WI: Ford makes courtesy call to Reagan in '74 about going with Rockefeller as VP?

Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All, Craig Shirley, 2005.

https://books.google.com/books?id=f... the news from a White House staffer"&f=false

' . . . Reagan learned of the news from a White House staffer, instead of the obligatory courtesy call the Governor of California might have expected from the President of the United States. Once again, the Ford people not only misplayed Reagan, they had insulted him. "Reagan got the call at 6 A.M. no less," recalled Jim Lake. "He was furious. All of the Ford White House treated Ronald Reagan badly." In fact, "had Ford and his people treated Reagan better, he might not have run in 1976." . . . '
Maybe something as simple as, Ron, I've decided to go with Nelson.
 
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Interesting, but I don't think it makes a difference in Reagan running in '76. He was out of office after the 1974 election and had nothing better to do Either he runs and wins or he loses and is the next on deck for 1980. If he doesn't run in '80 he's a has-been former Governor by 1980. Where it might make a difference is in his enthusiasm for Ford in the fall of '76. That was such a close thing that it could have swung the election to Ford. Which then probably makes the task of electing a Republican President in 1980 something approaching an impossibility if things go for Ford anything like the way they went for Carter. For that reason, this is a very interesting (and rather ironic) POD.
 
The Ford campaign asked Reagan to attend and speak with Ford at several campaign events in California during the '76 general. Reagan plead pre-existing commitments.

And this was the one thing Jerry Ford held against him.
 
This is an ad Reagan did make for Ford in the 1976 general election:


Reagan is saying that Governor Carter calls for cutting defense spending 5 to 7 billion, whereas President Ford stands on a platform which calls for defense superiority as the best way to keep the peace.
 
Ronnie could have done more of this, including personal appearances with Ford. And if the Republican Party stays more unified, Ford will have more time, money, and fellow Republicans helping out.

Jerry Ford probably wins re-election in '76.
 

departue

Gone Fishin'
after ford gives his debate where he says eastern Europe is not dominated by soviets pardon Nixon he will have a hard time winning.
 
after ford gives his debate where he says eastern Europe is not dominated by soviets pardon Nixon he will have a hard time winning.

He very nearly won IOTL. Any small change would give him victory, including this, or him not saying that Eastern Europe is dominated by the Soviets.
 
Reagan: The Life, H.W. Brands, 2015.

https://books.google.com/books?id=FoQQDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA192&lpg=PA192&dq="Gerald+Ford+wasn't+a+liberal,+but+Reagan+decided+"&source=bl&ots=YtjfsPZoPN&sig=MFNvz20KCX3Ogjs2d4Z460ptEnk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjwpq6OrNjOAhVbGGMKHe27CUwQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q="Gerald Ford wasn't a liberal, but Reagan decided "&f=false

" . . . Gerald Ford wasn't a liberal, but Reagan decided he wasn't conservative enough to remain in the White House. That's what he told himself, at any rate. And had he been younger, that might have been the whole truth. But Reagan was already very old by American political practice. Only William Henry Harrison had been older at election than Reagan would be in November 1976, and Harrison died a month after inauguration. Reagan assumed he couldn't wait until Ford stepped aside; if he would achived the presidency, it was 1976 or never.

"So he ran. It was a desperate move rather than a smart one. . . "
So, there's a lot on the table. And yes, Reagan wanted to run in '76.
 
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