It was the GOP convention of 1976. Ronald Reagan had just completed his departing remarks after losing a narrowly fought and bitter bid for the presidential nomination, when a woman on the convention floor exclaimed, “Oh my God, we’ve nominated the wrong man!’
According to an able Reagan field man, Kenny Klinge, the woman standing next to him in Kansas City was, as he described, an enthusiastic “big time” supporter of the incumbent Gerald Ford. She was not alone; most likely there were many more Ford supporters who were stunned by Reagan’s impromptu, now historic and moving speech.
