>>George H. Bush had scored an unexpected victory in the Iowa caucuses, and appeared to have the momentum in the days leading up to the state's earliest primary. But the Nashua debate on Feb. 23,1980, was credited with turning the tide in Reagan's favor.
Bush's strategy was to whittle the crowded 1980 race to himself and Reagan, and he would not agree to open the debate to the other candidates.
So Reagan's campaign covered the rental for the hall, but when he tried to explain to the audience why the others should be included, the moderator called for Reagan's microphone to be turned off.
Reagan snapped: "I paid for this microphone," as Bush looked woefully on.
(Actually it was "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Breen")
Reagan came out of the debate looking like a decisive leader, and went on to a landslide victory in the primary that led him to the Republican nomination and the presidency.
"That was the turning point in the national campaign," said U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, whose father, former Gov.Hugh Gregg, was Bush's state campaign adviser. "His spontaneity in a time of high theater was devastating for Bush."
Gregg recalled Saturday that when they drove Jim Baker, Bush's national campaign manager, to the airport that night, "It was a fairly depressing ride."
Gregg said the incident "confirmed what everyone else was thinking ... that Reagan was an individual who could be an aggressive and strong leader."
Hear that moment:http://www.npr.org/news/specials/obits/reagan/audio_archive.html
and scroll to:
Listen to Reagan, in the Feb. 23, 1980, debate in Nashua, N.H., angrily declare that he is "paying for this microphone."
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