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By virtue of their primary defeat, the Texas Ford supporters were shut out of the national convention in Kansas City. Angelo recalls Tower as having "begged" for a delegate slot because he was a U.S. senator and was supposed to be the Ford floor leader at the convention. Angelo said that Tower could have been a delegate if he were to support Reagan, an impossible stipulation. Tower hence was not a delegate to the 1976 convention because Angelo was mindful that a close convention showdown could have been decided by a handful of delegate votes. Angelo said that he always personally liked and admired Tower though they disagreed on some issues: "John was the best extemporaneous speaker and solid as a rock on most issues." Tower had campaigned for Angelo in the latter's unsuccessful race in 1968 for the Texas State Senate. As time passed though, Tower alienated the conservative wing of his party with his support for legalized [[abortion]] and opposition to Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]].<ref>Hathorn, "Mayor Ernest Angelo", pg. 86.</ref> Barbara Staff, the Reagan co-chairman for Dallas County and North Texas, recalls that Tower spent much of his time at the convention with the closely divided [[Mississippi]] delegation and did not address the phalanx of Reagan backers in his own state's delegation. Among the Reagan backers was Betty Andujar of Fort Worth, the first Republican woman to serve in the State Senate.<ref>"Convention Notes: No love lost between Texans, [[Betty Ford]]", ''Dallas Morning News'', August 19, 1976, pg. 6A.</ref>

By virtue of their primary defeat, the Texas Ford supporters were shut out of the national convention in Kansas City. Angelo recalls Tower as having "begged" for a delegate slot because he was a U.S. senator and was supposed to be the Ford floor leader at the convention. Angelo said that Tower could have been a delegate if he were to support Reagan, an impossible stipulation. Tower hence was not a delegate to the 1976 convention because Angelo was mindful that a close convention showdown could have been decided by a handful of delegate votes. Angelo said that he always personally liked and admired Tower though they disagreed on some issues: "John was the best extemporaneous speaker and solid as a rock on most issues." Tower had campaigned for Angelo in the latter's unsuccessful race in 1968 for the Texas State Senate. As time passed though, Tower alienated the conservative wing of his party with his support for legalized [[abortion]] and opposition to Reagan's [[Strategic Defense Initiative]].<ref>Hathorn, "Mayor Ernest Angelo", pg. 86.</ref> Barbara Staff, the Reagan co-chairman for Dallas County and North Texas, recalls that Tower spent much of his time at the convention with the closely divided [[Mississippi]] delegation and did not address the phalanx of Reagan backers in his own state's delegation. Among the Reagan backers was Betty Andujar of Fort Worth, the first Republican woman to serve in the State Senate.<ref>"Convention Notes: No love lost between Texans, [[Betty Ford]]", ''Dallas Morning News'', August 19, 1976, pg. 6A.</ref>

In his last four years in the Senate, Tower headed the Senate Armed Services Committee, considered among the more significant of all congressional committee chairmanships. Though a strongly conservative in his first few years in office, he moved steadily leftward until he left the Senate. He voted against the [[Martin Luther King]] holiday bill in 1983 though many other Republicans supported the holiday.

In his last four years in the Senate, Tower headed the Senate Armed Services Committee, considered among the more significant of all congressional committee chairmanships. Though a strongly conservative in his first few years in office, he moved steadily leftward until he left the Senate. In 1983, he voted against the [[Martin Luther King]] holiday bill though many other Republicans in both houses of Congress supported the holiday, which President Reagan signed into law.

After he left the Senate, Tower was chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks with the former [[Soviet Union]] and led the Tower Commission, which issued a report highly critical of the Reagan administration's relations with the [[Contras]] and [[Iran]]. In 1989, incoming President [[George H. W. Bush]] chose Tower as his nominee for [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], but his nomination was rejected by the Senate after charges of drinking and womanizing surfaced. The opposition of [[Georgia]] Senator Sam Nunn solidified the Democratic majority against the nomination, and Tower was defeated, 53-47. After this stinging rebuke, Tower chaired the Bush Intelligence Advisory Board.

After he left the Senate, Tower was chief negotiator of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks with the former [[Soviet Union]] and led the Tower Commission, which issued a report highly critical of the Reagan administration's relations with the [[Contras]] and [[Iran]]. In 1989, incoming President [[George H. W. Bush]] chose Tower as his nominee for [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], but his nomination was rejected by the Senate after charges of drinking and womanizing surfaced. The opposition of [[Georgia]] Senator Sam Nunn solidified the Democratic majority against the nomination, and Tower was defeated, 53-47. After this stinging rebuke, Tower chaired the Bush Intelligence Advisory Board.