Dominic Sandbrook has a clever piece on what would have happened if Ronald Reagan had edged out Gerald Ford for the 1976 Republican presidential nomination (he almost did), and beat Jimmy Carter for the presidency that year. Sandbrook contends Reagan would have been a disaster as president 1977-81, and would have lost badly to Ted Kennedy in 1980. But because he ran successfully in 1980, he appeared to be on top of events 1981-89, and was perceived to be a good president instead of a bad one.
Oh, the ironies of history!
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