Losing a political election is not fun. Losing a presidential election is really tough. I was in the White House in 1976 when President Ford lost to Jimmy Carter.

I witnessed a devastated President Ford so upset he couldn’t address the nation. Mrs. Ford spoke. The excuse was given that he was hoarse from campaign rallies.

A presidential election is exhausting. You’re tired, emotionally frazzled and suffering from lack of sleep – and that was only me. I can’t imagine how the President felt.

I was on the White House press staff as a deputy to the deputy press secretary. The primary in 1976 against Ronald Reagan was long and exhausting – and then came the general election against Jimmy Carter.

President Gerald Ford greets Melanie Berney, 1976

The “victory party” on election night at the Sheraton-Park Hotel went on for hours. As the hours went by, emcee Mike Connors from the TV show Mannix, seemed to be losing steam. He kept telling the crowd that the President was on the way there, but that never happened. We all got word that the exit polls looked very bad that day. The thousands of supporters, White House staff and campaign staff who were celebrating minutes before were now in shock. We all thought the President would win. Many of us, including me, had jobs lined up in the new Ford Administration.

At about noon the next day, President Ford called to congratulate President-elect Carter. After that, the President, Mrs. Ford and family appeared in the presidential briefing room. The President thanked reporters and staff. Unable to continue because of his voice, Mrs. Ford read a telegram that was sent to Governor Carter. She continued to thank people and pledged absolute support to the new administration. The family was upset. The President was holding back tears, and teenaged daughter Susan broke down. Then the emotionally worn President circulated throughout the briefing room and thanked every single member of the press, even the ones who had been difficult like Dan Rather and a certain Washington Post reporter who gave us major headaches.

I was there for the opening remarks in the briefing room, but I was called to the Executive Office Building (EOB) next door because there was a problem producing the Presidential News Summary that day. In addition to my responsibilities in the press office, I was also managing editor of the White House News Summary, a summary of newspapers, wire services and the three TV networks that was distributed to the president and 200 other officials every day. It turned out, my staff had a remarkably busy night of partying at the hotel, and we were short-handed. That’s another story. …

President and Mrs. Ford were the epitome of grace. A class act, they were profoundly grateful for the incredible experience they had during their two years in the White House and many years in Congress.

The White House staff were employed – and paid – through January 20, 1977. I was fortunate in that my successors in the News Summary Office knew they needed help through the transition, and I was kept on for three extra weeks. They, too, were most gracious.

In addition to the grace shown by the President and Mrs. Ford, what was most amazing about this whole process is that we all witnessed the Constitution at work. At exactly noon on January 20, we all exited the West Wing and EOB with numerous boxes and belongings. The Carter staff and future appointees moved in … at exactly noon. It was seamless and orderly. That was my biggest take-away from this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The orderly transition of power was visible and took place with honor.

Melanie Staten is a public relations consultant with her husband, Vince.