REPUBLICANS: A GAMBLE GONE WRONG

Q. What if President Ford were to pick a liberal Northerner as his running mate?

A. "It would be a foolish mistake. Ford would lose the South. And a lot of Republicans might not work for him."

—Ronald Reagan in an interview with TIME, July 12.

"I have chosen the distinguished United States Senator, the Honorable Richard Schweiker."

—Reagan at a Los Angeles press conference, July 26.

It was one of the most astonishing and bizarre turnabouts in a campaign full of surprises. President Ford was at a White House staff meeting when he got the tip...

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