He was the speaker at a Republican shindig and was vying for the Presidential nomination of the party. Ford prevailed, however, and Reagan had to wait until 1980. I often wonder how things would have been different had Reagan, not Carter, been inaugurated in January of 1981.
My other "brush with greatness" occurred in 1972 when Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott used the urinal next to me.
nemesis
1.A source of harm or ruin: Uncritical trust is my nemesis.
2.Retributive justice in its execution or outcome: To follow the proposed course of action is to invite nemesis.
3.An opponent that cannot be beaten or overcome.
4.One that inflicts retribution or vengeance.
5.Nemesis Greek Mythology. The goddess of retributive justice or vengeance.
Gorbachev was hardly Reagan's nemesis during the cold war!
ScaniaBoy