Hail to the Chiefs Part XXXVIII: Jerry
"Our long national nightmare is over." - Gerald Ford
"Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting. Little darling, it feels like years since it's been clear. Here comes the sun....it's all right." - George Harrison
Sometimes it feels as if the Ford Administration genially trips along through history with a "kick me" sign on its back. The myth was that Gerald Ford was a happy-go-lucky dimwitted klutz. Even before he was president, Lyndon Johnson got in a few zingers such as "He's a nice fellow but he spent too much time playing football without a helmet" and "Jerry Ford is so dumb he can't fart and chew gum at the same time."
Pop culture has had a field day with Ford. Chevy Chase practically built his career with his impression of Ford on Saturday Night Live. Saturday Night Live later had fun with Ford in a series of cartoons by Robert Smigel called "X-Presidents." In one episode Ford's only line is "Sandwich!" (Here's my favorite... X-Presidents ) On "The Simpsons" episode called "Two Bad Neighbors", the Simpsons temporarily have retiring President George H.W. Bush move in next door. After an episode full of Dennis the Menace-Mr. Wilson style highjinks, Jerry Ford moves in. "Hey Homer, do you like football?...Do you like nachos?...Well why don't you come over and watch the game and we'll have nachos? And then, some beer?" And it's pretty much implied that Ford is just like Homer Simpson.
Jerry Ford won't ever rank with the game-changing presidents. He didn't push through an innovative programs. He wasn't even a particularly good orator, something he'd be the first to admit himself. (Once he commented to journalist Tom DeFrank "What did you think of that speech?" And then laughing added "Wasn't worth a damn was it?") However, Ford is also one of the most underestimated presidents in American history. After the polarizing crisis of Watergate, the United States got the exact president it needed.
Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska on July 14, 1913 to Leslie Lynch King Sr. and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King. Ford's biological father was abusive and an alcoholic. He hit his wife on their honeymoon for looking at another man. Just days after Ford was born his biological father threatened to kill both his wife and infant child with a butcher knife. Dorothy fled with her baby to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he parents lived, and quickly obtained a divorce.
In 1917 Dorothy married Gerald Ford Sr., a local businessman (nothing to do with the automotive industry.) From then on, Ford was called Gerald Ford Jr., although he wouldn't legally change his name until he was in his 20's. While never formally adopted, so they could still receive child support from Leslie King Sr....Jerry Ford considered his kind stepfather to be his real dad. Ford would later follow in his stepfather's footsteps when he married Betty Bloomer Warren who, like his mother, had also divorced an abusive alcoholic.
Ford had a happy childhood. He was active in Boy Scouts and took a lot of pride in being the only president who was also an Eagle Scout. He went to South High School in Grand Rapids, and was captain of the football team. He was also on the football team when he attended the University of Michigan. Both the Lions and the Packers attempted to recruit him. Ford got his law degree from Yale Law School. In 1941 Ford moved back to Grand Rapids to open a law practice. One of his earliest lawsuits was against his birth father, one of the few people had had absolutely no use for. He commented to his mother "You husband and my father must have been an evil man." Ford managed to get his (wealthy) birth father arrested for years of unpaid child support, and he finally paid up.
When World War II started Ford enlisted in the Navy. Unlike his predecessors Nixon (who pretty much spent the war playing poker on a supply ship) and Johnson (who observed combat once, and then hightailed it home), Ford's ship saw quite a bit of action and received multiple medals, including two bronze stars, for his service.
In 1948 Ford defeated the Republican incumbent in his Congressional district, and would serve in the House of Representatives for the next 25 years. Discreetly, during that first campaign, Ford married Betty Bloomer Warren. They opted to keep the wedding as quiet as possible, just in case constituents did not approve of his marriage to a divorced ex-dancer.
Ford was very much a part of the Republican team in Congress, and fairly conservative. Although Ford considered himself "a bit of a rebel." Ford showed himself to be a good team player. He worked well with Congressman of a wide range of political views both in his party and across the aisle with the Democrats. Ford never had any interest in the presidency. His highest aspiration was to be the Speaker of the House. However during his later years in Congress, there was never a Republican majority. Instead he served as House Minority Leader.
In 1963 Ford served on the Warren Commission which investigated the assassination of President Kennedy. Because of his time on the commission, Ford was a firm believer in the lone gunman theory, a.k.a. Lee Harvey Oswald worked alone and there was no conspiracy. Ford was thoroughly annoyed with Oliver Stone for creating the movie "J.F.K." According to Thomas DeFrank, Ford found the movie "artistically and historically irresponsible." "The trouble with the movie, experts tell me, is eighty percent of the people who go to the movies are between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four. None of those were alive when JFK was killed. So they're getting a totally distorted view about that tragedy."
Initially Jerry and Betty decided in the early 1970's that Ford would run for one last term in Congress and retire in January, 1977. (Ford did wind up retiring from government work in January, 1977....but not the way he originally planned.) In October, 1973, Gerald Ford was confirmed by Congress as the vice-president, replacing Spiro Agnew after his resignation. On the night that Nixon made the official announcement that Ford would be the Vice-President, after the speech he went over and commented "Congratulations!" I'm guessing she arched an eyebrow at him when she retorted "Congratulations or condolences?" One of Ford's more memorable speeches (thanks to speechwriter Robert Hartman) was when he got sworn in as Vice-President and declared "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln." Even if he didn't write the line himself, it was a classic example of Ford's self-effacing sense of humor.
Ford was Vice-President for just 8 months. His job was considerably more difficult than your standard try to follow the party line of whatever the president is saying, and stay available in case he suddenly keels over dead. Ford had a difficult tightrope to walk. One the one hand, he had to appear somewhat loyal to Nixon and not look like he was actively going after Nixon's job. On the other hand, Ford had to maintain some distance from Nixon, so that he wouldn't be tainted by the Watergate Scandal as, odds looked pretty likely Ford WOULD have Nixon's job.
Once Ford became vice-president, he didn't make much of an effort to find out if Nixon was actually guilty. Ford for the most part remained blissfully ignorant of the realities of Nixon's involvement until not long before the resignation. As the first vice-president not to be elected, he figured it was time for some good will trips around the United States. For the most part, he managed to keep up the charade of not expecting to be president, but he did have the occasional slip.
One evening he was speaking to young reporter Thomas DeFrank. DeFrank made a comment about how he thought Nixon was finished and Ford would be president. Ford replied "You're right, but when the pages of history are written nobody can say I contributed to it." Ford realized right away his mistake. DeFrank later remarked that Ford was "98 percent koala bear and 2 percent grizzly bear." That night DeFrank got to experience the grizzly bear two percent. Ford grabbed DeFrank's tie and insisted "Tom you are not leaving this room until we have an understanding." Ultimately, Ford agreed that DeFrank could "write it when I'm dead."
Nixon, via his aide Alex Haig, attempted to make a deal with Ford when resignation seemed inevitable. The deal was that Nixon would resign, and then Ford would pardon him. Ford refused the deal.
The resignation happened on August 9, 1974. Ford's speech following his swearing in, helped set the tone for his whole administration. "Our long national nightmare is over...As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate, more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate. In the beginning, I asked you to pray for me. Before closing, I ask again your prayers, for Richard Nixon and for his family. May our former President, who brought peace to millions, find it for himself."
Because of the abrupt timing of resignation, Ford actually had to commute to the White House from his suburban home in Alexandria, Virginia for the first week or so. One of the earliest images of President Ford was of him retrieving his morning paper while wearing pajamas.
The Ford honeymoon lasted for almost exactly a month. His approval ratings were high. Everybody was enjoying that he was not Nixon. However, Ford found that the Watergate issue was not going away. He was constantly spending large amounts of his time dealing with Watergate-related questions. Ford's thinking was the country would not be able to move on unless there was some closure. So, he decided to pardon Nixon. According to the David Frost interviews, when Ford called Nixon after the pardon, Nixon pointed out that Ford would probably be heavily criticized for the pardon. Ford's response was "I don't give a damn about the criticism. I did it because it was RIGHT."
Then Nixon gave as close to a grin as his dour face could muster, and added "That's the way he is." The pardon most likely cost Ford the 1976 election, but Ford had no regrets. He was excoriated on both sides of the aisle, from Barry Goldwater to Ted Kennedy. However, in the long term, some of his critics ultimately came to agree with Ford's thinking. In 2001 the Kennedy Library gave Ford the "Profile in Courage Award" for that act.
A lot of Ford's greatest accomplishments, in my opinion, seemed minor or even insignificant at the time, but helped a great deal in clearing the air after Nixon. In the Nixon White House, visitors to the Oval Office would be ushered over to Nixon's desk by a staff member. In the Ford White House, Jerry would wait at the door to great the visitors himself. Nixon's presidential photographer, Ollie Atkins, was very restricted in what photographs he was allowed to take. Ford's photographer, David Kennerly, not only had more leeway, but was often invited up for drinks with the president on Friday evenings.
Even the fact that the press started zeroing in on ridiculous things like Ford tripping as he walked up the stairs, were a sign that the Ford administration was a calmer period.
Ford did try to implement programs. Most of them were forgettable such as "Whip Inflation Now."
There was some excitement. In April of 1975, Saigon finally fell to the North Vietnamese. With no congressional funds, there was very little Ford could do, but he did push to evacuate as many South Vietnamese refugees as possible, as he thought it was the least the U.S. could do for its former allies. That same month the Khmer Rouge took over in Cambodia.
In May, the Khmer Rouge captured a U.S. ship just off the waters of Cambodia. At the time it seemed like high drama, and Ford sent in the marines to save the day. However these particular Khmer Rouge (unlike the ones that were murdering their countrymen left and right) were actually surprisingly courteous to their prisoners.
In September of 1975 there was, within 3 weeks, two assassination attempts on Gerald Ford. Both were in California. Both were by women: Squeaky Fromme, a member of the Manson family (who didn't even have a bullet in the firing chamber.....both literally and metaphorically....) and Sara Jane Moore. Both women are free today on parole. There's a story, that may be apocryphal, that Jerry made a crack to Betty that he may have to withdraw his support for the Equal Rights Amendment because "Those women are trying to kill me!"
October of 1975 was when Saturday Night Live first aired, and the Chevy Chase imitations of Ford began. Ford did his best to grin and bear it. His press secretary, Ron Nessen, was even a host on Saturday Night Live. That episode included some pre-recorded bits such as Ford saying "I'm Gerald Ford, and you're not." Ford later admitted during that time period that behind his grin, he was making some pretty deep teeth marks in his favorite pipes. However, he saw the importance of having a good sense of humor and even wrote a book in the 1980's called "Humor and the Presidency." Ford and Chevy Chase eventually became friends....which in and of itself is an accomplishment. (Chevy Chase is pretty notoriously prickly, and despite being part of the original cast, was one of the first hosts to be banned from Saturday Night Live due to his appalling treatment of cast members.)
1975 was also the year of the Helsinki Accords. To grossly oversimplify, it was an unofficial agreement between the United States, Canada and every European nation (minus Andorra and Albania) to respect each other's sovereignty and to recognize human rights. At the time, it was often seen as a weak agreement, and yet another thing Ford got grief for. However over time, many have seen the Helsinki Accords as a clear milestone for the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
Former Secretary of State General Colin Powell had this to say about the Helsinki Accords: "One of President Ford's greatest moments is when he participated in the negotiation and the signing of the Final Act in Helsinki...against the wishes and against the advice of a number of people, but he did it. It was a bold, brave, visionary act that I think contributed greatly to the subsequent demise of the Soviet Union. Not by armies marching over it, but by the corrosive power of democracy, market economic activity, and the will of free people."
In 1976 Ford was proud to be the president during America's bicentennial year. It was also the year he called for mass vaccinations against a swine flu epidemic. Now this may seem like a trivial part of his administration to bring up, however it affected me directly. My mom put off trying to have a baby for a month because she had to get vaccinated for swine flu. So, in a weird way, I owe my life to Gerald Ford.
I would be remiss if I did not talk about one of my favorite aspects of the Ford administration: his first lady! Betty Ford really came into her own during her brief time as First Lady. She became famously outspoken. Sometimes her point of view was in direct conflict to her husband's administration (such as being openly pro-choice.) However, Jerry Ford was very supportive, and firmly believed his wife was entitled to her own opinion.
When Betty was diagnosed with breast cancer, and had a mastectomy in 1974, she was very open about the experience to the public. It's estimated that thousands of women's lives have been saved due to the awareness Betty Ford brought to the disease. Later, Betty Ford would also bring awareness of another disease: alcoholism. Her foundation of the Betty Ford Center made alcoholism a more acceptable topic to talk about openly, and brought increased awareness about twelve step programs.
Initially in the 1976 election, Ronald Reagan attempted to become the Republican nominee, which was unheard of with a sitting president from the same party. Ford never forgave Reagan for his lack of support in 1976, and blamed him for his defeat. (One factor that helped cement the friendship of Ford and Jimmy Carter was their mutual loathing of Reagan.) Ford was defeated in 1976 by Jimmy Carter. Due to hoarseness, it was Betty Ford who gave the concession speech.
One interesting fact about the 1976 election. From 1976 on, in every presidential election, at least one of the major party candidates was left-handed. Jerry Ford was left-handed, as well as Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and John Kerry. 1992 was especially fun because George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton AND Ross Perot were all left-handed.
Initially Ford thought he might be able to pull a Grover Cleveland and get re-elected in 1980. He eventually gave up on that idea. He then mainly focused on traveling and making money to provide a financial legacy for his family, and building his presidential library. He would continue to advise U.S. presidents the rest of his life, and write the occasional op-ed piece. He enraged fellow Republicans with one op-ed during the Clinton years when he suggested censure would be a better option than impeachment.
Gerald Ford died on December 26, 2006. Thomas DeFrank suggested that holding out until the day after Christmas may have been Ford's final gift to his family.
Resources
Ever the Rodney Dangerfield of presidents, there was no American Experience documentary on Ford. However, I did find for documentaries:
"Betty Ford: The Real Deal" and "Gerald Ford Appointment With History."
"Charlie Rose: An Appreciation of Gerald Ford, January 2, 2007" - includes guests Michael Beschloss, Douglas Brinkley and Thomas DeFrank
"Gerald R. Ford" by Douglas Brinkley, part of the Schlesinger series, is a good way to get the bare bones about the administration.
"Write It When I'm Gone" by Thomas DeFrank is a lot of fun, and a great way to get more information on Ford the man.
"Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting. Little darling, it feels like years since it's been clear. Here comes the sun....it's all right." - George Harrison
Sometimes it feels as if the Ford Administration genially trips along through history with a "kick me" sign on its back. The myth was that Gerald Ford was a happy-go-lucky dimwitted klutz. Even before he was president, Lyndon Johnson got in a few zingers such as "He's a nice fellow but he spent too much time playing football without a helmet" and "Jerry Ford is so dumb he can't fart and chew gum at the same time."
Pop culture has had a field day with Ford. Chevy Chase practically built his career with his impression of Ford on Saturday Night Live. Saturday Night Live later had fun with Ford in a series of cartoons by Robert Smigel called "X-Presidents." In one episode Ford's only line is "Sandwich!" (Here's my favorite... X-Presidents ) On "The Simpsons" episode called "Two Bad Neighbors", the Simpsons temporarily have retiring President George H.W. Bush move in next door. After an episode full of Dennis the Menace-Mr. Wilson style highjinks, Jerry Ford moves in. "Hey Homer, do you like football?...Do you like nachos?...Well why don't you come over and watch the game and we'll have nachos? And then, some beer?" And it's pretty much implied that Ford is just like Homer Simpson.
Jerry Ford won't ever rank with the game-changing presidents. He didn't push through an innovative programs. He wasn't even a particularly good orator, something he'd be the first to admit himself. (Once he commented to journalist Tom DeFrank "What did you think of that speech?" And then laughing added "Wasn't worth a damn was it?") However, Ford is also one of the most underestimated presidents in American history. After the polarizing crisis of Watergate, the United States got the exact president it needed.
Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska on July 14, 1913 to Leslie Lynch King Sr. and Dorothy Ayer Gardner King. Ford's biological father was abusive and an alcoholic. He hit his wife on their honeymoon for looking at another man. Just days after Ford was born his biological father threatened to kill both his wife and infant child with a butcher knife. Dorothy fled with her baby to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he parents lived, and quickly obtained a divorce.
In 1917 Dorothy married Gerald Ford Sr., a local businessman (nothing to do with the automotive industry.) From then on, Ford was called Gerald Ford Jr., although he wouldn't legally change his name until he was in his 20's. While never formally adopted, so they could still receive child support from Leslie King Sr....Jerry Ford considered his kind stepfather to be his real dad. Ford would later follow in his stepfather's footsteps when he married Betty Bloomer Warren who, like his mother, had also divorced an abusive alcoholic.
Ford had a happy childhood. He was active in Boy Scouts and took a lot of pride in being the only president who was also an Eagle Scout. He went to South High School in Grand Rapids, and was captain of the football team. He was also on the football team when he attended the University of Michigan. Both the Lions and the Packers attempted to recruit him. Ford got his law degree from Yale Law School. In 1941 Ford moved back to Grand Rapids to open a law practice. One of his earliest lawsuits was against his birth father, one of the few people had had absolutely no use for. He commented to his mother "You husband and my father must have been an evil man." Ford managed to get his (wealthy) birth father arrested for years of unpaid child support, and he finally paid up.
When World War II started Ford enlisted in the Navy. Unlike his predecessors Nixon (who pretty much spent the war playing poker on a supply ship) and Johnson (who observed combat once, and then hightailed it home), Ford's ship saw quite a bit of action and received multiple medals, including two bronze stars, for his service.
In 1948 Ford defeated the Republican incumbent in his Congressional district, and would serve in the House of Representatives for the next 25 years. Discreetly, during that first campaign, Ford married Betty Bloomer Warren. They opted to keep the wedding as quiet as possible, just in case constituents did not approve of his marriage to a divorced ex-dancer.
Ford was very much a part of the Republican team in Congress, and fairly conservative. Although Ford considered himself "a bit of a rebel." Ford showed himself to be a good team player. He worked well with Congressman of a wide range of political views both in his party and across the aisle with the Democrats. Ford never had any interest in the presidency. His highest aspiration was to be the Speaker of the House. However during his later years in Congress, there was never a Republican majority. Instead he served as House Minority Leader.
In 1963 Ford served on the Warren Commission which investigated the assassination of President Kennedy. Because of his time on the commission, Ford was a firm believer in the lone gunman theory, a.k.a. Lee Harvey Oswald worked alone and there was no conspiracy. Ford was thoroughly annoyed with Oliver Stone for creating the movie "J.F.K." According to Thomas DeFrank, Ford found the movie "artistically and historically irresponsible." "The trouble with the movie, experts tell me, is eighty percent of the people who go to the movies are between the ages of sixteen and twenty-four. None of those were alive when JFK was killed. So they're getting a totally distorted view about that tragedy."
Initially Jerry and Betty decided in the early 1970's that Ford would run for one last term in Congress and retire in January, 1977. (Ford did wind up retiring from government work in January, 1977....but not the way he originally planned.) In October, 1973, Gerald Ford was confirmed by Congress as the vice-president, replacing Spiro Agnew after his resignation. On the night that Nixon made the official announcement that Ford would be the Vice-President, after the speech he went over and commented "Congratulations!" I'm guessing she arched an eyebrow at him when she retorted "Congratulations or condolences?" One of Ford's more memorable speeches (thanks to speechwriter Robert Hartman) was when he got sworn in as Vice-President and declared "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln." Even if he didn't write the line himself, it was a classic example of Ford's self-effacing sense of humor.
Ford was Vice-President for just 8 months. His job was considerably more difficult than your standard try to follow the party line of whatever the president is saying, and stay available in case he suddenly keels over dead. Ford had a difficult tightrope to walk. One the one hand, he had to appear somewhat loyal to Nixon and not look like he was actively going after Nixon's job. On the other hand, Ford had to maintain some distance from Nixon, so that he wouldn't be tainted by the Watergate Scandal as, odds looked pretty likely Ford WOULD have Nixon's job.
Once Ford became vice-president, he didn't make much of an effort to find out if Nixon was actually guilty. Ford for the most part remained blissfully ignorant of the realities of Nixon's involvement until not long before the resignation. As the first vice-president not to be elected, he figured it was time for some good will trips around the United States. For the most part, he managed to keep up the charade of not expecting to be president, but he did have the occasional slip.
One evening he was speaking to young reporter Thomas DeFrank. DeFrank made a comment about how he thought Nixon was finished and Ford would be president. Ford replied "You're right, but when the pages of history are written nobody can say I contributed to it." Ford realized right away his mistake. DeFrank later remarked that Ford was "98 percent koala bear and 2 percent grizzly bear." That night DeFrank got to experience the grizzly bear two percent. Ford grabbed DeFrank's tie and insisted "Tom you are not leaving this room until we have an understanding." Ultimately, Ford agreed that DeFrank could "write it when I'm dead."
Nixon, via his aide Alex Haig, attempted to make a deal with Ford when resignation seemed inevitable. The deal was that Nixon would resign, and then Ford would pardon him. Ford refused the deal.
The resignation happened on August 9, 1974. Ford's speech following his swearing in, helped set the tone for his whole administration. "Our long national nightmare is over...As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate, more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate. In the beginning, I asked you to pray for me. Before closing, I ask again your prayers, for Richard Nixon and for his family. May our former President, who brought peace to millions, find it for himself."
Because of the abrupt timing of resignation, Ford actually had to commute to the White House from his suburban home in Alexandria, Virginia for the first week or so. One of the earliest images of President Ford was of him retrieving his morning paper while wearing pajamas.
The Ford honeymoon lasted for almost exactly a month. His approval ratings were high. Everybody was enjoying that he was not Nixon. However, Ford found that the Watergate issue was not going away. He was constantly spending large amounts of his time dealing with Watergate-related questions. Ford's thinking was the country would not be able to move on unless there was some closure. So, he decided to pardon Nixon. According to the David Frost interviews, when Ford called Nixon after the pardon, Nixon pointed out that Ford would probably be heavily criticized for the pardon. Ford's response was "I don't give a damn about the criticism. I did it because it was RIGHT."
Then Nixon gave as close to a grin as his dour face could muster, and added "That's the way he is." The pardon most likely cost Ford the 1976 election, but Ford had no regrets. He was excoriated on both sides of the aisle, from Barry Goldwater to Ted Kennedy. However, in the long term, some of his critics ultimately came to agree with Ford's thinking. In 2001 the Kennedy Library gave Ford the "Profile in Courage Award" for that act.
A lot of Ford's greatest accomplishments, in my opinion, seemed minor or even insignificant at the time, but helped a great deal in clearing the air after Nixon. In the Nixon White House, visitors to the Oval Office would be ushered over to Nixon's desk by a staff member. In the Ford White House, Jerry would wait at the door to great the visitors himself. Nixon's presidential photographer, Ollie Atkins, was very restricted in what photographs he was allowed to take. Ford's photographer, David Kennerly, not only had more leeway, but was often invited up for drinks with the president on Friday evenings.
Even the fact that the press started zeroing in on ridiculous things like Ford tripping as he walked up the stairs, were a sign that the Ford administration was a calmer period.
Ford did try to implement programs. Most of them were forgettable such as "Whip Inflation Now."
There was some excitement. In April of 1975, Saigon finally fell to the North Vietnamese. With no congressional funds, there was very little Ford could do, but he did push to evacuate as many South Vietnamese refugees as possible, as he thought it was the least the U.S. could do for its former allies. That same month the Khmer Rouge took over in Cambodia.
In May, the Khmer Rouge captured a U.S. ship just off the waters of Cambodia. At the time it seemed like high drama, and Ford sent in the marines to save the day. However these particular Khmer Rouge (unlike the ones that were murdering their countrymen left and right) were actually surprisingly courteous to their prisoners.
In September of 1975 there was, within 3 weeks, two assassination attempts on Gerald Ford. Both were in California. Both were by women: Squeaky Fromme, a member of the Manson family (who didn't even have a bullet in the firing chamber.....both literally and metaphorically....) and Sara Jane Moore. Both women are free today on parole. There's a story, that may be apocryphal, that Jerry made a crack to Betty that he may have to withdraw his support for the Equal Rights Amendment because "Those women are trying to kill me!"
October of 1975 was when Saturday Night Live first aired, and the Chevy Chase imitations of Ford began. Ford did his best to grin and bear it. His press secretary, Ron Nessen, was even a host on Saturday Night Live. That episode included some pre-recorded bits such as Ford saying "I'm Gerald Ford, and you're not." Ford later admitted during that time period that behind his grin, he was making some pretty deep teeth marks in his favorite pipes. However, he saw the importance of having a good sense of humor and even wrote a book in the 1980's called "Humor and the Presidency." Ford and Chevy Chase eventually became friends....which in and of itself is an accomplishment. (Chevy Chase is pretty notoriously prickly, and despite being part of the original cast, was one of the first hosts to be banned from Saturday Night Live due to his appalling treatment of cast members.)
1975 was also the year of the Helsinki Accords. To grossly oversimplify, it was an unofficial agreement between the United States, Canada and every European nation (minus Andorra and Albania) to respect each other's sovereignty and to recognize human rights. At the time, it was often seen as a weak agreement, and yet another thing Ford got grief for. However over time, many have seen the Helsinki Accords as a clear milestone for the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
Former Secretary of State General Colin Powell had this to say about the Helsinki Accords: "One of President Ford's greatest moments is when he participated in the negotiation and the signing of the Final Act in Helsinki...against the wishes and against the advice of a number of people, but he did it. It was a bold, brave, visionary act that I think contributed greatly to the subsequent demise of the Soviet Union. Not by armies marching over it, but by the corrosive power of democracy, market economic activity, and the will of free people."
In 1976 Ford was proud to be the president during America's bicentennial year. It was also the year he called for mass vaccinations against a swine flu epidemic. Now this may seem like a trivial part of his administration to bring up, however it affected me directly. My mom put off trying to have a baby for a month because she had to get vaccinated for swine flu. So, in a weird way, I owe my life to Gerald Ford.
I would be remiss if I did not talk about one of my favorite aspects of the Ford administration: his first lady! Betty Ford really came into her own during her brief time as First Lady. She became famously outspoken. Sometimes her point of view was in direct conflict to her husband's administration (such as being openly pro-choice.) However, Jerry Ford was very supportive, and firmly believed his wife was entitled to her own opinion.
When Betty was diagnosed with breast cancer, and had a mastectomy in 1974, she was very open about the experience to the public. It's estimated that thousands of women's lives have been saved due to the awareness Betty Ford brought to the disease. Later, Betty Ford would also bring awareness of another disease: alcoholism. Her foundation of the Betty Ford Center made alcoholism a more acceptable topic to talk about openly, and brought increased awareness about twelve step programs.
Initially in the 1976 election, Ronald Reagan attempted to become the Republican nominee, which was unheard of with a sitting president from the same party. Ford never forgave Reagan for his lack of support in 1976, and blamed him for his defeat. (One factor that helped cement the friendship of Ford and Jimmy Carter was their mutual loathing of Reagan.) Ford was defeated in 1976 by Jimmy Carter. Due to hoarseness, it was Betty Ford who gave the concession speech.
One interesting fact about the 1976 election. From 1976 on, in every presidential election, at least one of the major party candidates was left-handed. Jerry Ford was left-handed, as well as Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and John Kerry. 1992 was especially fun because George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton AND Ross Perot were all left-handed.
Initially Ford thought he might be able to pull a Grover Cleveland and get re-elected in 1980. He eventually gave up on that idea. He then mainly focused on traveling and making money to provide a financial legacy for his family, and building his presidential library. He would continue to advise U.S. presidents the rest of his life, and write the occasional op-ed piece. He enraged fellow Republicans with one op-ed during the Clinton years when he suggested censure would be a better option than impeachment.
Gerald Ford died on December 26, 2006. Thomas DeFrank suggested that holding out until the day after Christmas may have been Ford's final gift to his family.
Resources
Ever the Rodney Dangerfield of presidents, there was no American Experience documentary on Ford. However, I did find for documentaries:
"Betty Ford: The Real Deal" and "Gerald Ford Appointment With History."
"Charlie Rose: An Appreciation of Gerald Ford, January 2, 2007" - includes guests Michael Beschloss, Douglas Brinkley and Thomas DeFrank
"Gerald R. Ford" by Douglas Brinkley, part of the Schlesinger series, is a good way to get the bare bones about the administration.
"Write It When I'm Gone" by Thomas DeFrank is a lot of fun, and a great way to get more information on Ford the man.