Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign that Changed America (40 page)

In Georgia the same day, Reagan did even better, winning 73 percent to Bush's paltry 13 percent.
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And in Florida, Reagan received more than 57 percent of the vote and Bush 30 percent.
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On the day, Reagan took 105 delegates to only 9 for Bush.
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It was especially embarrassing for Keene, who had billed himself in part as the Bush campaign's ace in the hole for the South.

Alabama and Georgia allowed crossover voting, and conservative Democrats helped add to Reagan's handsome victories in each. Florida had a closed primary and Reagan still won handily there, which should have been a wakeup call to those who said Reagan was not the favorite within the GOP. When Reagan won in crossover states, critics complained that Democrats should not be allowed to
decide the nominee of the Republican Party. But in the same breath they said Reagan had no appeal beyond the conservatives in the GOP.

Reagan should have won Florida in 1976 and would have had he not unexpectedly lost New Hampshire to Ford and then stumbled on the Social Security issue in the Sunshine State. Reagan wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. This time he made it clear to the oldsters that the government-run pension plan would stay healthy if he was elected.

Reagan had also gone hard after the Cuban-American vote in Florida. He charged that Carter had “eliminated a clandestine radio station that was broadcasting messages of freedom to Cuba.” He said “there was ‘excessive surveillance’ of anti-Castro refugees, and Cubans frequently were hauled up before grand juries.” Reagan laid a wreath at a memorial for the Cubans who had died in the Bay of Pigs invasion.
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Everywhere he went he was greeted with “Viva Reagan!” by the enthusiastic anti-Communists. He shucked his coat in the sweltering heat and told the crowd in Little Havana, “Our country still has an obligation.” Someone yelled out, “We are ready again, anytime.”
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He then plunged into the gathering of thousands.

Bush limped back North after being bloodied in the southern primaries. But he was an extremely competitive man and turned away talk in his campaign to pack it in and call it a day. The good news was that Bush had beaten Reagan in Iowa, Maine, Puerto Rico, and Massachusetts; he still had money in the bank and more favorable terrain ahead in Illinois, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania; he'd outlasted Bob Dole, Howard Baker, and John Connally; and he had become quite able on the stump, firing up crowds when he was moved to do so. The bad news was the specter of Gerald Ford getting in. In desperation, Bush suggested that Ford's age could be used against him, as it had been used against Reagan.
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Bush was distraught that he never had the chance for a two-man race with Reagan. Just when it appeared he might finally get his wish, John Anderson had appeared out of nowhere. Each vote Anderson was taking was coming right out of Bush's back pocket, it seemed to Bush's advisers. In the weeks up to and after Iowa, Bush had become the media darling. After the New England primaries, the white-haired, bespectacled Anderson stirred the passions of the national media. Reagan had the conservatives, Anderson had the media, and Bush was left holding air. Bush's press secretary, Pete Teeley, said Anderson was getting “the kind of influx of publicity, money, enthusiasm and support that we had after Iowa.”
⁸²

Anderson had bypassed the southern GOP primaries, knowing his message would not go down well there. He was waiting for the chance to take on Reagan and a weakened Bush in the March 18 primary in Illinois, his home state. He
also was making plans for Wisconsin's upcoming primary, counting on the state's progressive Republican tradition. Anderson was clearly courting liberals; he took out a full-page ad in the
New York Times
with an open appeal to its liberal readers for campaign contributions. The title of the ad was “Why Not the Best?” No one seemed to remember that this was the title of Carter's campaign book in 1976. The ad was plastered with kind comments from the Beautiful People, including writers Sally Quinn of Georgetown and Tom Wicker of Manhattan.
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It also came to light that Anderson had signed a direct-mail fundraising letter for the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), which planned to give the money to George McGovern, Morris Udall, and other pro-choice representatives.
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T
ED
K
ENNEDY HAD BEEN
wiped out in the southern primaries, as Jimmy Carter took 183 delegates on his home turf.
⁸⁵
Carter humiliated Kennedy, winning 82 percent to 13 percent in Alabama, 88 percent to 9 percent in the president's native Georgia, and 61 percent to 22 percent in Florida.
⁸⁶

The outcomes weren't surprising. Kennedy not only had low expectations for Florida, he also had low funds. Carter could claim 390 contributors of $1,000 in Florida to Kennedy's 84. Even in Palm Beach, a second Kennedy home, he had only five $1,000 contributors—and one of those was his mother.
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Muhammad Ali worked the Sunshine State for Carter. “I'm here because I'm a brother. We got to pick the best of the whites and I say that is Carter.”
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On the eve of the Florida primary, the Carter administration announced that seniors would get a 13 percent cost-of-living Social Security increase.
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Carter had mastered the spoils system.

A
NEW
ABC N
EWS
–H
ARRIS
poll showed Ford to be favored over Reagan among Republicans, 36–32 percent. With independents thrown into the mix, Ford widened his lead over Reagan to 33–27 percent.
⁹⁰

Tom Reed of the Draft Ford Committee held a press conference in Washington and released the names of one hundred prominent moderate Republicans who supported Ford's entry into the race. Reed's scenario for Ford to win the nomination, however, stretched credulity. His plan was for a Ford surrogate to run in Ford's stead in Texas, since the filing deadline had closed there, and then beat Reagan in the Lone Star State. In addition, Ford would have to beat Reagan in California. Reagan had beaten—or more accurately, crushed—the incumbent Ford in both states in 1976.

Before sweeping the South, Reagan had wanted Ford to get in and divide the moderate vote. Now, with the momentum on his side, Reagan wanted Ford to
stay out. Not because the former president might gain the nomination—there was little chance Ford could do this unless there was a brokered convention—but because a Ford entry into the race might marginalize Reagan. Nelson Rockefeller's late entry in 1964 had marginalized Barry Goldwater, preventing him from reaching out to middle-of-the-road voters in the general election.

Ford continued to draw extensive media attention. He leveled Jimmy Carter, saying, “My sole, single purpose … is to get President Carter out of the White House.” Ford didn't stop there, telling a Republican audience, “The nation is in peril. Mr. Carter has forfeited his immunity at home. This country is in deep, deep trouble.”
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Ford's attack was harsh, especially since he'd met with Carter that very morning and come out of it praising the president.
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But that was Washington. Kiss 'em in private and bash 'em in public. A Carter man returned the Ford fire: “He's going to get chewed up alive if he comes in. He's a nice man, but let's face it, his were do-nothing years.”
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In his
Washington Post
column, David Broder pointed out the practical impediments to a Ford candidacy. Ford would miss filing in twenty-one primaries that would choose 908 delegates out of 1,994. Also, Ford's charge that conservatives could not win a general election drove men and women on the right up the wall. They'd had it thrown in their faces ever since the days of Goldwater and Bob Taft, and if Ford got in and actually stopped Reagan, the party would be split so badly that it might never be repaired.
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Broder was one of the two or three best political reporters of the era. Soft-spoken, mannerly, but with a drive for the facts and boundless energy that few could match, he wrote long, thoughtful pieces that were considered “must-reads” in Washington. Even as Carter was sweeping away the Kennedy challenge and looking to stomp Reagan, Broder wrote a long piece in early 1980 about how Carter could be more vulnerable to Reagan than anyone realized.

P
OSTMORTEMS ON THE
S
OUTH
were all good for Reagan, mostly good for Carter, and awful for both Kennedy and Bush. Carter was now ahead of Kennedy in the delegate count, 283–145. Reagan had opened up a delegate lead over Bush, 167–45.
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The presidential combatants descended upon Illinois, where new polls had Anderson surging into first place, Bush faltering, and Reagan moving into second place. It was the first midwestern primary and would also be a key battleground in the fall election.

All waited with bated breath for Ford's decision. Ford privately lamented that he was not getting the outpouring of support from around the country that he'd
hoped for. He expressed a twinge of bitterness that few of the GOP officials he'd campaigned for had come out for his candidacy, especially key moderate governors Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Dick Thornburgh of Pennsylvania, and John Dalton of Virginia.

In a meeting with reporters over breakfast, Ford was clearly having second thoughts. “Reagan has the strongest base of support I've seen in politics,” he said.
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Two days later, Ford held a subdued press conference outside his home in California with wife Betty at his side and declared, once and for all, that he would not run in 1980. Her recent victory over addictions to alcohol and pills was a factor in his decision, but his supporters were crestfallen. Only twenty-four hours earlier, they had been happily preparing to relaunch the USS
Ford
. Now it was “final and certain” that he would not run.
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Ford declined to endorse any candidate, but made it clear he intended on making it his business to defeat Carter in the fall. He choked up a bit during his remarks.

Ford came to his decision after one final meeting with his supporters who reviewed his bleak chances. Among those attending the two-hour meeting were Congressman Dick Cheney; Alan Greenspan, a former White House economic adviser; Doug Bailey, the former Baker media man; Tom Reed; and Stu Spencer.
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Grassroots Republicans were sharply divided over Ford. A Gallup poll showed that while 49 percent said he should get in, 46 percent said he should not.
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The most important poll, of his family, had his wife and three of his four children against his making the race.

Above all, the decision was about the numbers—the numbers on the calendar, the numbers of missing supporters, and the numbers of dollars he'd have to raise. If Ford believed he had a reasonable chance, he would have gotten in. He loved being president. But Reagan was piling up delegates and Ford would be competing with Bush and Anderson for the remaining moderate vote.

The Ford boomlet ended with a whimper. Larry Speakes, at the headquarters for the Draft Ford Committee, said, “About all we have is a phone bill to pay.”
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With that, Ford's thirteen-day campaign folded its tent.

Reagan was campaigning in his old stomping grounds in Rock Falls, Illinois, when reporters caught up with him to tell him the news about Ford. Reagan heaved a sigh of relief. So did Bush. So did Anderson. Reagan was speaking under a banner that read “Reagan Plays Well in Peoria,” and indeed he did. A high school band played, a children's choir sang, and the crowd took part in a college-like cheer: “Give me an ‘R,’ give me an ‘E,' give me an ‘A' …” His old Eureka College football coach, Mac MacKenzie, introduced Reagan.
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The Gipper saw a former Eureka classmate and called out to her. Tressie Masocco Kazelka told the
Los Angeles Times
, “I'm surprised he even saw me out here!” She reminisced about Reagan at their alma mater, saying he'd been “president of everything,” so it made sense that he was running for the White House.
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The event was pure corn, which Reagan and most of his fellow Americans loved.

After the rally, a farmer tried to give Reagan a piglet as a gift but Reagan demurred, “gently tweaking its nose.”
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Instead, the farmer told Reagan he would give him the animal after he was elected, “so that the pig could graze on the White House lawn.”
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Bush was exhausted. He'd lost weight, he had gone back to wearing the granny glasses his staff hated, and he looked haggard. His plane, Asterisk One, was long gone. He was so tired he did something unheard of. He took a day off.

“There is an air of desperation about the Bush campaign,” the
Washington Post
noted. “A reporter joins the Bush traveling entourage and is promptly asked, ‘You covering Illinois or writing a Bush obituary?’”
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And Reagan?

He was happily gallivanting across Illinois, routinely putting in fourteen-hour days. Bush had once believed he could run Reagan into the ground by simply out-hustling and outworking him, but in fact it was Reagan who had done precisely that to Bush. Reagan was concerned about losing Illinois to Anderson but he also had a “feeling,” as he told reporters.
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Their ears perked up at this comment by Reagan. They had learned that no politician they'd covered since John Kennedy had as much a feeling for the American people as Ronald Reagan.