Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign that Changed America (73 page)

Better still for the Republicans, the Reagan-Bush team was unifying the GOP, and was competitive or leading in all regions of the country and even tied with Carter in his beloved South. And according to polling done for the Republican National Committee, majorities of Americans thought the Republicans were better at holding the line on government spending, better on tax cuts, better on standing up to the Communists, and better on reining in inflation. Adding insult to injury, a majority of Americans thought it would be better if the Republicans controlled Congress. Four years earlier, who'da thunk it? Sampling conducted by CBS and the
New York Times
in April 1980 confirmed that respondents “by wide margins” supported “cutting taxes, balancing the budget.”
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Even some in the mainstream media recognized that the Bush choice could be a boon for Republicans. The lead editorial in the
New York Times
reviewed the madness of July 16 in Detroit and, while questioning Reagan's pursuit of Ford, still praised the Republican candidate for acting “decisively” at the last and asking the convention to nominate Bush. Bush also came in for praise from the paper: “He is a serious, able and likeable man. Ronald Reagan's second choice is not second-rate.”
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Meanwhile, some of Bush's consultants tried to spin the media, saying that for the past two years Bush had in fact always been running for vice president, not
president. The story—made up out of whole cloth—got the attention of some reporters; it appeared in at least one major national publication.

For all the drama surrounding the vice-presidential pick, Bush himself had a levelheaded assessment of the job of veep. He'd seen the daily reality of several vice presidents up close and knew the talk about expanding the duties of the office was so much hooey. The day before he was chosen by Reagan, he told a reporter, “Everyone says they are going to reinvent the wheel, that their Vice President is going to be in on developing North-South strategy and other great projects. But it never happens. Two years later, you wake up and find he's still going to funerals.”
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Still, Bush hoped for more than casting tie-breaking votes in the Senate and wondering about the health of the president. Certainly more than Richard Johnson, Martin Van Buren's second banana, who one summer had so little to do that he went home and managed an inn. Woodrow Wilson's vice president, Thomas Marshall, couldn't get a private audience with Wilson for a year and a half.

T
HE LONG, AGONIZING DECISION
over a running mate, along with the introduction of Bush to the media, was finally behind the Reagan campaign. Still, Reagan and Bush had plenty of work ahead of them. Both had speeches to give that night.

For Bush, there was almost no time to prepare for such an important address. While the running mates did their meet-and-greet in the Reagan suite that morning, Vic Gold was sequestered in his room, furiously writing Bush's acceptance speech. He'd already written Bush's speech to the convention the night before, and now he and the other Bush aides were pulling a double shift, without any shop steward to complain to.

With Gold's help, Bush pulled off the important task that had been handed him. In a five-minute speech accepting the nomination for vice president, Bush both signaled to conservatives that he was on board with Reagan and the muscular platform and reached out to voters outside the party. First he proclaimed, “I enthusiastically support our platform. It's up to each and every one of us to help carry Ronald Reagan's message of a strong, free America the length and the breadth of this land.” That message was unmistakable, as was his next one, in which he called on “disillusioned Democrats and disappointed independents” to join Reagan's cause.
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Unlike Bush, Reagan had had plenty of time to prepare for his acceptance speech, but his challenge was far greater than that of his new running mate. Indeed, the speech he gave that night would be the most important of his life up to that point. He was not simply accepting the nomination of the Republican Party and trying to unify his own party; he also needed to speak directly to the American people. A recent AP–NBC poll showed that Americans, by a slim margin of
44–42, thought Carter would win the fall election.
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With the news media blasting Reagan for the chaos of the day before and questioning his decision-making abilities, the credibility issue was all the more pressing. Reagan had his work cut out for him. He would have to put on a stellar performance to ensure that Ford and the co-presidency fiasco didn't overshadow his convention.

Recognizing the importance of the moment, Peter Hannaford had worked on the speech with Reagan for six long weeks.
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It would run for approximately forty-five minutes.

T
HAT NIGHT, CONVENTION PLANNERS
thought it would be a good idea to put the Reagan and Bush families into one room together so they could get to know one another. Jeb Bush recalled that the older Reagan children, Mike and Maureen, could not have been nicer, “completely gregarious, nice, easy to deal with.” The same could not be said for “the two other children, who were quite unhappy,” sitting “off in the corner.” “I walked over and tried to introduce myself,” Bush said, “and they were basically rude.”
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Jeb's father got a warmer reception from the delegates. That night, George Bush's name was placed in nomination for vice president of the United States. The “Reagan-Ford” handmade signs from the night before had disappeared and Joe Louis Arena was now filled with professionally printed “Reagan-Bush” signs in red, white, and blue. Since no other names were placed in nomination, the delegates got down to business quickly. Bush won 1,832 votes, with only 162 diehard conservatives voting against him.
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Four years earlier, when Gerald Ford accepted the GOP nomination in Kansas City, a cloud of blue smoke choked Kemper Arena from cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Now only an occasional puff of smoke could be seen in Joe Louis Arena. The air had cleared for the Republicans in more ways than one. In 1976, in the wake of Watergate, there were few real heroes left in the Republican Party to join Ford at the dais on the night of his nomination. This time a galaxy of GOP stars was out for Reagan. President Ford and Mrs. Ford were seated in the hall in a place of honor. All the contenders for the Republican nomination were in Joe Louis Arena as well. They had been allowed to address the convention—all except for Phil Crane, that is. The snubbing of Crane was punishment for past offenses against Reagan.

One VIP sadly not in evidence for Reagan's acceptance speech was Paul Laxalt, who had been as responsible for this moment as anyone. He was still angry that he hadn't been consulted on the choice of Bush and felt the whole mess of the previous day could have been avoided.

Laxalt had a legitimate beef. Since 1975, he'd been Reagan's campaign chief. Laxalt traveled endlessly for his friend, whom he'd known since 1966, when both were running for governors of their respective states. Laxalt had pushed for Reagan, argued for Reagan, defended Reagan, and campaigned for Reagan. The night that his friend who owed him so much was nominated, Laxalt went out to dinner. The next morning, he skipped the all-important Republican Party meetings and flew back to Washington.
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Laxalt was far too polite to go public with his frustrations. When queried as to why he went to dinner rather than attend Reagan's acceptance speech, he said he just got sick of “eating a hot dog every night” for a meal. No one in the press corps was buying that.
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Yet another rumor made the rounds that Laxalt had quit the campaign. As if Republicans hadn't already overdosed on unsubstantiated rumors.

Once George Bush's nomination was made official, the convention watched a biographical movie about Reagan, produced by Peter Dailey.
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As it ended, the Reagans suddenly materialized on the podium, and the hall went berserk. If the old performer was nervous, he didn't show it. The band struck up Reagan's signature song, “California, Here I Come,” and the faithful roared their approval.

As the Reagans appeared on the dais, the crowd began a prolonged, frenzied demonstration, with thousands of delegates waving signs and Americans flags, flashing Instamatics, blowing banned air horns, screaming, stomping, and yelling. A giant banner at the back of the hall proclaimed “Reagan Country” and was accompanied by what would become an iconic photo of Reagan, with the signature slightly lopsided smile, wearing a white cowboy hat, and looking every inch the rugged cowboy.

The California and Texas delegations reprised their back-and-forth chant of Kansas City. The California Reaganites would raise their white cowboy hats and yell, “
Viva!
” to which the Lone Star Reaganauts would raise their blue cowboy hats and reply, “
Olé!
” Indeed, it seemed as if the entire arena was filled with cowboy hats, even though some of the city slicker delegates' only brush with a ranch was their salad dressing.

Pretty soon, the entire arena joined in the fun. Reagan could only watch and laugh, sharing the amusement with thousands of people, many of whom had waited a goodly portion of their life for this scene. Chuckling over the prolonged demonstration, the Gipper quipped, “We're using up prime time!”
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Nancy Reagan was seated to “Ronnie's” left, looking lovely in a soft peach-colored dress, eyes fixed on her husband with adoration. Next to her was Maureen. The rest of Reagan's family, along with George Bush and his extended family, sat on stage as well.

When Reagan finally got the raucous delegates to settle down, he joked, “The first thrill tonight was to find myself for the first time in a long time in a movie on prime time!”
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The crowd roared with laughter.

R
EAGAN HAD ADDRESSED THE
1964 Republican convention as a private citizen; the 1968 gathering as a governor and erstwhile presidential candidate; the 1972 coronation of Richard Nixon as a governor again; and the 1976 convention as a failed presidential candidate and private citizen once again.

The term “citizen” had great meaning to the Gipper, a student of the American Revolution and the federalism created by the Founding Fathers. Reagan knew that these men believed the citizen to be of more importance in their American experiment than all the elected officials combined. These men were “Citizen Franklin” and “Citizen Adams” on July 4, 1776, and September 17, 1787. Thus Reagan called his 1976 quest “Citizens for Reagan”; his political committee was “Citizens for the Republic”; and he always referred to himself as a “citizen-politician” because he truly believed in the concept. Now, in Detroit, Reagan opened his speech by appealing to “my fellow citizens.”
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Reagan looked every inch the leader and prospective president. He wore a dark blue suit, a spread-collar white shirt, a maroon pin-dot tie in his usual Windsor style, and, of course, a folded white handkerchief in the left breast pocket of his suit jacket. In his left lapel was a tiny American flag. His hair wafted a bit, as a small fan blew air at him in the overly hot convention hall.

Reagan had a fan club started in the 1940s by Mrs. Zelda Multz of Brooklyn. She'd kept the club going for almost forty years. Now the Gipper was poised to swell the ranks of that club. First, though, Reagan, ever mannerly, thanked the host city and the state of Michigan for “the warm hospitality we've enjoyed.” Reagan was growing comfortable with the choice of George Bush and went out of his way to twice refer to Bush. He thanked the delegates “for your wholehearted response to my recommendation in regard to George Bush as the candidate for vice president.”
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He swung into his speech, beginning, “With a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.” This set off a new round of celebration by the delegates. Reagan moved ahead and made an appeal not just to Republicans but also to Democrats and independents to join a “community of shared values.”
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This address, so obviously crucial for Reagan, would not be another variation of “The Speech,” his bread and butter of the past sixteen years. He only sparingly inserted the phrases and sentiments he had used so many times. His rhetoric was
soaring, melodic. Even people who worked for Reagan and had heard him speak a hundred times were truly amazed at what a moving, lofty speech this was.

During the address Reagan invoked the names of three presidents, only two of them with praise: Abraham Lincoln and his personal favorite, Franklin Roosevelt. The third, Jimmy Carter, he eviscerated for his “mediocre leadership.”
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His approach to FDR was unusual, but true to his conservative philosophy and fitting for his Republican audience: he cited Roosevelt in 1932 criticizing the excessive spending by the federal government under Herbert Hoover.

Though the Republicans could get behind calls to curb the size of government, they didn't know what to make of Reagan's warm words about a politician they had grown up despising, and the applause was light to say the least. It was true that Reagan had no intention of dismantling Roosevelt's New Deal. He had abandoned his opposition to Social Security back in the late 1960s. He also remembered that his out-of-work father had gotten a job in the New Deal, in the depths of the Great Depression, and he saw the New Deal not so much as socialism but as a form of government insurance that would help the free market operate. It was the Great Society that Reagan wanted to dismantle, as he later wrote in his diaries.
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Reagan moved to the heart of his address and declared, “Never before in our history have Americans been called upon to face three grave threats to our very existence, any one of which could destroy us. We face a disintegrating economy, a weakened defense, and an energy policy based on the sharing of scarcity.” He did not hesitate to hold President Carter and the Democratic Congress accountable, saying that they had a “direct political, personal, and moral responsibility” for “this unprecedented calamity which has befallen us.” Reagan continued: