Chapter I: No Substitute for Victory
Nazi Space Spy
Banned
Experimenting with a new format, hope you enjoy! The story is told through the perspective of the historical figures in a narrative form. Details are initially vague but will be filled out more as the timeline progressives. All pics are 450x450 in size.
The Mississippi delegation’s decision to throw their support behind Ronald Reagan sealed the deal for the former California Governor, who clinched the Republican presidential nomination over incumbent President Gerald Ford by the narrowest of margins. The final vote of 1,134 (50.22%) to 1,124 (49.78%) was the keystone moment that ended, once and for all, a divisive primary cycle that tore a beleaguered Republican Party apart. As the President watched in stunned silence, his thoughts were drowned out by the raw noise that consumed the convention hall; air horns tooted and delegates roared in approval or disapproval of the result, a stampede of sound that vibrated throughout the arena. He watched as Governor Reagan made his way from the stands to the convention’s stage, his beloved Nancy beside him as he strolled with stride towards the podium. A brass band struck up an upbeat Dixieland tune as the Reagans took in the moment, waving to the crowd of delegates, activists, and journalists as Americans across the country watched the stunning upset transpire before their eyes on television.
The Governor motioned upwards at the presidential balcony, motioning for President Ford and Vice President Rockefeller to join the candidate onstage for a moment of reconciliation. Though Ford had little appetite to participate in the former actor’s theatrics, he knew he had to do so in the name of party unity. After an exchange of handshakes and pleasantries before the cameras, Vice President Rockefeller, Second Lady Happy Rockefeller, President Ford, First Lady Betty Ford, and Senator Dole all stepped back as a pensive silence fell over the convention hall for the first time since the conclusion of the first and only ballot. The newly crowned Republican nominee cleared his throat and began an address that would electrify the Republican Party, dazzle the media, and reset the race:
Mr. President, Mrs. Ford, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Vice President-to-be, the distinguished guests here, you ladies and gentlemen. I was going to say fellow Republicans here but those who are watching from a distance include all those millions of Democrats and independents who I know are looking for a cause around which to rally and which I believe we can give them.
Mr. President, the kindness and generosity you have shown Nancy and I on the campaign trail and the determined leadership you have shown in the White House as President have inspired us and the nation, and we owe an incalculable debt to you as a nation because of your selfless actions and honorable conduct in office. History will judge Gerald Ford as the President who restored America’s sense of purpose in a time when cynicism threatened to our belief in our national destiny.
We as Republicans offer something that the people of this country are crying out for: they are crying out for leadership. Leadership that will restore our economy. Leadership that will restore the soundness of our currency. Leadership that will restore honor and integrity to government. Leadership that will say to all nations of the world that “yes, we want peace, but we will maintain the strength required that we have peace.” Leadership that will stand up for liberty and freedom around the globe. Leadership that will stand toe to toe with the red menace that enslaves people across Eurasia. But most importantly, we offer leadership to restore hope in America.
If I could just take a moment, I had an assignment the other day. Someone asked me to write a letter for a time capsule that is going to be opened in Los Angeles a hundred years from now, on our nation’s Tricentennial. It sounded like an easy assignment. They suggested I write about the problems and issues of the day. And I set out to do so, riding down the coast in an automobile, looking at the blue Pacific out on one side and the Santa Ynez Mountains on the other, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was going to be that beautiful a hundred years from now as it was on that summer day.
And then as I tried to write-let your own minds turn to that task. You’re going to write for people a hundred years from now who know all about us, we know nothing about them. We don’t know what kind of world they’ll be living in. And suddenly I thought to myself, “If I write of the problems, they’ll be the domestic problems of which the campaign has largely been centered around; the challenges confronting us, the erosion of freedom taken place under Democratic rule in this country, the invasion of private rights, the controls and restrictions on the vitality of the great free economy that we enjoy.”
These are the challenges that we must meet, and then again there is that challenge of the world we live in. We live in a world in which the great powers have aimed and poised at each other horrible missiles of destruction, nuclear weapons that can in a matter of minutes arrive at each other’s country and destroy virtually the entire civilized world we live in. We have a duty-for our children and our grandchildren and our grandchildren’s grandchildren-to stop these missiles from ever being launched. One hundred years from now, somewhere in the United States, perhaps even this convention center in this city, our party will be scheduled to convene again to select a presidential nominee. And they shall know whether those missiles were fired.
Whether they will have the freedom that we have known up until now will depend on what we do here. Will they look back with appreciation and say, “Thank God for those people in 1976 who headed off that loss of freedom? Who kept us now a hundred years later free? Who kept our world from nuclear destruction? And if we fail they probably won’t get to read or hear of this speech at all because it spoke of individual freedom and they won’t be allowed to talk of that or read of it.
This is our challenge and this is why we’re here in this hall tonight. Better than we’ve ever done before, we’ve got to quit talking to each other and about each other and past each other go out and start communicating to the world that we may be fewer in numbers than we’ve ever been but we carry the message they’re waiting for. We must go forth from here united, determined and what a great general said a few years ago is true: “There is no substitute for victory.”
Thank you my friends, thank you! God Bless you, God bless President Ford, and God bless America!”
Governor Reagan addresses voters at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, MS.
The Reagan/Schweiker ticket had left the Republican Convention at a disadvantage; half the party was skeptical of the Governor as their presidential nominee, while the other half was skeptical of Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as their vice presidential nominee. The “unity ticket” of the conservative Reagan and liberal Schweiker did little to alleviate the divide within the party, with tensions running high even in the aftermath of the convention. With a tall order ahead of them, the Reagan campaign faced the daunting challenge of having to both unite the party as well as having to take on Governor Carter and Senator Mondale. Worse yet was the looming shadow of Watergate, which hovered over the campaign like a dark cloud. Though the former California Governor was far removed from the controversy, he had aligned himself loyally behind the President, and that allegiance had come back to haunt him as Americans sought to move beyond the Nixon years. Polling showed that Carter held a 33 point lead over Governor Reagan, a massive advantage that seemingly could not be overtaken.
It was clear at this juncture of the campaign that the Reagan team would need to reorient their strategy and reset the race. Inside Reagan’s campaign, there was a growing lack of confidence in campaign manager John Sears. Reagan, a man famous for his telegenic exterior and cold, introverted interior, relied primarily on his network of aides and allies from California. These included Mike Deaver, Lynn Nofzinger, and Charlez Z. Wick, all of whom argued that Reagan should dump Sears as campaign manager and replace him with William Casey. The recently retired head of the Export-Import Bank, Casey was a committed anti-communist who steered donors towards the Reagan campaign throughout his candidacy. But the nominee was skeptical of his core staff’s desire for a shakeup, warning them that it was not wise to “change horses in midstream.“ Thus “the Californians,” as they had become known at Reagan’s campaign headquarters enlisted the help of the one person whom the Governor could not refuse: his wife.
As this staff plot to oust John Sears commenced in a series of late night hotel room meetings and quiet conversations on airplane flights, the Governor was immersed in the grueling rigors of political life. Each day was a whirlwind of speeches, meet and greets, fundraisers, photo-ops, interviews, and handshakes. In order to put Governor Carter on the defensive, Reagan immediately travelled to the deep south after winning the Republican nomination in order to undercut his rival’s solid support in the region. Reagan ran well to the right of Carter, but his rhetoric would get him into trouble. The first instance of this would take place in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
“Governor Reagan” said Haley Barbour as he grasped the nominee’s hand when he emerged from his car, “it’s good to have you down here in these parts.” Reagan was not a particularly cynical man, but he could see through Barbour’s phony smile; after all, as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, Barbour had tried and failed to martial the state’s delegation for President Ford. But Reagan understood politics well after eight years as Governor of California, and had a background in acting that made it almost naturally easy for him to smile and shake Barbour's hand. "I'm glad to be here" answered Reagan, who glanced nervously around looking for Nancy as a small crowd of onlookers and local political power players surrounded him. She appeared behind him, busily engaged in conversation with a group of local Republican women active in the county's chapter of the GOP. Relieved, he felt more at ease as he prepared himself for the first major speech of his campaign. Though the audience was relatively small in person, the Governor knew that the entire south would be listening as he laid out his vision for America's future under continued Republican leadership. There was immense pressure on the Republican nominee, but he felt at ease. The Presidency was to be the role of a lifetime, and the Governor was eager to play the part.
Barbour walked with Governor Reagan behind a stage, hidden from the audience that was awaiting his arrival by a large plywood wall. Like a stage actor ready to emerge from behind the curtain, Reagan watched as a small smattering of local dignitaries took their seats on the dais behind the podium. After a brief introductory speech by Congressman Trent Lott, the Governor was introduced. He had never been to Philadelphia, Mississippi, in fact had never heard of it. But in this small corner of the rural deep south, Reagan was about to deliver a speech would electrify some and angered others. 15,000 potential voters awaited him, greeting him with immense applause. It wasn't an infrequent occurrence for an American presidential candidate to find himself at the Neshoba County Fair, but it wasn't often that one with Reagan's charisma and celebrity appeared in town.
"I still believe the answer to any problem lies with the people. I believe in states' rights" affirmed Reagan, who continued by expressing his belief that the "people doing as much as they can for themselves at the community level and at the private level" was superior to federal intervention. "I believe we've distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended in the Constitution to that federal establishment" Reagan concluded, believing the speech to have successfully outlined his libertarian leaning brand of conservatism. The use of the phrase "states rights" was sure to drag along some controversy - Reagan knew this from the moment he finished reading the initial draft for the speech. He had faced backlash before and had been criticized by the usual suspects for employing racially charged language when he had used the phrase "welfare queens" earlier in the year in a speech in Asheville, North Carolina, but had weathered the storm.
He did not expect or anticipate the torrent of backlash that followed his speech as he departed the fairgrounds later that night; while his address was successful in wooing rural white voters in Mississippi, it had a more negative reception. He would learn this the next morning as he and Nancy rode through the streets of Jackson, Mississippi in an anonymous black car, being chauffeured to the airport where a flight awaited to take him to the next round of campaign stops in neighboring Alabama. "They're calling me a racist?" said the former Governor, genuinely perplexed by the allegations. There were many things to be said about Ronald Reagan, but he was not - in his estimation at least, a racist. "They think you're the new George Wallace!" answered Nancy, vocalizing her indignant discuss at the press's coverage of her husband.
"Go figure" Reagan sighed, "it was Mississippi that won me the nomination, it isn't going to be Mississippi that 'loses me damn the election."
"It's still too far early on for this controversy to stick" replied Nancy, "if you want to call this a controversy at all."
"They think I'm the new George Wallace" muttered the nominee, "Jesus, give me a break.....have they forgotten the old George Wallace? He's still alive -"
"Half alive, at least" cracked Nancy. Reagan laughed, but continued:
"How are we going to get anywhere with the voters if the media is going to distort such a simple message?"
"Well, Ronnie" said Nancy soothingly, "think of this way - you put the ball in Jimmy's court now. He has to come out today and either distance himself from the issue, which isn't going to go well back home for him, or he'll have to agree with you. And you know the press is in his corner. They've always been. He'll either throw water on this fire or burst into flames himself."
The Governor truly admired his wife's political acumen, which she had displayed many times throughout the campaign. While his Californian aides often found themselves in over their heads, and while his Washington insiders like John Sears often advised him against his intuition, Nancy was so seemingly unfailingly correct in her analysis of most every issue. The Reagans were truly reliant on one another in a way that made them a political power couple, even if only one of the duo was actually in public life.
It was John Sears who became the focus of their conversation.
"We barely made it through Kansas City" sighed Nancy, "I think we need someone who sees the bigger picture at the top."
"Are you suggesting we fire John?" asked Reagan, who sensed where the conversation was heading.
"Well, we can't fire you" laughed Nancy, who then got serious as her tone shifted. "A lot of people are, Ronnie" answered Nancy, "not just Mike. Not just Lynn. Not just Ed. A lot of people think he needs to go."
"So are you one of them, Nancy?"
"Well.....I'm not content with the direction of the campaign at the moment. I think we can't keep alternating between defense and offense like this. It's a rocky start."
"I'm pretty optimistic" answered Reagan, but Nancy cut him off.
"You're too optimistic Ronnie, that's the issue here. Once in a while you're going to have to give some people some bad news, and once in a while you're going to have to receive bad news."
"We won the nomination under him - "
"We barely won the nomination" interjected Nancy, "and we're barely going to win this election if we put our full trust in him."
"Bill Casey is a Nixon guy" noted Reagan, "a Nixon appointee. Is that the image we want to have? The California connection between us is bad enough."
"And John worked for John Mitchell. You were a staunch Nixon defender. So was I. So was the President. So was everybody in this party. Nobody will care, Ronnie. Just trust me."
BRIAN LAMB: So how did you get involved with the Reagan campaign? You were a Nixon man, after all -
PAT BUCHANAN: So were you, Brian! (laughs)
BRIAN LAMB: We're we all? (chuckles)
PAT BUCHANAN: Look, the party was at a low point. The Californians took over after the convention, and the Washington crew was canned. Sears was gone, Casey was in. When Casey came on board, there were a lot of new, exotic hires. One of them was Richard Viguerie, who had pioneered the use of direct mail, and had worked for George Wallace and was trying to revive the American Independence Party. Another was me. But not everyone was happy. Dick Schweiker raised all sorts of hell over Richard's hiring. He didn't have so much of a beef with me as he did with Richard, whom he felt was entirely too far to the right.
BRIAN LAMB: There has been much talk in the 42 years since the 1976 election about how the Reagan campaign managed to use the Nixon playbook while trying to distance the GOP from Nixon. Do you see any parallels between the two? Can you elaborate and maybe contrast your experiences on the Nixon campaign in 1968 compared to the Reagan campaign in 1976?
Up next: the Carter campaign's perspective.
Chapter I: Reagan.
Governor Reagan & President Ford onstage after the first ballot.
Governor Reagan & President Ford onstage after the first ballot.
The Mississippi delegation’s decision to throw their support behind Ronald Reagan sealed the deal for the former California Governor, who clinched the Republican presidential nomination over incumbent President Gerald Ford by the narrowest of margins. The final vote of 1,134 (50.22%) to 1,124 (49.78%) was the keystone moment that ended, once and for all, a divisive primary cycle that tore a beleaguered Republican Party apart. As the President watched in stunned silence, his thoughts were drowned out by the raw noise that consumed the convention hall; air horns tooted and delegates roared in approval or disapproval of the result, a stampede of sound that vibrated throughout the arena. He watched as Governor Reagan made his way from the stands to the convention’s stage, his beloved Nancy beside him as he strolled with stride towards the podium. A brass band struck up an upbeat Dixieland tune as the Reagans took in the moment, waving to the crowd of delegates, activists, and journalists as Americans across the country watched the stunning upset transpire before their eyes on television.
The Governor motioned upwards at the presidential balcony, motioning for President Ford and Vice President Rockefeller to join the candidate onstage for a moment of reconciliation. Though Ford had little appetite to participate in the former actor’s theatrics, he knew he had to do so in the name of party unity. After an exchange of handshakes and pleasantries before the cameras, Vice President Rockefeller, Second Lady Happy Rockefeller, President Ford, First Lady Betty Ford, and Senator Dole all stepped back as a pensive silence fell over the convention hall for the first time since the conclusion of the first and only ballot. The newly crowned Republican nominee cleared his throat and began an address that would electrify the Republican Party, dazzle the media, and reset the race:
Mr. President, Mrs. Ford, Mr. Vice President, Mr. Vice President-to-be, the distinguished guests here, you ladies and gentlemen. I was going to say fellow Republicans here but those who are watching from a distance include all those millions of Democrats and independents who I know are looking for a cause around which to rally and which I believe we can give them.
Mr. President, the kindness and generosity you have shown Nancy and I on the campaign trail and the determined leadership you have shown in the White House as President have inspired us and the nation, and we owe an incalculable debt to you as a nation because of your selfless actions and honorable conduct in office. History will judge Gerald Ford as the President who restored America’s sense of purpose in a time when cynicism threatened to our belief in our national destiny.
We as Republicans offer something that the people of this country are crying out for: they are crying out for leadership. Leadership that will restore our economy. Leadership that will restore the soundness of our currency. Leadership that will restore honor and integrity to government. Leadership that will say to all nations of the world that “yes, we want peace, but we will maintain the strength required that we have peace.” Leadership that will stand up for liberty and freedom around the globe. Leadership that will stand toe to toe with the red menace that enslaves people across Eurasia. But most importantly, we offer leadership to restore hope in America.
If I could just take a moment, I had an assignment the other day. Someone asked me to write a letter for a time capsule that is going to be opened in Los Angeles a hundred years from now, on our nation’s Tricentennial. It sounded like an easy assignment. They suggested I write about the problems and issues of the day. And I set out to do so, riding down the coast in an automobile, looking at the blue Pacific out on one side and the Santa Ynez Mountains on the other, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was going to be that beautiful a hundred years from now as it was on that summer day.
And then as I tried to write-let your own minds turn to that task. You’re going to write for people a hundred years from now who know all about us, we know nothing about them. We don’t know what kind of world they’ll be living in. And suddenly I thought to myself, “If I write of the problems, they’ll be the domestic problems of which the campaign has largely been centered around; the challenges confronting us, the erosion of freedom taken place under Democratic rule in this country, the invasion of private rights, the controls and restrictions on the vitality of the great free economy that we enjoy.”
These are the challenges that we must meet, and then again there is that challenge of the world we live in. We live in a world in which the great powers have aimed and poised at each other horrible missiles of destruction, nuclear weapons that can in a matter of minutes arrive at each other’s country and destroy virtually the entire civilized world we live in. We have a duty-for our children and our grandchildren and our grandchildren’s grandchildren-to stop these missiles from ever being launched. One hundred years from now, somewhere in the United States, perhaps even this convention center in this city, our party will be scheduled to convene again to select a presidential nominee. And they shall know whether those missiles were fired.
Whether they will have the freedom that we have known up until now will depend on what we do here. Will they look back with appreciation and say, “Thank God for those people in 1976 who headed off that loss of freedom? Who kept us now a hundred years later free? Who kept our world from nuclear destruction? And if we fail they probably won’t get to read or hear of this speech at all because it spoke of individual freedom and they won’t be allowed to talk of that or read of it.
This is our challenge and this is why we’re here in this hall tonight. Better than we’ve ever done before, we’ve got to quit talking to each other and about each other and past each other go out and start communicating to the world that we may be fewer in numbers than we’ve ever been but we carry the message they’re waiting for. We must go forth from here united, determined and what a great general said a few years ago is true: “There is no substitute for victory.”
Thank you my friends, thank you! God Bless you, God bless President Ford, and God bless America!”
Governor Reagan addresses voters at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, MS.
The Reagan/Schweiker ticket had left the Republican Convention at a disadvantage; half the party was skeptical of the Governor as their presidential nominee, while the other half was skeptical of Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as their vice presidential nominee. The “unity ticket” of the conservative Reagan and liberal Schweiker did little to alleviate the divide within the party, with tensions running high even in the aftermath of the convention. With a tall order ahead of them, the Reagan campaign faced the daunting challenge of having to both unite the party as well as having to take on Governor Carter and Senator Mondale. Worse yet was the looming shadow of Watergate, which hovered over the campaign like a dark cloud. Though the former California Governor was far removed from the controversy, he had aligned himself loyally behind the President, and that allegiance had come back to haunt him as Americans sought to move beyond the Nixon years. Polling showed that Carter held a 33 point lead over Governor Reagan, a massive advantage that seemingly could not be overtaken.
It was clear at this juncture of the campaign that the Reagan team would need to reorient their strategy and reset the race. Inside Reagan’s campaign, there was a growing lack of confidence in campaign manager John Sears. Reagan, a man famous for his telegenic exterior and cold, introverted interior, relied primarily on his network of aides and allies from California. These included Mike Deaver, Lynn Nofzinger, and Charlez Z. Wick, all of whom argued that Reagan should dump Sears as campaign manager and replace him with William Casey. The recently retired head of the Export-Import Bank, Casey was a committed anti-communist who steered donors towards the Reagan campaign throughout his candidacy. But the nominee was skeptical of his core staff’s desire for a shakeup, warning them that it was not wise to “change horses in midstream.“ Thus “the Californians,” as they had become known at Reagan’s campaign headquarters enlisted the help of the one person whom the Governor could not refuse: his wife.
As this staff plot to oust John Sears commenced in a series of late night hotel room meetings and quiet conversations on airplane flights, the Governor was immersed in the grueling rigors of political life. Each day was a whirlwind of speeches, meet and greets, fundraisers, photo-ops, interviews, and handshakes. In order to put Governor Carter on the defensive, Reagan immediately travelled to the deep south after winning the Republican nomination in order to undercut his rival’s solid support in the region. Reagan ran well to the right of Carter, but his rhetoric would get him into trouble. The first instance of this would take place in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
“Governor Reagan” said Haley Barbour as he grasped the nominee’s hand when he emerged from his car, “it’s good to have you down here in these parts.” Reagan was not a particularly cynical man, but he could see through Barbour’s phony smile; after all, as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, Barbour had tried and failed to martial the state’s delegation for President Ford. But Reagan understood politics well after eight years as Governor of California, and had a background in acting that made it almost naturally easy for him to smile and shake Barbour's hand. "I'm glad to be here" answered Reagan, who glanced nervously around looking for Nancy as a small crowd of onlookers and local political power players surrounded him. She appeared behind him, busily engaged in conversation with a group of local Republican women active in the county's chapter of the GOP. Relieved, he felt more at ease as he prepared himself for the first major speech of his campaign. Though the audience was relatively small in person, the Governor knew that the entire south would be listening as he laid out his vision for America's future under continued Republican leadership. There was immense pressure on the Republican nominee, but he felt at ease. The Presidency was to be the role of a lifetime, and the Governor was eager to play the part.
Barbour walked with Governor Reagan behind a stage, hidden from the audience that was awaiting his arrival by a large plywood wall. Like a stage actor ready to emerge from behind the curtain, Reagan watched as a small smattering of local dignitaries took their seats on the dais behind the podium. After a brief introductory speech by Congressman Trent Lott, the Governor was introduced. He had never been to Philadelphia, Mississippi, in fact had never heard of it. But in this small corner of the rural deep south, Reagan was about to deliver a speech would electrify some and angered others. 15,000 potential voters awaited him, greeting him with immense applause. It wasn't an infrequent occurrence for an American presidential candidate to find himself at the Neshoba County Fair, but it wasn't often that one with Reagan's charisma and celebrity appeared in town.
"I still believe the answer to any problem lies with the people. I believe in states' rights" affirmed Reagan, who continued by expressing his belief that the "people doing as much as they can for themselves at the community level and at the private level" was superior to federal intervention. "I believe we've distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended in the Constitution to that federal establishment" Reagan concluded, believing the speech to have successfully outlined his libertarian leaning brand of conservatism. The use of the phrase "states rights" was sure to drag along some controversy - Reagan knew this from the moment he finished reading the initial draft for the speech. He had faced backlash before and had been criticized by the usual suspects for employing racially charged language when he had used the phrase "welfare queens" earlier in the year in a speech in Asheville, North Carolina, but had weathered the storm.
He did not expect or anticipate the torrent of backlash that followed his speech as he departed the fairgrounds later that night; while his address was successful in wooing rural white voters in Mississippi, it had a more negative reception. He would learn this the next morning as he and Nancy rode through the streets of Jackson, Mississippi in an anonymous black car, being chauffeured to the airport where a flight awaited to take him to the next round of campaign stops in neighboring Alabama. "They're calling me a racist?" said the former Governor, genuinely perplexed by the allegations. There were many things to be said about Ronald Reagan, but he was not - in his estimation at least, a racist. "They think you're the new George Wallace!" answered Nancy, vocalizing her indignant discuss at the press's coverage of her husband.
"Go figure" Reagan sighed, "it was Mississippi that won me the nomination, it isn't going to be Mississippi that 'loses me damn the election."
"It's still too far early on for this controversy to stick" replied Nancy, "if you want to call this a controversy at all."
"They think I'm the new George Wallace" muttered the nominee, "Jesus, give me a break.....have they forgotten the old George Wallace? He's still alive -"
"Half alive, at least" cracked Nancy. Reagan laughed, but continued:
"How are we going to get anywhere with the voters if the media is going to distort such a simple message?"
"Well, Ronnie" said Nancy soothingly, "think of this way - you put the ball in Jimmy's court now. He has to come out today and either distance himself from the issue, which isn't going to go well back home for him, or he'll have to agree with you. And you know the press is in his corner. They've always been. He'll either throw water on this fire or burst into flames himself."
The Governor truly admired his wife's political acumen, which she had displayed many times throughout the campaign. While his Californian aides often found themselves in over their heads, and while his Washington insiders like John Sears often advised him against his intuition, Nancy was so seemingly unfailingly correct in her analysis of most every issue. The Reagans were truly reliant on one another in a way that made them a political power couple, even if only one of the duo was actually in public life.
It was John Sears who became the focus of their conversation.
"We barely made it through Kansas City" sighed Nancy, "I think we need someone who sees the bigger picture at the top."
"Are you suggesting we fire John?" asked Reagan, who sensed where the conversation was heading.
"Well, we can't fire you" laughed Nancy, who then got serious as her tone shifted. "A lot of people are, Ronnie" answered Nancy, "not just Mike. Not just Lynn. Not just Ed. A lot of people think he needs to go."
"So are you one of them, Nancy?"
"Well.....I'm not content with the direction of the campaign at the moment. I think we can't keep alternating between defense and offense like this. It's a rocky start."
"I'm pretty optimistic" answered Reagan, but Nancy cut him off.
"You're too optimistic Ronnie, that's the issue here. Once in a while you're going to have to give some people some bad news, and once in a while you're going to have to receive bad news."
"We won the nomination under him - "
"We barely won the nomination" interjected Nancy, "and we're barely going to win this election if we put our full trust in him."
"Bill Casey is a Nixon guy" noted Reagan, "a Nixon appointee. Is that the image we want to have? The California connection between us is bad enough."
"And John worked for John Mitchell. You were a staunch Nixon defender. So was I. So was the President. So was everybody in this party. Nobody will care, Ronnie. Just trust me."
BRIAN LAMB: So how did you get involved with the Reagan campaign? You were a Nixon man, after all -
PAT BUCHANAN: So were you, Brian! (laughs)
BRIAN LAMB: We're we all? (chuckles)
PAT BUCHANAN: Look, the party was at a low point. The Californians took over after the convention, and the Washington crew was canned. Sears was gone, Casey was in. When Casey came on board, there were a lot of new, exotic hires. One of them was Richard Viguerie, who had pioneered the use of direct mail, and had worked for George Wallace and was trying to revive the American Independence Party. Another was me. But not everyone was happy. Dick Schweiker raised all sorts of hell over Richard's hiring. He didn't have so much of a beef with me as he did with Richard, whom he felt was entirely too far to the right.
BRIAN LAMB: There has been much talk in the 42 years since the 1976 election about how the Reagan campaign managed to use the Nixon playbook while trying to distance the GOP from Nixon. Do you see any parallels between the two? Can you elaborate and maybe contrast your experiences on the Nixon campaign in 1968 compared to the Reagan campaign in 1976?
Up next: the Carter campaign's perspective.
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