This is why party platforms still matter 

I have attended five national party conventions over the years — from 1964 in San Francisco to 2000 in Philadelphia. I worked as staff on platform and rules committees for House members who were also convention delegates from their states. 

The platform committee experience I cited from 1976 saw the forces of incumbent President Gerald R. Ford squaring-off against committee delegates who supported California Gov. Ronald Reagan for president. The Ford supporters eventually backed off...