It’s Professor Dave, let’s talk about Gerald Ford.
Gerald R. Ford, Jr. was a Republican Congressman who served 25 years as U.S. Representative
from Michigan’s 5th congressional district, the final nine as House Minority Leader before
being appointed the 40th Vice President in 1973.
He ascended to the Presidency upon Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
In doing so, he claimed the distinction as the first and to date only person to have
served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected
to either office.
As President, Ford faced a nation wracked by the traumatic Constitutional crisis brought
on by the Watergate scandal.
The revelations of the many crimes committed by the Nixon White House stunned the nation
and Ford believed his primary job was to restore confidence in the government.
He believed that an ongoing criminal trial of Richard Nixon would hinder the healing
process, so in the most controversial decision during his presidency, Ford granted a presidential
pardon to Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal.
Some suspected that a deal had been struck by Ford and Nixon but Ford always denied this,
saying he had concluded it was in the national interest to put the scandal to rest.
Nevertheless, many of Nixon’s Cabinet members and associates were found guilty of criminal
acts and went to prison.
The pardon cast a dark cloud over the rest of Ford’s presidency.
Ford inherited the worst economy in the four decades since the Great Depression, with growing
inflation and a recession during his tenure.
His feeble attempts at controlling inflation were a program called “WIN” for Whip Inflation
Now.
It was little more than a PR gimmick, consisting of handing out WIN buttons to White House
visitors, and it had little effect on the economy.
Ford had never been considered an intellectual heavyweight and many politicians recounted
Lyndon Johnson’s crack that “Jerry Ford played too much football without a helmet.”
A tumble down the Air Force One stairs and a few skiing accidents contributed to the
public image of Ford as a bumbling simpleton, a perception that was reinforced by Saturday
Night Live comic Chevy Chase, who lampooned Ford as a klutzy, accident-prone doofus.
Compounding the hapless Ford’s misfortunes were two assassination attempts, both by deranged
women.
During Ford’s tenure, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese and the long Vietnam War
finally ended.
He also attempted to de-escalate tensions with the USSR by signing the Helsinki accords,
a 1975 agreement to improve relations, promote peace, and increase cooperation amongst its
signatories.
In the Republican presidential primary campaign of 1976, Ford was challenged by former Governor
Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination and though Ford successfully repelled Reagan’s
candidacy he narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger, former
Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.
Many claimed his pardon of Nixon had damaged him while others said it was his weak performance
in the televised presidential debates, where Ford committed a huge error by saying “There
is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.”
Following his years as President, Ford remained active in the Republican Party.
After experiencing health problems, he died in his home on December 26th, 2006.
Ford lived 93 years and 165 days, while his 895-day presidency remains the shortest term
of all presidents who did not die in office.
Watergate overshadowed Ford’s brief time in office, though he is given credit for providing
a steadying influence on the country, and he remains the last moderate Republican to
hold
the office.