Chapter One
"It was doubtful many people would have heard of Mr [Yuri] Orlov beforehand. However, being the founder of an Amnesty [Int.] group in Moscow, his death (while 'unsolved' at the time) forced the attention of his colleagues in Paris, who in turn forced the attention of Washington..."
-Gabriel Kolko (1997)
"So it was Orlov's death which stopped you from going to the Conference at Helsinki?"
"Well, it certainly caused a-well, 'storm' in the press-of course, it wasn't his [Gerald Ford] domestic concerns, but we could not go to a talk, on this size, with [Leonid] Brezhnev when a member of one of the world's most prominent human rights group was killed-"
"By the security services?"
"Them, or some member of the Militia. Frankly, I just thought about moving it down, but there were too many additional concerns as a result. So, we skipped it-the French, the British skipped it."
-Henry Kissinger (1983)
"I have thought about this a lot-with my wife, Nancy, with my children-and on my own, as well, and I have decided to lay to rest any speculation about me running for President next year."
-Ronald Reagan (1975)
"Without Reagan, or someone like [John] Tower, a Conservative challenge against Ford was put aside-well, there was Illinois Congressman Phil Crane, but he was never taken seriously, and quit after North Carolina to pay off more than $500,000 in [campaign] debt."
-Charles C W Cooke (2017)
"The Republican [National] Convention proved to be, for the most part, uneventful. Despite some attempts by delegates from California to draft Governor Reagan for Ford's running mate, Vice President [Nelson] Rockefeller won that nomination overwhelmingly."
"The highlight of the Convention, other than the President's speech accept the nomination, was the address given by Jim Buckley-Senator, brother of commentator Will Buckley-where he promised to pay $10,000 to anyone who could bring him a 'Democrat who knows how to spend his own money.'"
-Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather (1976)
"We thought we'd win with 50 states-or at least, every state outside of the Plains-but then there was the whole 'adultery' crap. We won, but it was close, we really thought at one point we were going to lose. Ford carried Wisconsin, but we were only a few hundred votes behind in that state."
-Hamilton Jordan (1987)
"The Republicans are coming back from `76, so there are a lot of people entering the race-John Connally, Governor, Kennedy assassination survivor, Treasury Secretary. Bob Dole, war hero, respected Congressman and Senator. George Bush, Congressman, China Envoy, UN Ambassador, CIA Director.
"But, while a lot of people won't admit this, there's a clear front-runner in this race. He's been building up for it these last nine years, and pretty soon people are going to pretty much agree-he's going to win..."
-Pat Buchanan (1979)
-Gabriel Kolko (1997)
"So it was Orlov's death which stopped you from going to the Conference at Helsinki?"
"Well, it certainly caused a-well, 'storm' in the press-of course, it wasn't his [Gerald Ford] domestic concerns, but we could not go to a talk, on this size, with [Leonid] Brezhnev when a member of one of the world's most prominent human rights group was killed-"
"By the security services?"
"Them, or some member of the Militia. Frankly, I just thought about moving it down, but there were too many additional concerns as a result. So, we skipped it-the French, the British skipped it."
-Henry Kissinger (1983)
"I have thought about this a lot-with my wife, Nancy, with my children-and on my own, as well, and I have decided to lay to rest any speculation about me running for President next year."
-Ronald Reagan (1975)
"Without Reagan, or someone like [John] Tower, a Conservative challenge against Ford was put aside-well, there was Illinois Congressman Phil Crane, but he was never taken seriously, and quit after North Carolina to pay off more than $500,000 in [campaign] debt."
-Charles C W Cooke (2017)
"The Republican [National] Convention proved to be, for the most part, uneventful. Despite some attempts by delegates from California to draft Governor Reagan for Ford's running mate, Vice President [Nelson] Rockefeller won that nomination overwhelmingly."
"The highlight of the Convention, other than the President's speech accept the nomination, was the address given by Jim Buckley-Senator, brother of commentator Will Buckley-where he promised to pay $10,000 to anyone who could bring him a 'Democrat who knows how to spend his own money.'"
-Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather (1976)
"We thought we'd win with 50 states-or at least, every state outside of the Plains-but then there was the whole 'adultery' crap. We won, but it was close, we really thought at one point we were going to lose. Ford carried Wisconsin, but we were only a few hundred votes behind in that state."
-Hamilton Jordan (1987)
"The Republicans are coming back from `76, so there are a lot of people entering the race-John Connally, Governor, Kennedy assassination survivor, Treasury Secretary. Bob Dole, war hero, respected Congressman and Senator. George Bush, Congressman, China Envoy, UN Ambassador, CIA Director.
"But, while a lot of people won't admit this, there's a clear front-runner in this race. He's been building up for it these last nine years, and pretty soon people are going to pretty much agree-he's going to win..."
-Pat Buchanan (1979)
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