Ronald Reagan

On Sept. 29, Cleveland will be the host of the first 2020 presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. It has been 40 years since Cleveland hosted a presidential debate, and it was one of the most memorable ever – the confrontation between challenger Ronald Reagan and incumbent Jimmy Carter.

Editor's note: Faithful readers of Howard Wilkinson's weekly "Tales from the Trail" column will want to know that this feature will be published on Fridays beginning May 4.

Thursday, May 29, 1980, was a day of revelation to me as a young political reporter.

That was the day I learned that Ohio was, in fact, the center of the universe when it came to American presidential politics.

"Laugh-In" is 50 years old? You bet your sweet bippy.

I can see by the old clock on the wall that "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premiered as a regular series on NBC on Jan. 22, 1968, and became an overnight sensation.  You can look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls.

Ed. note: Tales from the Trail is a column that will take you behind the scenes of politics to see some of the funny, and sometimes outright bizarre things that happen on the campaign trail, based on Howard Wilkinson's recollections of 43 years of covering politics. 

I cut my teeth as a young reporter on one of the toughest nuts to crack in Ohio political history – the late James A. Rhodes, four-term governor of the Buckeye State.