Gerald Ford in Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush

On Principles & Values: 1980: Reagan considered offering "co-presidency"

Dad announced his candidacy for the 1980 presidential election. He was a long shot against Ronald Reagan, but he ran a strong campaign in Iowa and won an upset victory in the caucus. Unfortunately, his hot streak ran out amid the cold winters of New Hampshire. Reagan defeated him there and continued on to the Republican nomination.

There was a lot of speculation about whom Reagan would choose for vice president. At the convention in Detroit, he was in discussion with Gerald Ford about some sort of co-presidency. They agreed it wouldn't work--a good decision. Then Reagan called Dad and asked him to be his running mate--an even better decision.

On election night, the Reagan-Bush ticket crushed Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale 489-49 in the Electoral College.

Source: Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush, p. 42 Nov 9, 2010

The above quotations are from Decision Points, by George W. Bush . Click here for other excerpts from Decision Points, by George W. Bush . Click here for other excerpts by Gerald Ford. Click here for a profile of Gerald Ford.
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Page last updated: Aug 18, 2011