Gerald R. Ford
Transcription
Gerald R. Ford
.THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 GERALD R. FORD A man of character TRACKING THE STORY THE EARLY YEARS THE PRESIDENCY His boyhood in Grand Rapids, his achievements at South High, U-M and Yale, his Navy career, law practice and wedding. Page 2 After starting with words of reconciliation, he has a short but tumultuous stay in the White House. Page 8 CLOSE CAMPAIGN After fighting off a challenge from within the Republican Party, his re-election effort falls just short. Page 10 LIFE OF POLITICS His entry into politics starts a long and successful career. Then fallout from a scandal propels him from Congress to the vice presidency. Pages 4-6 PHYSICAL GRACE Mishaps made him the target of comedians, but Ford was the most athletically accomplished president. Page 3 AMERICA’S FIRST FAMILY HIS LEGACY The nation is fascinated with Betty Ford’s open, refreshing style and their children’s vitality. Pages 12-13 Museum showcases his career, while hometown, nation show appreciation. Pages 14-15 1 .2 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Early milestone: Gerald R. Ford Jr., then known as Leslie Lynch King Jr., is held by his mother, Dorothy Ayer Gardner King, on his baptism day in September 1913. Scout’s honor: Ford folds the flag during a ceremony at Fort Michilimackinac at Mackinac Island State Park, where he was an Eagle Scout guide in 1929. Team leader: The 1930 South High School football team. Ford is seated in the front row, holding the ball. In his nation’s service: Home on leave during World War II, he shows his parents, Dorothy Ford and Gerald R. Ford Sr., a map of the Pacific Theater, where he had been on duty for 18 months. A special day: Gerald Ford and Elizabeth Bloomer Warren were married Oct. 15, 1948, at Grace Episcopal Church in East Grand Rapids. Groundwork for success was laid in early years BIO BOX Hard work, honesty were central virtues in Ford household Growing up Milestones in the early years of Gerald R. Ford Jr. BY PAT SHELLENBARGER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS Gerald R. Ford lost his first campaign for president, although the race is not well documented in the annals of American politics. Campaign posters were everywhere, friendships broken, promises made, and, according to one published account, “the mad scramble was dignified by expert and beautiful mudslinging on a truly mature scale by the campaign managers, by admirable sportsmanship on the parts of all candidates, even under virulent attacks, and by the fiery excitement among the citizens...” In the end, William Schuiling was elected president of the 1931 South High School senior class, as recorded in the school’s yearbook. And Gerald Ford endured the disappointment of defeat, a frustration he wouldn’t taste again for 45 years, that time to a man named Jimmy Carter. In between, the young Ford demonstrated a dedication and work ethic that inexorably led him to the most powerful office in the world. As a youngster, he had a hot temper, which his mother, a strict disciplinarian, taught him to control by reciting the Rudyard Kipling poem “If,” which begins: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you...” and ends, “you’ll be a Man, my son!” “Despite all of the discipline, I Leadership: Ford used this in his run for South High student government. never once doubted her love,” Ford wrote in his 1979 autobiography, “A Time to Heal.” He was 12 or 13 when he learned Gerald R. Ford Sr. was not his birth father. The younger Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in Omaha, Neb., the son of Dorothy Ayer Gardner King and Leslie Lynch King Sr. His parents separated two weeks after his birth. His mother moved to Grand Rapids and married Gerald R. Ford two years after her divorce was final. The couple began calling her son Gerald Jr., although he did not legally adopt that name until he was 22. “I didn’t know Jerry was my halfbrother until I was 26 years old,” said Richard Ford, the youngest of the former president’s three half-brothers. “There was never any reason to mention it.” When he was 17, Gerald Ford was working the counter at Bill Skougis’ restaurant across the street from South High when he noticed a man standing by the candy case. “I’m Leslie King, your father,” he Born: July 14, 1913, Omaha, Neb. Moved to Grand Rapids in 1914. Religion: Episcopalian Grade schools: Madison Elementary School; East Grand Rapids Elementary School. High school: Grand Rapids South High School, Class of 1931. College: University of Michigan, Class of 1935. Majored in economics and political science. Law school: Yale University Law School, Class of 1941. Military service: Joined Navy in 1942 and remained on active duty until 1946. Served aboard USS Monterey and was discharged with rank of lieutenant commander. Was in Naval Reserves until 1963. Marriage: Married Elizabeth Bloomer Warren on Oct. 15, 1948. SOURCE: Gerald R. Ford Library said, and asked Ford to lunch. “I was stunned and didn’t know what to say,” Ford recalled in his autobiography. He knew little about King, except he had abused his mother and failed to pay the courtordered child support. “I’m working,” Ford said. “Ask your boss if you can get off,” his father persisted. After an uncomfortable lunch, King handed him $25, climbed into a car with a woman he introduced as his wife and drove away. “That night was one of the most difficult of my life,” Ford wrote. “...When I went to bed that night, I COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Dressed up: Young Gerald Ford, left, with his half-brother Thomas. broke down and cried.” He knew his stepfather loved him as much as he did his other three sons. It was Gerald Ford Sr. who took him fishing on the Pere Marquette River, encouraged him to become an Eagle Scout and imbued him with the confidence to succeed. “I think Dad instilled in all of us the thought that you grew up in this community, and you owe to this community a debt for all it’s done for you,” said Richard Ford, a retired chemical engineer in Grand Rapids. Their parents insisted on honesty. “You could never get in trouble in the Ford household if you told the truth,” Richard Ford said. “None of us ever got paddled. He (their father) said, ‘This is the way it’s going to be,’ and you never questioned it.” Despite his loss for senior class president, Gerald Ford was one of the most popular students in school, captain of the football team, an all-state center, a member of the student council and many other groups. “He was the best older brother you could ever have,” Richard Ford said. “He set the standard for myself and Tom and Jim,” referring to their late brothers. His senior yearbook said Ford’s career goal was not as a politician but as a “policeman — that’s what Gerald Ford wants to be when he grows up.” He was accepted at the University of Michigan, but, at $50 a semester, college was beyond his family’s means. South High School Principal Arthur Krause came to his rescue, arranging for Ford to receive a $100 South High “bookstore” scholarship, enough for a year’s tuition. The rest Ford earned waiting tables, working odd jobs and, every two or three months, selling his blood at the university hospital. His later success is well documented, but Ford never forgot his friends in Grand Rapids, or they him. William Schuiling, the man who beat Ford for class president, enjoyed his own success as president of Old Kent Bank & Trust and later as CEO of the First National Bank of Washington. When Ford became president, his friends remembered his habit of swimming laps every day. Schuiling, who died in 1999, led the fundraising to build him a pool at the White House. E-mail: [email protected] GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER .THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS Athletic ability opened doors to Ford’s career WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 3 COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Gridiron star: Ford, shown in his days as a center for the University of Michigan, was skilled enough to have received offers from professional teams. “I know I am getting better at golf because I am hitting fewer spectators.” — Gerald R. Ford Regular exercise: Ford talks with reporters after swimming a few laps in the pool at his home in Alexandria, Va., a few days into his presidency. After he moved to the White House, he had a pool built there. U-M football scholarship got him started BY TED ROELOFS THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS It might be no exaggeration to say Gerald R. Ford would never have been president without sports. He learned early lessons about teamwork on the mud and turf of local football fields, under the watchful eye of Grand Rapids South High School football coach Clifford Gettings. The muscular Ford was a standout center, adept at blowing big holes in the opposing defensive line. He captained the squad that won the state championship in 1930. That earned him a partial scholarship to the University of Michigan, where he put himself through school waiting tables. Athletics loomed large again. His first year there, he was Famous fall: Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, left, and a military aide help President Ford, who had just slipped while leaving Air Force One in Salzburg, Austria in 1975. Ford recovered with the one-liner: “I’m sorry I tumbled in like this.” This slip helped give Ford the image of a stumbling klutz. voted outstanding freshman on the football team. In 1934, he earned most valuable player honors for the Wolverines, even though the team struggled with a losing record. Ford later quipped that the team’s offense was “punt, pass and a prayer. We lost our punter. We lost our passer. All we had was a prayer, and that was not enough.” He was all-Big Ten and played in the Chicago All-Star game against the Chicago Bears the summer after his graduation from U-M. Some 25 years later, Ford was named to the Sports Illustrated silver anniversary college football team. He talked about the education that football had given him: “Thanks to my football experience I know the value of team play. It is, I believe, one of the most important lessons to be learned and practiced in our lives.” Scouts from the National Football League took notice. The Lions, convinced he could make it in the rough-andtumble league, offered $2,400, big money during the Depression. The Packers matched it. But Ford had other ideas. Determined to get into Yale Law School, he turned it down. He would wait two more years before being accepted. In the meantime, he turned again to athletics, getting work as coach of the Yale freshman boxing team and assistant football coach. He finally persuaded the dean of the law school to give him a shot, and he was allowed to take three courses on a trial basis. Ford saw his opening, like a gap in the opposing line. Four years later, he graduated in the top third of his class at Yale. On course: The former president tries to escape a sand trap while competing in the Grand Rapids Charity Golf Classic in 1978. E-mail: [email protected] Staying in shape: Exercisebike workouts were part of the White House morning routine. FOR EXAMPLE More than an armchair athlete After a well-publicized fall and a few errant golf balls, comedians branded Gerald Ford as clumsy. But in reality, Ford was the among the most athletic of presidents. Among his accomplishments: ᔣ Was on the football, basketball and track teams at South High School ᔣ Made all-city and all-state in football at South High ᔣ Played center and linebacker for the University of Michigan football team ᔣ Was the most valuable player at U-M as a senior ᔣ Played in the East-West and Chicago Tribune college all-star games ᔣ Received professional contract offers from the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions ᔣ While a student at Yale University Law School, was assistant football coach and freshman boxing coach ᔣ Was athletic director aboard the USS Monterey, where he served during World War II ᔣ Was assistant football coach at the University of Grand Rapids, sister school of what now is Davenport University Taking on mountains: On vacation in Vail, Colo., the vice president stands on the slopes with ski instructor Dennis Hoeger of Denver in January 1973. Ford occupied many local addresses A long list of homes share touch of history, but Heritage Hill house gets most attention THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Home with his family: Gerald R. Ford Jr., right, in 1925 with his half-brothers Tom and Dick Ford and his maternal grandmother, Adele Ayer Gardner, on the front steps of the Ford home at 649 Union Ave. SE. Gerald R. Ford has not been an official resident of West Michigan since 1978, when he transferred his voter registration from East Grand Rapids to California, where he and his wife, Betty, have lived since his retirement. However, eight addresses in Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids — as well as two Lakeshore cottages — can claim at least minor historical status as former homes for the president-to-be. The only Ford home on the National Historic Registry is at 649 Union Ave. SE. It is most commonly referred to as Ford’s boyhood home, and he lived there longer, from 1921 to 1930, than in any other in West Michigan. The Heritage Hill house, which had fallen into disrepair, has been restored. Ford was born in Omaha, Neb., and lived his first 18 months there. The addresses of Gerald Ford’s local homes, in the order in which he occupied them: ᔢ 1960 Prospect Ave. SE (then known as Terrace Avenue) ᔢ 716 Madison Ave. SE ᔢ 630 Rosewood Ave. SE ᔢ 649 Union Ave. SE ᔢ 2153 Lake Drive SE ᔢ 1011 Santa Cruz Drive SE ᔢ 330 Washington St. SE ᔢ 1624 Sherman St. SE The Ford family also owned a cottage in the resort community of Ottawa Beach in Port Sheldon Township from 1937 to 1942, and another from 1956 to 1966. After Ford’s election to Congress in 1948, his family lived in Alexandria, Va. They stayed there until they moved into the White House in 1974. The Fords lived in the Sherman Street duplex in the early 1950s when Congress was not in session. In later years they stayed there only for brief stops and eventually rented out both apartments. Ford deeded the house to his library and museum in 1979, and it was sold the next spring. After leaving the White Historic spot: The house at 649 Union Ave. SE is the only former Ford home with a historic designation. House in 1978, Ford and his wife divided their time between Rancho Mirage, Calif., just outside Palm Springs, and Vail, Colo. .4 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER Moving in: Betty and Gerald Ford unpack in their Washington apartment on Dec. 30, 1948, after Ford’s election to Congress. THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS First campaign: On the primary trail in 1948, the candidate visits with three farmers in Paris Township, now Kentwood. “I promised to milk their cows if I won — I did,” Ford said. Ribbon cutting: Ford opens his local campaign headquarters in June 1968. Skilled campaigner: Ford greets constituents at a Grand Rapids neighborhood center in July 1968. A force in Congress, Ford didn’t forget West Michigan While he gathered influence in Washington, he satisfied voters back home BY ED WHITE THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Crucial count: Ford, standing at right, watches as Joe Zalewski, Thome Brown and other campaign aides tally votes during the 5th District Republican primary in September 1948. “Truth is the glue that holds government together. Compromise is the oil that makes governments go.” — Gerald R. Ford, House committee meeting, 1973 Where it started: This Quonset hut was the headquarters for Ford’s first congressional campaign, in 1948. GRAND RAPIDS — Gerald R. Ford’s public career began with a landslide of votes and squirts of milk. Just hours after defeating an incumbent congressman in the 1948 Republican primary, Ford milked a farmer’s cows, fulfilling a campaign promise he made. The World War II veteran defeated Bartell “Barney” Jonkman by a 2-to-1 margin and coasted through the general election, the first of Ford’s 13 victories in the area’s Fifth District. “It was a shocker,” recalled Maury DeJonge, a Press reporter for 30 years and former Kent County clerk. “Jonkman was the favorite of Frank McKay, who was the political boss. Ford was an outstanding football player and had a war record. “With guys coming back from a successful war, he was looked on kindly,” DeJonge said. Ford struck up friendships with some of the most significant leaders of the 20th century, including John F. Kennedy, who had an office across the hall. They often walked together to cast votes on the House floor. Ford quickly became a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which controls the federal budget. He called it the “greatest break in the world,” a seat from which he could have a major influence on government. After Republicans got control of the House in the 1952 election, Ford became chairman of the panel that set defense spending. Business leaders lobbied him for a military base in West Michigan, but he disagreed, believing instead that the region needed a diverse economy. In 1964, Barry Goldwater was trounced in the presidential election, BY THE NUMBERS Hometown favorite Gerald R. Ford won 13 elections to represent the Grand Rapids area in the U.S. House of Representatives. Here is a list of his opponents in the general election and how the vote split, by percentage. 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 Fred J. Barr Jr. James H. McLaughlin Vincent E. O’Neill Robert S. McAllister George E. Clay Richard VanderVeen William G. Reamon William G. Reamon William G. Reamon James M. Catchick Lawrence E. Howard Jean McKee Jean McKee 61-38 67-33 66-33 63-37 67-33 64-36 67-33 67-33 61-39 68-32 63-37 61-38 61-38 SOURCE: U.S House of Representatives and Republicans in Congress also took a drubbing. Saying his party needed fresh ideas, Ford challenged Charlie Halleck and became the GOP’s leader in the House. His new national stature took him to 37 states in 1965. Ford and Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., appeared on television in what was known as the “Ev and Jerry Show,” a weekly program to promote Republican policies. “Being on the road means being away from Betty and children much of the time,” Ford told radio listeners in Grand Rapids. As his star rose, however, he never forgot his district. In October 1973, a day after President Nixon nominated him for vice president, Ford returned to Cedar Springs to march in the Red Flannel parade. “The county treasurer had a fancy convertible, but Ford said, ‘I’m going to walk,’” DeJonge recalled. “The crowd was lined up five, six deep on the street. I’m sure it was the biggest crowd Cedar Springs ever had.” E-mail: [email protected] .THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER Prominent in the party: Gerald R. Ford was one of the hosts to Richard Nixon during an October 1968 campaign visit in Grand Rapids. Sen. Robert Griffin and Gov. George Romney also were present. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 Probing JFK death: Ford was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission, named to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Ford is at far left; Chief Justice Earl Warren, head of the panel, is seated at center. Republican partners: Ford, then House Republican leader, and Sen. Everett Dirksen, of Illinois, leader of the GOP in the upper chamber, often appeared together to push their party’s position. However, here, in November 1968, they speak in defense of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who was accused of being “soft on communism” by GOP vice presidential candidate Spiro Agnew. Partisan positions: The House Republican leader holds newspaper headlines of May 17, 1971, telling of a strike that threatened to shut down the nation’s railroads. Ford blamed Democrats in Congress for failed policies that led to the strike. COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Working lunch: In a 1953 photo, Ford answers constituent mail while grabbing lunch in his office. Vice presidents, present and future: Ford talks with Vice President Spiro Agnew, right, and Grand Rapids Mayor Paul Goebel in 1970. Agnew resigned under the shadow of scandal in 1974, making way for Ford’s appointment to the vice presidency. 5 .6 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 7 7 7 GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS Stepping up: Gerald R. Ford stands with Richard Nixon after Nixon nominated him to replace Spiro Agnew as vice president. When scandal hits, Nixon turns to man everyone can trust Drawing a crowd: The Fords’ annual visit to the Lowell Showboat became an event in itself in 1974 after Gerald Ford became vice president. Lawmakers’ respect for Ford led Nixon to choose him as vice president BY STEVEN HARMON THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS GRAND RAPIDS — From the moment he took the oath as vice president of the United States in December 1973, Gerald R. Ford was swept into an environment of scandal. He’d been asked to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew, who had resigned to avoid prosecution on corruption charges. In Ford’s first days as vice president, Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor was fired. And for the bulk of his eight months as Nixon’s No. 2, Ford found himself treading lightly on troubled grounds. “It was very, very uncomfortable,” he recalled in his memoirs. “I disagreed privately with some of the actions that were taken by the Nixon White House. I never had good relations with Haldeman and Ehrlichman and Chuck Colson. My personality, my background didn’t fit with them. “So I felt that President Nixon was getting some bad advice,” he added. “And it was a very narrow path for nine months. If I was critical of Nixon, the press and the public would have said, well, he was trying to undercut Nixon so he will get the job. On the other hand, if I stayed too loyal it might appear that I was supporting somebody who was involved in this very unwise action. So I had to go down this narrow path of not supporting him too much or not criticizing him too frequently. It was not a pleasant experience.” Two days after the Watergate break-in, Ford confided to a friend, “Nixon ought to get to the bottom of this and get rid of anybody who’s involved in it.” That same afternoon, he asked Nixon’s campaign manager, John Mitchell, whether anyone at the White House was implicated. “Absolutely not,” Mitchell assured him. Fourteen months later — and with Watergate veering out of control — Ford found out in a roundabout way that Nixon was considering him as vice president. Return visit: Vice President Ford speaks at the former South High School in January 1974. THE LIST Where to go for additional information Sources on Gerald R. Ford and his presidency. Books are alphabetical by author. Books ‘Strange conversation’ Days before Agnew’s troubles were aired, Nixon invited Ford to the executive office in the Old Executive Office Building. “I was minority leader,” he said. “He asked me to come down there, and for an hour and a half, we sat there and talked very informally — reminisced about our long friendship. It was a strange conversation.” Two days later, Ford got a call to come to the floor of the House immediately for a vote. He got to the floor and two or three of his GOP colleagues grabbed him and said, “Agnew’s resigning.” Ford was a compromise choice. Nixon initially wanted former Texas Gov. John Connally, but faced resistance from Congress. The two Democratic Congressional leaders told Nixon that Ford would be the only person who could avoid a drawn-out confirmation process. Nixon knew Ford could add respectability to his administration and repair badly damaged relations with Capitol Hill. As minority leader and a 25-year member of Congress, Ford, known as a man of impeccable character, had the respect of a wide swath of legislators. Final advice: President Nixon speaks with his successor on the morning of his resignation. “We gave Nixon no choice but Ford.” Carl Albert, speaker of the House Nixon chose Ford, who had the added benefit of being known as one of Nixon’s most outspoken supporters. Ford was approved 92-3 by the U.S. Senate and 387-35 in the U.S. House, and on Dec. 6, he was sworn in as vice president. Early in his vice presidential duties, Ford traveled to defend the beleaguered president. He cited the many achievements of Nixon and dismissed Watergate as a media event and a tragic sideshow. He believed that Nixon had made mistakes but had committed no impeachable offenses. Ford grew silent on Nixon, though, in early August 1974. He had been told by Alexander Haig, Nixon’s chief of staff, that Nixon had known about the break-in much earlier than previously disclosed and was a part of a coverup. Ford was stunned, and as impeachment in the House became a certainty, Ford began to consider the likelihood that he would become the president. “Al Haig [asked] to come over and see me,” Ford remembered, “to tell me that there would be a new tape released on a Monday, and he said the evidence in there was devastating and there would probably be either an impeachment or a resignation. And he said, ‘I’m just warning you that you’ve got to be prepared, that things might change dramatically and you could become president.’ And I said, ‘Betty, I don’t think we’re ever going to live in the vice president’s house.’” E-mail: [email protected] James Cannon, “Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History.” New York: HarperCollins, 1993. John J. Casserly, “The Ford White House: Diary of a Speechwriter.” Boulder, CO: Colorado Associated University Press, 1977. Congressional Quarterly Inc. “President Ford: The Man and His Record.” Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1974. Background on Ford’s political career and legislative record. Betty Ford, “The Times of My Life.” New York: Harper & Row, 1978. The book emphasizes personal and family experiences rather than political events. Gerald R. Ford, “ Selected Speeches.” Arlington, VA: R.W. Beatty, 1973. A collection of speeches Ford delivered between 1965 and 1972. Gerald R. Ford, “ A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford.” New York: Harper & Row, 1979. Memoir mainly concerning his presidency. “The Ford Presidency: Twenty-Two Intimate Perspectives of Gerald Ford,” Edited by Kenneth W. Thompson. Portraits of American Presidents, VII. Lanham, MA: University Press of America, 1988. Interviews with Ford administration officials. “Gerald R. Ford: Presidential Perspectives from the National Archives.” Washington, D.C.: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1994. John Robert Greene, “ The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford.” Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995. Robert T. Hartmann, “Palace Politics: An Insider’s Account of the Ford Years.” New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980. John Hersey, “ The President: A Minute-byMinute Account of a Week in the Life of Gerald Ford.” New York: Knopf, 1975. Clark R. Mollenhoff, “The Man Who Pardoned Nixon.” New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976. The Washington bureau chief and investigative reporter for the Des Moines Register and Tribune examines Ford’s first 19 months in office. Ron Nessen, “ It Sure Looks Different from the Inside.” New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978. Memoir by President Ford’s Press Secretary. Richard Reeves, “ A Ford, Not A Lincoln.” New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. A journalist describes Ford’s first 100 days as president. Mark J. Rozell, “The Press and the Ford Presidency.” Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1992. Hugh Sidey, “Portrait of a President.” New York: Harper & Row, 1975. Portrait of the first months of the Ford presidency. William E. Simon, “ A Time for Truth.” New York: Reader’s Digest Press, 1978. Jerald F. terHorst, “Gerald Ford and the Future of the Presidency.” New York: Third Press, 1974. Biography covering Ford’s early life through the first month of his presidency by the former newspaper reporter who resigned as Ford’s press secretary because of the Nixon pardon. Bud Vestal, “Jerry Ford, Up Close: An Investigative Biography.” New York: Coward, McCann & Geohegan, 1974. A biography by a Michigan journalist. INTERNET The home page of the Gerald R. Ford Library and Museum is at www.ford.utexas.edu The Internet Public Library has information at www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/grford.html. SOURCE: Ford Library and Museum GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 7 ‘I am a Ford, not a Lincoln’ “I never thought of my self as a great orator in the tradition of William Jennings Bryan or Clarence Darrow. Rather, I thought my talents would be those of the mediator and counselor.” “Thanks to my football experience, I know the value of team play. It is, I believe, one of the most important lessons to be learned and practiced in our lives.” in autobiography “A Time to Heal,” on his decision to enter law school Ford, pictured in his days as South High captain Quotes by and about Gerald R. Ford: A government that is big enough and “powerful enough to give you everything you want is a government that is big enough and powerful enough to take everything you have.” Gerald R. Ford a nice guy, but he played too “muchJerry’s football with his helmet off.” Lyndon Baines Johnson, on Ford of Mr. Ford caters to all “theTheworstnomination instincts on Capitol Hill — the clubbing that made him the choice of Congress, the partisanship that threatened a bruising fight if a prominent Republican presidential contender were named, the small-minuends that thinks in terms of those who should be rewarded rather than who could best fill the job.” Wall Street Journal editorial Our constitution works. Our great “republic is a government of laws, not of men. Here, the people rule.” Aug. 9, 1974, on succeeding Richard Nixon as president 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.” First address to nation as president Let us put an end to self-inflicted “wounds. Let us remember that our national unity is a most priceless asset. Let us deny our adversaries the satisfaction of using Vietnam to pit Americans against Americans.” April 10, 1975, address to joint session of Congress on fall of Vietnam Americans, I once asked you “forMyyourfellow prayers, and now I give you mine. May God guide this wonderful country, its people and those they have chosen to lead them.” Last State of the Union address, Jan. 12, 1977 and for our Nation, I want to “thankFormymyself predecessor for all he has done to heal our land. Jimmy Carter, in his inauguration address, Jan. 21, 1977 “Nobody can accuse any of you of being fair-weather friends. ... All of you here represent the best of America.” I have had a lot of adversaries in my “political life, but no enemies that I can remember.” at a rally during an October 1974 visit to Grand Rapids — Ford examines a memento presented by Mayor Lyman Parks Gerald R. Ford “It can go on and on, or someone must write ‘The End’ to it. I have concluded that only I can do that. And if I can, I must.” “The American people want a dialogue between them and their president. ... And if we can’t have that opportunity of talking with one another, seeing one another, shaking hands with one another, something has gone wrong in our society.” announcing the pardon of Richard Nixon September 1975, after surviving a second assassination attempt “The high point of my life, next to meeting and marrying Betty ... is always ahead. And today it is here, in my hometown and among my friends.” at the dedication of the Gerald R. Ford Museum, 1981 “All my children have spoken for themselves since they first learned to speak, and not always with my advance approval, and I expect that to continue in the future.” Ford, shown in 1974 watching daughter Susan bounce on a trampoline at Camp David. .8 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 7 7 7 GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS Time of crisis: Ford faced upheaval in Southeast Asia. At left, desperate Vietnamese hurry to board a U.S. ship and flee South Vietnam shortly before its fall in 1975. Ford was president when the communists completed their takeovers of South Vietnam and Cambodia. Above, Ford, dressed for a White House dinner, gets a report from Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on the capture of the merchant ship Mayaguez in May 1975. ‘We’re going to do what’s right’ IN TIME OF UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS, FORD WORKED TO HOLD NATION TOGETHER BY STEVEN HARMON THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS GRAND RAPIDS — From June 1972 to August 1974, America was shaken to its core as an epic scandal ate the presidency of Richard M. Nixon. Congressional hearings, talk of impeachment, disclosure of secret slush funds, enemies lists and erased tapes overtook the country in what would later be described — by the man who would replace Nixon — as a “long national nightmare.” Nixon, under fire for refusing to hand over 17 hours of tapes in the midst of the scandal, said famously, “People have the right to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I am not a crook.” That the nightmare took place during an unpopular war in Vietnam with violent protests breaking out around the country left no doubt that the nation was at a low point in its history. The names have become ingrained in the history of 20th century Ameri- can politics: H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, G. Gordon Liddy, John Dean, Archibald Cox, Chuck Colson and Robert Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reporting was later immortalized by the book and movie, “All the President’s Men.” But it was a man from Grand Rapids who was in destiny’s path to try to help America regain its footing. From the time Nixon chose Gerald R. Ford to replace Spiro Agnew and Congress confirmed him in late 1973, Ford’s legacy — and political fate — would be tied to the Watergate scandal. Agnew had resigned after being ensnared in his own scandal, charged with corruption and bribery in his days as Maryland governor. Ford was chosen by Nixon, in part, because he knew Ford, the former House minority leader, could get through what could have been a tough confirmation battle if he put up his original choice, John Connally. Ford would spend only eight months as vice president before rising “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” Gerald R. Ford, on taking office to the office of the presidency. And, a month into his presidency, he stepped into a political minefield with his pardon of Nixon. He created a firestorm with the pardon, accused of making a deal with Nixon to gain the presidency. But Ford said all along he was just trying to heal the nation from its wounds and spare Nixon, whom he worried was suicidal, from what he thought would be a humiliating prosecution. Only a generation later was the pardon more widely seen as a humane and wise act. Ford’s willingness to take the heat — and jeopardize his chances of win- “I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right.” Gerald Ford, before he pardoned Richard Nixon ning in 1976 — proved how principled the pardon was, said Benton Becker, Ford’s legal counsel during the transition from Nixon’s administration to Ford’s. “He was not even thinking of the 1976 presidential race,” Becker said. “He told me, ‘There are too many decisions that have been made in this office (under Nixon) based on politics. This decision has nothing to do with politics. We’re going to do what’s right.’ “You have to really admire a guy who’s going to do what’s right,” said Becker, who helped find a legal basis for the pardon and was in on the negotiations to ensure that Nixon acknowledged guilt by accepting the pardon. Ford later told Bob Woodward, the Washington Post journalist who broke the Watergate story, that he pardoned Nixon to put an end to the national obsession with Watergate — not as part of a pre-arranged deal to hand over the presidency to Ford, as was speculated. Woodward’s acceptance of Ford’s explanation was one step toward rehabilitating Ford’s image. Being chosen for the Profiles in Courage award from Ted and Caroline Kennedy in 2001 was another step. “I made the decision aside from politics, and I paid a heavy penalty,” Ford told the Press in 2004. “But I like the current view. I have thoroughly enjoyed the conversion. To have these three people change their mind was a wonderful new reaction. “Right from the outset, I thought I was right and knew eventually the public would agree with me,” Ford added. “It took a little time, but in the long run, I was pleased people changed their minds.” Ford should be remembered for guiding the country through a momentous time in its history, said Gleaves Whitney, director of the Moment of horror: The president and Secret Service agents react to the assassination attempt by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme on Sept. 5, 1975. Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University. He even compared it favorably to John F. Kennedy’s term, which was similar in length, but gained a mythical quality with his assassination in 1963. “By the time Ford was president, we’d had this energy shock, Vietnam, the demoralization of the nation to a greater extent than at any time in our history — that long dark nightmare (Watergate),” Whitney said. “Ford’s great achievement, which I’d argue is more heroic than anything Kennedy did, is that he did help keep this country together. He saved this country.” E-mail: [email protected] FORD’S FIRST SPEECH AS PRESIDENT Words of unity to a divided nation A portion of President Ford’s message to the nation after he took the oath of office Aug. 9, 1974: The oath that I have taken is the same oath that was taken by George Washington and by every President under the Constitution. But I assume the presidency under extraordinary circumstances never before experienced by Americans. This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts. Therefore, I feel it is my first duty to make an unprecedented compact with my countrymen. Not an inaugural address, not a fireside chat, not a campaign speech — just a little straight talk among friends. And I intend it to be the first of many. I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers. And I hope that such prayers will also be the first of many. If you have not chosen me by secret ballot, neither have I gained office by any secret promises. I have not campaigned either for the presidency or the vice presidency. I have not subscribed to any partisan platform. I am indebted to no man, and only to one woman — my dear wife — as I begin this very difficult job. I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. ... My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy. 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. ... With all the strength and all the good sense I have gained from life, with all the confidence my family, my friends, and my dedicated staff impart to me, and with the good will of countless Americans I have encountered in recent visits to 40 states, I now solemnly reaffirm my promise I made to you last December 6: to uphold the Constitution, to do what is right as God gives me to see the right, and to do the very best I can for America. God helping me, I will not let you down. Thank you. The nation’s new leader: Gerald Ford takes the oath as the 38th president of the United States on Aug. 9, 1974. His wife, Betty, stands beside him; Chief Justice Warren Burger administers the oath in the White House. .THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER Welcome home, Mr. President: More than 7,000 people attended this Oct. 28, 1974, rally on Calder Plaza. It was Gerald Ford’s first trip to Grand Rapids as president. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 Diplomatic efforts: President Ford meets with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Salzburg, Austria, on June 2, 1975. Ford was in Europe for a NATO meeting. TIMELINE Morale boost for the economy: In October 1974, Ford went on TV to announce his campaign to “Whip Inflation Now,” accompanied by these much-derided buttons. Keeping busy, at home and abroad Several momentous events occurred during the short presidency of Gerald Ford. 1974 July 30: House Judiciary Committee adopts three articles of impeachment charging President Nixon with obstruction of justice, failure to uphold laws, and refusal to produce material subpoenaed by the committee Aug. 8: Richard M. Nixon announces he will resign the next day, the first president to do so Aug. 9: Vice President Gerald R. Ford is sworn in as 38th president of the United States Sept. 8: Ford grants “full, free, and absolute pardon” to ex-president Nixon Oct. 15: John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman found guilty of Watergate cover-up, sentenced to 30 months to 8 years in jail Nov. 23-24: Summit with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev Presiding over the party: The Fords watch fireworks over Washington, D.C., on July 4, 1976, the climax of the nation’s bicentennial celebration. 1975 Feb. 21: Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge take over Cambodia April 9: American merchant ship Mayaguez, seized by Cambodian forces, is rescued in operation by U.S. Navy and Marines, 38 of whom are killed May 15: Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft take off for U.S.-Soviet link-up in space July 15: Ford escapes assassination attempt in Sacramento, Calif. July 30-Aug. 2: Attends 35-nation meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on European security Sept. 5: Ford escapes second assassination attempt in 17 days Bad news: This famous headline from the New York Daily News of Oct. 30, 1975, referred to Ford’s rejection of a financial aid package to New York. 1976 March 24: Supreme Court rules that blacks and other minorities are entitled to retroactive job seniority May 11: Ford signs Federal Election Campaign Act July 3: Supreme Court rules that death penalty is not inherently cruel or unusual and is a constitutionally acceptable form of punishment July 4: Nation celebrates bicentennial July 4: Israeli airborne commandos attack Uganda’s Entebbe Airport and free 103 hostages held by proPalestinian hijackers of Air France plane; one Israeli and several Ugandan soldiers killed in raid Aug. 4: Mysterious disease that eventually claims 29 lives strikes American Legion convention in Philadelphia Nov. 2: Jimmy Carter defeats Gerald Ford in presidential election Settling in: Gerald Ford works in his office during the first week of his presidency. On the world stage: President Ford meets with Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev in Vladivostok, Soviet Union, in December 1975 to discuss limitations on strategic arms. 9 .10 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER Working close to home: Forced by Ronald Reagan to fight for votes in the Michigan primary, President Ford campaigns in Holland during Tulip Time. THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS Stumping the state: Ford speaks at a rally in Kalamazoo, part of a cross-state railroad campaign trip. Ronald Reagan’s performance in the primaries forced Ford to work hard for the convention delegates in his own state. In last campaign, Ford suffers first defeat AFTER BRUISING BATTLE FOR REPUBLICAN NOMINATION, HIS LATE SURGE ISN’T ENOUGH BY STEVEN HARMON THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS GRAND RAPIDS — The campaign slogan summed up a theme that President Gerald R. Ford hoped would lead to his election. “He’s making us proud again.” His 1976 campaign brochure listed the ways Ford had brought the country back from the abyss of Watergate. “A bitter, depressed, vulnerable America has become a confident, strong, proud America,” it said. “Inflation has been cut in half. Prosperity has returned. Our jobs are secure. We are at peace. The world respects us again. President Ford has started something great. Now, he needs your support to finish a job well begun.” He never got the chance to finish the job. He lost the popular vote to Jimmy Carter by two percentage points, and Ford became forever known as the president never elected. It was a campaign that faced trouble from the start, stemming from his pardon of Richard Nixon in his first month in office. His troubles may have been distilled in the gaffe he made during one of three nationally televised debates with Carter in which he said that Eastern Europe BY THE NUMBERS Narrow defeat Results of the 1976 presidential election. The standard bearer: Gerald and Betty Ford acknowledge the crowd at the 1976 Republican convention, where the president fought off Reagan’s challenge. Popular vote Ford.............39,145,977 (48.0 percent) Carter......... 40,827,954 (50.1 percent) Electoral College Ford......................................................240 Carter................................................... 297 Reagan ......................................................1 was not under Soviet dominance. Even in his announcement of his candidacy in July 1975, he was trying to get out from beneath the shadow of Watergate. In a not-so-veiled reference to Nixon’s illegalities of the 1972 campaign, he said, “First, I intend to conduct an open and aboveboard campaign. I want ... every vote that I can get that can be won to my cause within the spirit and the letter of the law.” But it was more than the Nixon scandal that dogged Ford. The nation’s economy was in the worst recession since the Depression, and his attempts to turn it around with budget cuts were constantly rebuffed by a Democratic Congress. He also faced rebellion from the right. Conservative Republicans rallied around California Gov. Ronald Reagan, who ran an aggressive campaign against the incumbent. Reagan criticized Ford’s policy of detente with the Soviet Union; he disagreed with Ford’s pardon of those who had dodged the draft during the Vietnam War. He also blamed Ford for the budget deficit, and referred to him as a poor leader. The assault was painful for those who supported Ford. At the time, Peter Secchia, a close friend of Ford, thought Reagan a party turncoat, and felt it contributed to That fight is over: Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, accompanied by their wives, Nancy and Betty, shake hands at the Republican convention after Ford quashed Reagan’s presidential hopes for 1976. Ford’s general election loss to Carter. “It was hurtful for Ford — we didn’t understand how someone could go against the leader of the party,” said Secchia, then the Kent County Republican Party chairman. “We saw it as traitorous, something we couldn’t believe.” Reagan nearly pulled off the nomination at the convention in Kansas City, Mo. On the first ballot, Ford barely edged out Reagan in the delegate count — 1,187 to 1070. Only when Ford agreed to adopt many of Reagan’s platform planks — opposition to busing and abortion among them — did Reagan pull out. It all could have been avoided — and Ford could have won with support of conservatives — if Ford had followed through on an early plan to ask Reagan to serve as vice president in 1974, according to Craig Shirley’s “Reagan’s Revolution, the Untold Story of the Campaign that Started It All.” Instead, he chose Nelson Rockefeller, a moderate whom he bounced from the ticket at the convention in favor of Bob Dole. The primary race bruised Ford, putting him behind Carter in some polls by as much as 33 points. Ford cut into the lead after the first debate, trailing by 10 points, but suffered another setback when he said Poland and Eastern Europe were free from Soviet domination. Ford narrowed the lead in the closing days in what was considered a spectacular comeback, thanks, in part, to Carter’s famously ridiculed remarks to Playboy about lust in his heart. The primary with Reagan also toughened Ford up for the general The Republican team: President Ford and his vice presidential nominee, Sen. Robert Dole, of Kansas, wade into the crowd in Russell, Kan., Dole’s home town, in August 1976. election campaign. Rather than stage a passive, “Rose Garden” strategy — which he had considered — Ford campaigned aggressively down the stretch. But Ford fell short in one of the closest elections in history, 50.1 percent to 48 percent (40.8 million to 39.1 million, a record low turnout). The electoral vote count, 297 to 240, was the closest since 1916. In his final State of the Union speech, given after his loss to Carter, Ford spoke of his pride in the part he played in rebuilding confidence in the presidency. “Once again, Americans believe in themselves, in their leaders, and in the promise that tomorrow holds for their children,” he said. “I am proud that today America is at peace. None of our sons are fighting and dying in battle anywhere in the world.” He added: “This administration leaves to its successor a world in better condition than we found.” Four years later, Ford emerged as a possible vice presidential candidate, but efforts to create a co-presidency with Reagan proved fruitless, and his quest to return to the White House was over. E-mail: [email protected] .THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER Campaign’s climax: In an emotional moment at the end of months of campaigning, the Fords embrace at a rally in front of the Pantlind Hotel, now the Amway Grand Plaza. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 11 Head to head: President Ford and Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter meet in a televised debate on Sept. 23, 1976, one of three held in that campaign. Hometown hero: On the day before the election, the Fords came home. An estimated 100,000 people turned out for a parade through downtown and a rally to wrap up the campaign. The best view available: These spectators chose a high perch to watch Ford’s election-eve rally downtown. “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. ... I don’t believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union. Each of those countries is independent, autonomous.” GERALD FORD in second debate with Jimmy Carter, Oct. 6, 1976 Best wishes: Gerald Ford is greeted by an enthusiastic crowd on Election Day, Nov. 2, 1976, outside his polling place in Wealthy Elementary School in East Grand Rapids. Their choice was clear: Gerald and Betty Ford prepare to cast their ballots in their East Grand Rapids precinct. Glum outlook: President Ford watches election returns with former baseball player and announcer Joe Garagiola in the White House residence. Acknowledging defeat: Gerald Ford, accompanied by his family, concedes the election to Jimmy Carter. .12 GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Dinnertime: Gerald and Betty Ford sit in the dining room of their Alexandria, Va., home in 1958 with their children, Mike, Jack, Susan and Steve. COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Newlyweds: Gerald and Betty Ford in a 1948 photo. Gone fishing: After the 1972 campaign, the Fords take a vacation trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica, where they go deep-sea fishing. Sharing the spotlight: The Fords acknowledge an ovation at the Republican National Convention in 1996. Their son Jack was instrumental in putting on the San Diego event. They were in it together Betty Ford was a source of strength, wisdom for husband and nation BY PAT SHELLENBARGER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS No one could doubt their mutual love, unshaken by the trials that shook the nation and challenged them personally. Gerald Ford began countless speeches with the same phrase: “Betty and I ...” When she accepted his proposal in 1948, Betty Bloomer assumed she was marrying a Grand Rapids lawyer. He didn’t mention he was running for Congress. After he was elected, they built a modest home in suburban Alexandria, where they raised their four children. When they moved into the White House, she made it clear that, unlike many previous occupants, they would share the same bed. She wasn’t above using “pillow talk at the end of COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Embrace: The Fords share a hug in the Oval Office in December 1974. the day, when I figured he was most tired and vulnerable,” she once admitted. She supported a woman’s right to choose abortion and campaigned for the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment. When a White House aide suggested she moderate her views, she promised to consider it. Yet through the years, Ford continued speaking out about such subjects as AIDS, as well as her own breast cancer and substance abuse problem. “My husband promised he would be forthright and honest, and I felt I was following that lead,” she said. Not that she sought the bully pulpit. The saddest day of her life, she once said, was Aug. 9, 1974, the day her husband became president. But she rose to the occasion, becoming one of the most admired women in the world, polls showed. “I think I was born to be outspoken,” she said. “Hopefully, it’s been to the benefit of others.” E-mail: [email protected] A time to reflect: The Fords share a moment in the Oval Office on Jan. 19, 1977, Ford’s last full day as president. A visit home: The Fords enter a fund-raising event at Van Andel Arena in April 2001. Behind them are Peter Secchia and his wife, Joan, who dressed keeping in the theme, “Athletic Black Tie.” COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY Best wishes: The Fords examine a get-well card, signed by all 100 senators, sent to Betty Ford after her breast cancer surgery in 1975. Back home: Shortly after Gerald Ford became vice president, he and Betty appear at a homecoming celebration in January 1974 at the former South High School. GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER .THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 A day to remember: The First Family in the Oval Office on the day Gerald Ford was sworn in as president. They are, from left, John (Jack), Steven, Betty Ford, Gerald Ford, Susan, daughter-in-law Gayle and Michael. Fascination with first family put spotlight on children Kids had to learn to live with unexpected attention BY PAT SHELLENBARGER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS By most accounts, they were normal, middle-class children, except for one thing: Their father was president of the United States. Susan, the youngest of Gerald and Betty Ford’s four children, was a teenager when they moved into the White House. She once said she felt “very lucky and very privileged” to live there, yet she conceded it took a while to get used to the constant presence of Secret Service agents. “To me, it was like having my older brothers with me,” she once said, adding that the agents not only protected her, but sometimes gave her advice. The national spotlight shone far brighter than when she was just the daughter of a congressman living in suburban Alexandria, Va. Her habit of wearing blue jeans around the White House drew sniffs from the more genteel, and when she hosted her high school prom in the White House, it was national news. She was embarrassed when her mother, always outspoken, said in a nationally televised interview she would not be surprised if her children had smoked marijuana and if her daughter, then 18, would have an affair. COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY A magnet for celebrities: Andy Warhol, right, guarantees Jack Ford at least his 15 minutes of fame by taking a snapshot of him. Looking on is Bianca Jagger. Years later, when President George W. Bush’s twin daughters were cited for underage drinking, Susan conceded she, too, might have taken a drink before reaching the legal age. Her brother, Jack, hung out with celebrities and once admitted he had smoked marijuana. For the most part, the Ford children were unaffected by their newfound celebrity. Watching her mother handle the job of a congressional wife and then first lady, Susan once remarked she would never marry a politician. “I have seen my mother go through too much,” she said. “Having to raise four children by herself was just murder. ... She has been left at home with everything on her shoulders, and that is not the way I want it.” Her father’s loss to Jimmy Carter in 1976 was bittersweet, she conceded. “It was really nice to have him around for a change,” she said. UPDATE Grown up A burst of energy: Susan Ford plays with Liberty, the family’s golden retriever, on the White House lawn in 1975. What the children of Gerald and Betty Ford are doing now. Michael, 56, the oldest, already was married and living on his own when his father became president. He now is director of student development at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. Jack, 54, is a businessman in San Diego. Steven, 51, breeds thoroughbred racehorses on his ranch in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He also is an actor and motivational speaker. Susan Ford Bales, 49, lives in Albuquerque, N.M. She is a public speaker and author of mystery novels, including “Double Exposure,” a murder mystery set in the White House, and “Sharp Focus,” another first daughter whodunit. She recently succeeded her mother as chairwoman of the Betty Ford Center, an alcohol and drug treatment program at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Eldest child: Michael Ford and his wife, Gayle, on the ski slopes of Harbor Springs in 1975. Show business dreams: Steven Ford, who carved out a career as a professional cowboy on the rodeo circuit, poses with actress Brooke Shields to promote a 1981 television special. 13 .14 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS On display: Bob Hope and President Ford tour the Gerald R. Ford Museum during dedication festivities in September 1981. Summit on the Grand: Heads of state from around the world were in Grand Rapids in September 1981 for the dedication of the Ford Museum. On stage, standing for the National Anthem, are, from left, Foreign Minister Sunao Sonoda of Japan, former French President Valery Giscard d’Estang, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau; Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo; Barbara and then-Vice President George Bush; Nancy Reagan; Betty Ford; President Reagan; Gerald Ford; and Jordan Sheperd, chairman of the Ford Commemorative Committee. Revenge? Not really ... Ford pretends to trip comedian Chevy Chase, who often spoofed him on “Saturday Night Live.” The comedian and his inspiration were at the Ford Museum in September 1986 for the symposium “Humor and the Presidency.” Museum gives life to legacy Ford insisted on honest — if not always flattering — depiction of his presidency BY TED ROELOFS THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS With clean architectural lines and a broad glass front that faces the Grand River, the building is a fit reflection of the man — open and without pretense. On a breezy, sun-splashed day in September 1981, the former president stood before 40,000 people on a grassy slope in downtown Grand Rapids and spoke from his heart. Stretched out before him was a crowd that included celebrities, prime ministers and presidents. “The high point of my life, next to meeting Betty... is always ahead,” Gerald Ford said that morning. “And today it is here, in my hometown and among my friends.” And with that, the doors of the Gerald R. Ford Museum swung open. On hand were President Reagan, leaders of Mexico, Canada and Japan, and national and state political leaders. But this edifice was built for the public more than the VIPs. This place meant enough to the Fords that he and Betty decided to be buried in a plot just north of the museum. “This museum had great meaning for President Ford. It always has,” said Richard Norton Smith, former executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation and former director of the Ford Museum. More than that, Smith said, Ford never tried to steer museum exhibits away from controversy or moments in his presidency that could have been embarrassing. He wanted it to reflect history — warts and all. “He never once tried to interfere in a program. He never tried to direct anything we do here,” Smith said. Smith noted that Ford avoided the fund-raising controversy that followed President Clinton, deciding to delay any requests for funds for his museum until after he left the White House. Like the other presidential museums, it was built with private money but is operated with federal funds. All told, some $11.5 million was raised to build and equip the Ford Museum. The museum was refurbished and rededicated in 1997, employing an array of technology including light A home for his legacy: Former President Ford poses outside the museum built in his honor on the banks of the Grand River. shows, surround-sound and holographic images to draw visitors into the life of the 1970s and the work of the White House. Private sources paid for the $5.3 million refurbishing. It was done in part in response to declining attendance, which had fallen off to 90,000 visitors in 1996 after 375,000 visited its first year. Among the new displays was an actual UH-1 “Huey” helicopter, the type used to rescue desperate refugees from the rooftops of Saigon. Ford acknowledged that the fall of Vietnam was his lowest moment in office. “For an American president to see us literally kicked out — to lose — that was a very, very unhappy time in the Oval Office,” he said. But true to his nature, he also insisted that museum patrons should experience both the lows and highs of his presidency. “If you’re going to encourage confidence, the public has to believe you’re telling the whole truth,” Ford said. “That includes the bad with the good.” Years ago, Ford talked about the decision he and Betty had made to end their journey together in Grand Rapids. “This is our home and we’re proud of it. We think it’s a great community. We feel much more comfortable being interred here than someplace else.” IF YOU GO Holding history Gerald R. Ford Museum 303 Pearl St. NW, Grand Rapids The permanent collection highlights the life and career of Gerald R. Ford, while temporary exhibits focus on various aspects of American history. The museum also is host to educational and community events. Gerald R. Ford Library 1000 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor The library, on the North Campus of the University of Michigan, collects and preserves archival records of the Ford era. Holdings include 21 million pages of memos, letters, meeting notes, reports, and other historical documents. Also, it has a half-million audiovisual items, from photographs to televised campaign commercials. CONNECT New and improved: National Archivist John Carlin, second from left, joins former presidents Bush, Ford and Carter in cutting the ribbon during the Ford Museum rededication in April 1997. ᔣ Web site for the museum and library: www.ford.utexas.edu .THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS A spiritual side: Former President Ford, standing with the Rev. Billy Graham, acknowledges the crowd at DeVos Hall in August 1999 during a tribute to Ford. GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 15 Nation’s top award: Ford smiles after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from President Clinton during an East Room ceremony at the White House in August 1999. Airport honors: Artist and friend Paul Collins shares a moment with Ford after a mural painted by Collins was unveiled during rededication ceremonies in May 2000 at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Nation, hometown show gratitude As years passed, Gerald Ford’s performance as president gained respect. His efforts to draw the nation together after the divisive Watergate years were recognized and — after passions cooled — many who were outraged by the pardon of Richard Nixon admitted at least the integrity of Ford’s motives. West Michigan also paid tribute to its most famous offspring. From airport terminals to Boy Scout patches, acknowledgments of the former president’s achievements are everywhere. Grand Rapids won’t forget Gerald Ford. Scout’s honor: Ford poses with a group of scouts near a statue of himself as a 16-year-old Eagle Scout during the dedication of the building to house the Gerald R. Ford Council of the Boy Scouts in Walker in April 1997. The statue was unveiled during the ceremony. Congratulations: Former President Ford gives his wife, Betty, a kiss after presenting her with the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service in June 2005. Birthday party: President Ford slices the cake at a community party at the Ford Museum celebrating his 90th birthday in 2003. At right is his daughter, Susan Ford Bales. Amway Grand Plaza pastry chef Doug Orr is at left. THE LIST Name to remember Among the structures and institutions named in Gerald R. Ford’s honor: Party’s elder statesman: Ford greets the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego. It was his final speech before such a party gathering. ᔣ Gerald R. Ford International Airport ᔣ The Gerald R. Ford Freeway (Int. 196) ᔣ Gerald R. Ford Federal Building ᔣ Gerald R. Ford Council, Boy Scouts of America ᔣ Ford Fieldhouse at Grand Rapids Community College ᔣ The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan ᔣ Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center, in the former South High School ᔣ U-M athletic department’s Gerald R. Ford Award, honoring former U-M athletic letter winners ᔣ A House of Representatives annex building in Washington, D.C. .16 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2006 ONE OF US He may have spent most of his adult life in Washington and California, but Gerald Ford was Grand Rapids through and through. He built his career on hard work, collegiality and honesty, traits that served him as well in Congress as they did back home. Some cynics were taken aback by this Midwestern simplicity. We were supposed to buy this guy from West Michigan, who fixed his own breakfasts in the White House kitchen? Well, we bought it. Because we knew Jerry Ford. GERALD R. FORD: A MAN OF CHARACTER THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS COURTESY PHOTO/GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY A visit back: Ford rides in the Comstock Park homecoming parade in September 1967. Hit the trail: Gerald Ford, left, plays with his half-brother Tom and two friends in 1923. Quiet celebration: Gerald and Betty Ford toast each other in the White House on their 26th wedding anniversary in October 1974. Good morning: The press corps was fascinated by the idea of a president making his own breakfast. Ford shows off his technique for toasting English muffins in the White House kitchen in September 1974. THE LIST Ford’s favorites In the center of action: President Ford is surrounded by South High football teammates on the White House steps as a portrait is taken. They met at the White House for their annual Thanksgiving reunion on Nov. 28, 1974. Pause on a busy day: Gerald and Betty Ford, along with Peter Secchia, take a break on Election Day, Nov. 2, 1976. Hobby: Stamp collecting Breakfast: Orange juice, melon, English muffins, tea with lemon Food: Pot roast and red cabbage Dessert: Butter pecan ice cream Hymn: The Navy Hymn — “Eternal Father Strong to Save” Music: Jazz, swing Sports figure: Al Kaline Hero: Dwight D. Eisenhower Most unforgettable moment: Noon, Aug. 9, 1974 Most valued advice: “That which comes from my wife.” Memberships: American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, 33rd Degree Mason SOURCE: Gerald R. Ford Library With friends: The former president is flanked by Amway founders Jay Van Andel, left, and Richard DeVos at an April 1981 event. Making a memento: Former President Ford signs an autograph for Amway Grand Plaza worker Linda Ashley on Sept. 15, 1981, at the dedication of the refurbished hotel.