intent. In the final week of campaigning, Carter prepared for the October 28 debate with great detail while Reagan's campaign managers obtained Carter's briefings beforehand. In the debate, Carter correctly chided Reagan for being against national health insurance. Reagan replied, "There you go again", though the audience laughed and viewers found him more appealing. Reagan later asked the audience if they were better off than they were four years ago, slightly paraphrasing Roosevelt's words in 1934. On November 4, he won a decisive victory in the Electoral College over Carter, carrying 44 states and receiving 489 electoral votes to Carter's 49 in six states and the District of Columbia. He won the popular vote by a narrower margin, receiving nearly 51 percent to Carter's 41 percent and Anderson's 7 percent. Republicans also won a majority of seats in the Senate for the first time since 1952. Reagan's win was fueled by evangelical support, including those who were disappointed with Carter's support for abortion. Presidency (1981–1989) First inauguration The 40th president of the United States, Reagan was of age when he was sworn into office for his first term on January 20, 1981, making him the oldest first-term president, a distinction he held until 2017 when Donald Trump was inaugurated at the age of . In his inaugural address, he addressed the country's economic malaise, arguing, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." In a final insult to President Carter, Iran waited until Reagan had been sworn in before sending the hostages home. Assassination attempt On March 30, 1981, Reagan, James Brady, Thomas Delahanty, and Tim McCarthy were struck by gunfire from John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton. Although "right on the margin of death" upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, Reagan underwent surgery and recovered quickly. The attempt had a significant influence on his popularity as his approval ratings rapidly rose. Later, Reagan came to believe that God had spared his life so that he might go on to defeat "communism in the Soviet bloc". Supreme Court appointments Reagan appointed three associate justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: Sandra Day O'Connor in July 1981, Antonin Scalia in 1986, and Anthony Kennedy in 1988. He also appointed William Rehnquist as the chief justice in 1986. The direction of the Supreme Court's reshaping has been described as conservative.