Remembering the 1984 Republican National Convention

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY:

REMEMBERING THE 1984 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

It’s hard for me to believe this photograph was taken exactly 40 years ago. Here’s a pic of me outside the Dallas Loews Anatole Hotel, a short time after the presidential limo pulled up and dropped off Ronald Reagan. He made a speech inside the atrium to a packed audience of supporters.

I had just graduated from college and aspired to work in politics. The timing was ideal. Dallas hosted the RNC that year. I even got to work the event for ABC News (unpaid) and got a press badge, which I’ll find and share if I can ever find it inside all those boxes out in the garage.

The RNC press badge was a big deal because it gave me access to everywhere in the conventional hall. I saw most of the speeches, including Ronald Reagan’s acceptance speech at the end of the convention. Nobody could upstage Reagan at that time in history, and he was at the height of his presidency in 1984. However, Ray Charles singing “America the Beautiful” live on the final night almost did it — there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, including mine.

National political conventions used to be thrilling dramas filled with interesting personalities in unscripted, unpredictable moments. Now, almost everything is carefully staged. They’re basically week-long infomercials for the presidential ticket. All partisan leanings aside, only hard-core politicos watch conventions and follow along, because there’s almost nothing new coming out of them. However, both the RNC and DNC could be dramatically different this year and be interesting for very different reasons. We’ll see.

One thing about political conventions that doesn’t come across well on television is how exciting they are inside the hall. Even in 1984 when we all knew Reagan-Bush was the ticket, the atmosphere was electrified. Again, this has nothing to do with attitudes toward the candidates or party. Being there, the excitement is infectious–no matter what your political views.

What’s also remarkable about being inside the convention hall is seeing famous political and press people everywhere you turn. Senators and Congresspeople are everywhere. All the talking heads are walking through the hallways. I got to see Peter Jennings, then the ABC anchor, and hang out with their election team, working as a gopher. Most of the time, I was running coffee or sending papers and messages to other press and camera/sound people and politicians. This was long before cell phones and modern communications including texting, so everything was done by messenger.

If I had to pick a favorite moment, I’d say it was dining with the late writer Jack Germond, the longtime political insider who was a highly-influential columnist for The Baltimore Sun and a regular on NBC’s Meet the Press when the Sunday AM news shows were a big deal. I got to sit with him at one of the round tables in the press dining room during a break, and watch him interact with other press people who came and went. He also liked to eat. It was like being in the royal court of politics. I think it’s then and there I saw my dream job, though it never came to fruition.

I saw Ronald Reagan speak inside the Anatole on this day, then later at the RNC when he accepted the nomination and went on to win the 1984 re-election by a decisive margin. But the most interesting memories were the small things — touching the presidential limousine, hanging out in the press room, seeing he hall from the ABC News lofty perch vantage point, and simply walking the hallways and gawking and the rich and famous and powerful.

Good times. Great memories.

__________

Second-favorite Memory: At the nightly protests outside the Dallas Convention Center at year, “Rock Against Reagan” was headlined by Michelle Shocked and The Dead Kennedys. In downtown Dallas…..the Dead Kennedys. You can’t make that up.