SLOWLY, the roll call proceeded down through the alphabet. When it came to W, West Virginia, then Wisconsin, spirits in the Rockefeller suite at the Hotel Americana fell as flat as the champagne that had earlier been ordered for a victory celebration. Bitterly disappointed as he was, Nelson Rockefeller seemed almost relieved at the same time. Hugging his wife Happy, he whispered, "Now we can really relax." Stepping out into the hall a few minutes later, he sighed to no one in particular: "Oh, my!"
Ronald Reagan's reaction to defeat was not much different. Arriving back at his Deauville Hotel headquarters...
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