A thought came to me as I was reading a book on Ronald Reagan’s 1976 primary challenge to Gerald Ford. (I’ll stop with these campaign treatsies for a while, I promise.)

The famed “Fairness Doctrine”, which disappeared during the Reagan administration, in effect in 1976 had television stations pulling old Ronald Reagan movies from their late-night line-up. Otherwise, they would have to give “equal time” to Gerald Ford.

Why didn’t some station dredge up old footage of Gerald Ford’s days playing football at the University of Michigan? (It’d have to be footage and not repeats of games, that being the freaking 1930s). I’m guessing the political ramnifications of Ronald Reagan’s old movies are about equal to the political ramnifications of Gerald Ford’s football days.

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