In 1976 I would have voted for Jimmy Carter
In 2008 (in this hypothetical scenario) I'd vote for Ford in order to prevent Reagan from ever reaching the White House and ruining American Politics for a generation. Remember: Goldwater=Great. Reagan=Very Bad
Ford wouldn't have been able to run in 1980 as he was appointed president just before the 1974 mid-terms, so Reagan could still have won the Republican nomination in 1980 and became a president. (More likely though is Bob Dole losing heavily to Ted Kennedy in 1980 imo.)