Gerald Ford, Part I
Brian Trumbore
President/Editor, StocksandNews.com

In light of all the inflation talk the past six months or so, particularly with the latest surge in oil prices and the Federal Reserve's moves on the monetary front, I thought we'd take a brief look at the presidency of Gerald R. Ford, from an economic standpoint, with the usual detour or two. You may want to get out your WIN button?Whip Inflation Now.

Ford was born Leslie L. King, Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska, 1913. In 1915 his mother moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, following the breakup of her marriage. She then married a paint salesman, Gerald R. Ford, who adopted her son and gave him his name.

Young Jerry was a fine athlete and good student and he starred at the University of Michigan on the gridiron before attending Yale Law School, where he finished in the top third of his class. Ford then served in the navy during World War II, where aside from seeing extensive combat in the South Pacific, he survived a typhoon on Dec. 18, 1944 that killed 800.

When he returned home, the 'centrist' Ford defeated a veteran Republican congressman in the 1948 primary and won his seat handily that fall. Gerald Ford then began working his way up the ranks.

Congressman Ford was never known for his legislative acumen, but his easy personality and his down-home honesty made him many friends in the House. As Herbert S. Parmet writes in "The Presidents":

"Jerry Ford's career had always exemplified the Sam Rayburn dictum that 'the best way to get along is to go along.' As Charles W. Colson told Seymour Hersh, '(Richard) Nixon knew that Ford was a team player and understood how to work with a wink and a nod.' His rise had obviously had more to do with availability than with ability. He was the perennial good guy, a product of traditional American Midwestern conservatism. That included all the exhortations upholding virtue, patriotism, and individualism, as well as old prejudices against government spending. Jerald terHorst, the newspaperman who became Ford's first presidential press secretary, has written that if Ford 'saw a school kid in front of the White House who needed clothing, he'd give him the shirt off of his back, literally. Then he'd go right in the White House and veto a school-lunch bill.'"

Congressman Ford became minority leader in Jan. 1965, a big step towards his long-time goal of becoming Speaker. But by 1970, with prospects looking grim due to the Democrats' margin in the House, he began to talk of retirement following the congressional election of 1974. Then his life changed.

In the fall of 1973, as President Richard Nixon was fully enmeshed in Watergate, winding down Vietnam, and dealing with an Arab Oil Embargo that was threatening to throw the nation into depression, Vice President Spiro Agnew faced a scandal of his own, one involving bribery and tax fraud going back to his days as governor of Maryland. Agnew resigned as part of a deal with federal prosecutors and Nixon at first wanted to designate his old buddy John Connally, the former Democratic governor of Texas, who Nixon hoped would then succeed him in 1976.

But congressional Democrats warned Nixon that he faced a fight in confirmation hearings because of the political overtones of the choice so Nixon turned to House Minority Leader Gerald Ford, who was himself a familiar national figure due to his many appearances on the Sunday morning talk shows. Ford handily won nomination, the first vice president to be selected under the 25th Amendment.

[Article XXV, Sec. 2: Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.]

Upon being selected by Nixon, Gerald Ford said "I am a Ford, not a Lincoln," an example of his self-effacing, unpretentious, affable, open way. Former President Lyndon Johnson, though, who had had to deal with Ford to get legislation passed, once told an associate that Ford was "so dumb that he can't walk and chew gum at the same time."

Ford, who was sworn in on Dec. 6, 1973, had been assured by Nixon and his people that before he accepted the nomination, the president wasn't personally involved in the Watergate scandal or cover-up. Ford initially didn't believe he would ever assume the most powerful position in the world. He soon realized, however, that Watergate was going to spell the end for Nixon.

Richard Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974. Gerald Ford was the 38th president of the United States.

"My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."

President Ford went on to say in his initial remarks to the American people:

"I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers."

And indeed, after all they had been through the previous year or so, Americans took to Gerald Ford. He himself liked to boast he had many rivals but no enemies. Coupled with First Lady Betty, the nation saw in the Fords an ordinary American family and the first Gallup poll gave the president a whopping 71 percent approval rating, with just a 3(!) percent disapproval mark.

But it was clear to Gerald Ford and his staff that the issue of pardoning Richard Nixon would dog him. At his first press conference, reporters peppered him on the topic, with Helen Thomas firing the first salvo. Did Ford agree with Nelson Rockefeller, whom Ford had just nominated to be vice president, that Nixon should have immunity from prosecution? Ford answered by expressing the "hope that our former President, who brought peace to millions, would find it for himself." That same press conference, towards the end, Ford didn't rule out the possibility of a pardon before a trial could take place. ["The Presidents"]

History has shown that despite constant pressure from Nixon associates, Gerald Ford did not cut a deal beforehand. It was only after he had been in office a few weeks that he saw no other solution to his own administration achieving its goals, telling Henry Kissinger, "Henry, we've got to put this behind us."

So on Sept. 8, 1974, following attendance at his regular Sunday church service, Ford told the American people that he was granting a "full, free, and absolute pardon for all offenses," adding the fate of Nixon was an "American tragedy (that) would go on and on and on, or someone must write an end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that."

The New York Times echoed the sentiments of a vast majority in the country; Ford's act was "unconscionable," and overnight his poll numbers plunged, with Gallup showing his approval rating going from 71 to 50 percent. White House press secretary Jerald terHorst resigned as a matter of "conscience." Ford's credibility was shot and the honeymoon was over. It was virtually impossible to convince the public the pardon wasn't part of some secret deal, even though President Ford voluntarily testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice in October in an unprecedented move.

Ford took his case to the American people, revealing that while the matter had been discussed with General Alexander Haig (the holdover chief of staff) before Nixon resigned, no commitment had been made.

"I want to assure you, members of this subcommittee, members of Congress, and the American people, there was no deal, period, under no circumstances," as he pounded the table. "I wanted to do all I could to shift our attentions from the pursuit of a fallen President to the pursuit of the urgent needs of a rising nation." ["The Presidents"]

Nixon had already paid a large price, Ford went on, and his poor health had been another consideration.

But as if this wasn't enough, about the same time President Ford was also announcing his amnesty program for Vietnam draft evaders, one that Republican Senator Barry Goldwater said was a "step that is like throwing mud in the faces of the millions of men who had served this country," while at the same time, Nelson Rockefeller, hardly a darling of conservatives, was having a rough time of it in his confirmation hearings to be vice president as he was riddled with questions about conflicts of interest involving his extensive wealth. [Rockefeller wasn't confirmed until December.]

Heading into the 1974 congressional elections, Republicans' chances looked grim.

And on this note, we'll pause. Some of you may be wondering, hey, what did the above have to do with Wall Street History? Well I had to set the stage, you understand. Keep that WIN button on?.we'll get to the topic next time.

Sources:

"A History of the United States: Inventing America," Pauline Maier, Merritt Roe Smith, Alexander Keyssar, Daniel J. Kevles
"The Growth of the American Republic," Samuel Eliot Morison, Henry Steele Commager, William E. Leuchtenburg
"America: A Narrative History," George Brown Tindall and David E. Shi "American Heritage: Illustrated History of the Presidents," edited by Michael Beschloss
"The Oxford Companion to United States History," edited by Paul S. Boyer
"The Presidents," edited by Henry F. Graff

Wall Street History returns next week.

Brian Trumbore