Four months before the election day, five men gathered in a small conference room at the Reagan-Bush headquarters and reviewed an oversize calendar that marked the remaining days of the 1984 presidential campaign.

• 在离选举日还有四个月的时间，有五个人聚集在里根－布什总部的一个小型会议室里，翻着看一张硕大无比的日历，日历上清晰地标识出了1984年总统竞选剩下的日子。