop in their studio. The states were lit in white, and were turned red if Democrat Jimmy Carter won, blue if they backed Republican Gerald Ford. After some early glitches – the plastic Georgia almost melted from a hot light in rehearsal – the map became an instant hit.

Four years later, all three broadcasters had big maps. The colors eventually became uniform to what they are now: blue for Democrats, red for Republicans.

This morning on MSNBC, during an appearance on Morning Joe, CNBC’s Jim Cramer got his deceased presidents confused. Seriously.

Joe Scarborough and Cramer were talking about what $100,000 means today and what it meant when Jimmy Carter was president.

Cramer: Carter being… you know, again I always have to say the same thing because I am a sweet guy. May he rest in peace. It’s just not fair….

Scarborough: He’s still alive. Jimmy Carter? He’s still alive.

Cramer: Okay scratch that.

Scarborough: Gerald Ford‘s gone, Jimmy Carter is still with us.

Cramer: I get confused for heaven’s sake. It was a bad era, I like to put it past…

Mika Brzezinski seemed aghast at the comment: “um, what are you…what…?” While David Shuster and Harold Ford Jr. simply looked stunned.

Meanwhile, over on CNBC this week and next, they are going back in time, just one year, marking Cramer’s Rant Heard ‘Round The World, and the beginning of the credit crisis.

The press release is after the jump…

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