How contentious was the Reagan-Bush Sr. Republican primary in 1980?

[rhombus]

I was reading about it on Wikipedia but I would like to know from folks who remember much of the GOP primary in 1980. In your opinion, was it as heated as the Obama-Clinton primary? Also, did Reagan pick Bush over Gerald Ford mainly to maintain party unity or were there other reasons?

People in the know, please shed some light on this. Thanks.

Wiki that I was reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1980

[AllentownJake]

1. I was 2

but I think Ford didn't want it and I think it was a way for Reagan to co-opt his biggest critic.

There wasn't any news but the one at 6:30 at the time so the media could pick the clips they ran. I believe this was even before the time of CNN.

[Pab Sungenis]

2. Ford would have accepted

but wanted to essentially be "co-President" instead of just a space-filler and Ronnie's backup. Reagan refused.

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

5. Now there's irony.

Poppy Bush became far more than a co-president. The only Reagan loyalists in the original cabinet were Don Regan and Ed Meese. Everyone else were Bush Crime Family flunkies, many of them holdovers from the Nixon days. And when Reagan wanted to be President himself, they sent him a little "message", delivered by the son of a Bush oil business associate.

[yellowcanine]

3. Oh yes it was quite contentious. Hard to compare to today though.

It appeared that Reagan chose Bush to give some foreign policy "gravitas" - an area where he was quite deficient.

It nearly unraveled at the last moment, though - Reagan came close to choosing Gerald Ford for his VP. But the phrase "co-presidency" slipped out - there was a lot of talk at the time that the presidency was two big for one individual and Ford of course had been president before. Anyway the co-presidency talk scared the Reagan people and they opted for Bush. It was quite a dramatic moment - the pundits and news people were saying all day that it was going to be Ford and suddenly it was Bush.

[rhombus]

4. Insightful. Thank you

So Reagan scuttled Ford to avoid the perception of a Co-presidency? Hmmm, I didn't think of that point but it makes great sense.

[Jay Landsman]

8. It's crazy to think how important that decision was

If Ford was chosen, then Bush Jr. never becomes President. Who knows how much better off we would be.

Then again, some wild chain of events might have started because of a Ford vice-presidency that could have had some terrible ramifications.

[yellowcanine]

14. Would make a great plot for an alternative history historical novel.

Imagine for a moment. Ford gets elected in 1988 instead of Poppy Bush. Whoa, the mind boggles.
Or Dukakis beats Ford in 1988.

Actually the alternative history I have always wondered about was Ford beats Carter in 1976. I am convinced we never would have had Reagan had that happened.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

13. The Ford deal was this

Reagan was such an obvious psycho and moron that nobody thought he could win, and in desperation the Reagan camp (or someone) cooked up the idea of making Ford co-president.

Reagan was going to go for it, but then changed his mind at the last minute. Big drama behind closed doors. "Dammit, if I'm gonna ride this steer then I'm the man in the saddle," or some such shit.

So GHW Bush was the only option.

[yellowcanine]

15. According to this bio, the co-presidency idea was Ford's

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAfordG.htm

Reagan did apparently offer the VP slot to Ford and Ford made his acceptance conditional on controlling the appointments of Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury. Ford wanted Kissinger for State and Greenspan for Treasury. Reagan said no way and offered the VP to Bush.

[SuperTrouper]

17. Drama on Day 1: Reagan came down from his Hotel Suite to address the Convention

at the same time that Bush's entourage paraded toward the Convention Center and met Reagan at the dais for the live announcement. It indeed was dramatic and it propelled Reagan to a big lead over Jimmy Carter and eventually catapulted him to the Presidency.

[scheming daemons]

6. Picking Bush didn't rile up the DEMOCRATIC base... it was a safe pick

Picking Hillary will get the GOP base off their asses and opening their checkbooks.


They're lethargic now.... let's keep 'em that way.

[DarthDem]

16. Tired of This Meme

No offense, but . . . the Goopers are ALWAYS energized. ALWAYS. If Hillary isn't on the ticket, they'll be energized to defeat a black man, or say rather, to stop a black man from defeating them. And they'll STILL work Hillary into their ads, claiming she's a shoo-in for a Cabinet appointment or a Supreme Court slot.

The positives of picking her outweigh the negatives, at least in part because all of the negatives are ALREADY in play, or will be, regardless. The one wild card, and the note of caution that has merit, is Bill. I can see how he could make some people validly nervous.

[Beregond2]

7. It IS hard to compare, because the right had not yet descended

to the depths, and there was still a semblance of civility in public discourse. However, Bush Sr. HATED Reagan, and did everything possible to prevent his getting the nomination. It was he who coined the phrase "voodoo economics" for the "trickle-down" theory. But when he saw that he had no chance of receiving the nomination, he held his nose and accepted the vice presidential slot, completely reversing his positions on just about everything. The term "flip-flopper" was not around, or Bush Sr. would have been pegged the all-time champ. I think he thought that Reagan wouldn't last more than a term, after the country realized what a complete imbecile he was, and then he could take over and repair whatever damage had been done. But instead the media decided to proclaim that Reagan, who couldn't put together a simple declarative sentence to save his life, was a "great communicator," the public bought it, and you know the rest.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

12. And the Bush political clan did run the country under Reagan

The most powerful man in America was James Baker, Bush's campaign manager and Reagan's chief of staff. (Later sec Treasury, Sec. State and Sec. Stealing election in Florida.)

I'm always puzzled why James Baker isn't automatically cited as the most powerful political figure of the last thirty years.

Clark Clifford, times ten.

[RoyGBiv]

9. Quite ...

I don't remember it like it was yesterday or anything, but I do remember it being quite heated. The phrase "voodoo economics" came from the Bush camp, in fact. When Reagan chose Bush as his VP there was pre-inauguration speculation as to who would really run things, given that the Bush family was a power in Washington, and Reagan was seen, at the time, as something of a "pretty face," meaning he was a charmer and not much else. "An ACTOR as President!?" Of course there was also speculation he did it to shut him up by bringing that power within his own umbrella.

And there was the tinfoil theory that he did it because Bush's CIA buddies all but forced it.

I don't think it's possible to know for certain all the reasons. We have to remember Reagan was a bit of an unknown quantity at the time, and Bush brought with him experience and associations with powerful entities.

[Smarmie Doofus]

10. Reagan ran away from the pack early on.

Starting with NH ( "I paid for that microphone" Mr. Graham!) Left GHWB in the dust along with the rest.

GHWB contested for a while after ( "Voodoo economics") but folded well before the convention.

There was no contention at the convention. Over by then.


GHWB was a sop by the Reagan braintrust ( movement conservatives) to traditional eastern republicans) which GHWB was lucky to be offered and happy to accept.

[H2O Man]

11. It was bitterlt fought

during the primary. Bush was a company man, who had held a wide range of positions in government. Nixon had considered him for VP in 1968. Reagan was an opportunist, who had attempted runs in '68 and again in '76. The people behind Reagan were vicious, even compared to the Bush operation.

By the time of the republican convention, President Carter and friends believed that Reagan would be relatively easy to beat. The Reagan forces were looking to unify their party, and that's why they eventually went with Bush.