Thirty years ago, I thought of myself as a Jerry Ford Republican.

I was one of the schoolgirls shouting and waving when President Ford and Queen Elizabeth II arrived at Washington National Cathedral in July 1976 for the building's dedication ceremony.

Just weeks earlier, I had graduated from the Episcopal girls' school next-door. I was headed for the University of Michigan, Ford's alma mater.

When I voted for him in November 1976, I was a timid, closeted 18-year-old. I co ...

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