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Line 69: − + + + + + + + + − + + + + + + + + − Gerald Ford was the subject of two unsuccessful assassination attempts. One in Sacramento, California on September 5, 1975 was attempted by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. Then in San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore pointed a pistol at him, but a bystander grabbed the gun.<ref> Both were sentenced to life in prison, but Moore was paroled on December 31, 2007. [http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=4900159 report</ref>+ − ===Economy=== − − The weak economy was a major concern during the Ford administration. [Inflation was in the double digits, unemployment was rising and the gross domestic product was in decline. <ref>Henry F. Graff, "Gerald R. Ford," ''The Presidents, P. 538</ref> Ford proposed a tight lid of $300 billion on the federal budget and asked for a $5 billion surtax (additional income tax) on corporations and families in the higher income bracket. These were part of his "whip inflation now" (WIN) program; they proved ineffective. Ford fought constantly with Congress, especially when Democrats made major gains after attacking his pardon in the 974 elections. Sixty-six times he exercised his veto power. ''Congressional Quarterly'' reported that Ford won only 58% of congressional votes that he took a position on, the lowest level of support from any president. Line 97:
Line 108: − + − But by late 1976 the United States was not involved in any war, but the détente policy was rapidly losing political support, with Kissinger a scapegoat. Inflation had moderated. Business had recovered from the deep slump, though unemployment was still high.+ + − ==Reelection fails==+ + + +
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''My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."''<ref>http://www.ford.utexas.edu/LIBRARY/speeches/740001.htm</ref>
''My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over."''<ref>http://www.ford.utexas.edu/LIBRARY/speeches/740001.htm</ref>
[[Image:A4256-04-thm.jpg|left|thumb|250px|President Ford chats with Chief of Staff [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and Rumsfeld’s assistant [[Richard Cheney]] in the Oval Office, 04/28/75]] Ford kept some of the original cabinet members from Nixon's Presidency, such as Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]]. He replaced Nixon's Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce and Attorney General would resign. He chose liberal Republican [[Nelson Rockefeller]], governor of New York, as his Vice President. After a bruising hearing. Rockefeller was confirmed in December 1974, over the opposition of some conservatives like [[Barry Goldwater]]. Rockefeller was ineffective and unhappy in the new role.<ref>http://205.188.238.109/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html</ref>
By telling the American people that he was "a Ford, not a Lincoln," he not only lowered public expectations about what he might accomplish, he also reassured the American people that the days of the imperial presidency in the style of Johnson and Nixon had ended.
[[Image:A4256-04-thm.jpg|left|thumb|250px|President Ford chats with Chief of Staff [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and Rumsfeld’s assistant [[Richard Cheney]] in the Oval Office, 04/28/75]]
Ford kept some of the original cabinet members from Nixon's Presidency, such as Secretary of State [[Henry Kissinger]]. He replaced Nixon's Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Commerce and Attorney General would resign. He chose liberal Republican [[Nelson Rockefeller]], governor of New York, as his Vice President. After a bruising hearing. Rockefeller was confirmed in December 1974, over the opposition of some conservatives like [[Barry Goldwater]]. Rockefeller was ineffective and unhappy in the new role.<ref>http://205.188.238.109/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html</ref>
In the "Sunday Morning Massacre" of November 2, 1975, Ford replaced Kissinger as National Security adviser (but kept him as secretary of state) with Brent Scowcroft; fired Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, a leftover from the Nixon administration whom Ford personally disliked, and replaced him with his chief-of-staff [[Donald Rumsfeld]]; replaced another Nixon appointee, CIA Director William Colby, with [[George H. W. Bush]], the ambassador to China; and informed Vice President Rockefeller that he would be dropped from the ticket in 1976.
===Pardon===
===Pardon===
Ford's honeymoon suddenly ended on September 8, 1974, when he gave Nixon an unconditional pardon for all federal crimes he might have committed in office. The timing was bad, and the Democrats had an issue they used to score massive gains in the November Congressional elections.<ref> Soon after, Ford offered [[Vietnam War]] military deserters and draft dodgers a conditional amnesty, with penalties. Most war resisters in exile ignored the offer.</ref> The Watergate tragedy had dragged on for two years and grievously undermined public confidence in core national institutions, as both the president and vice president, and many top aides, had been forced to resign. Many went to prison. Ford's role was to start fresh again, but the pardon cost him desperately needed momentum.
Ford's honeymoon suddenly ended on September 8, 1974, when he gave Nixon an unconditional pardon for all federal crimes he might have committed in office. The timing was bad, and the Democrats had an issue they used to score massive gains in the November Congressional elections.<ref> Soon after, Ford offered [[Vietnam War]] military deserters and draft dodgers a conditional amnesty, with penalties. Most war resisters in exile ignored the offer.</ref> The Watergate tragedy had dragged on for two years and grievously undermined public confidence in core national institutions, as both the president and vice president, and many top aides, had been forced to resign. Many went to prison. Ford's role was to start fresh again, but the pardon cost him desperately needed momentum. He handled the pardon issue maladroitly, failing even to insist that Nixon give up his presidential papers and tapes or issue a statement of contrition before granting him a pardon, and timing it just before the midterm elections, allowing it to do maximum damage to the GOP candidates.
Ford was the target of two unsuccessful assassination attempts. One in Sacramento, California on September 5, 1975 was attempted by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. Then in San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore pointed a pistol at him, but a bystander grabbed the gun.<ref> Both were sentenced to life in prison, but Moore was paroled on December 31, 2007. [http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=4900159 report</ref>
===Economy===
Ford's vision for America were grounded in conservative principles that emphasized fiscal responsibility, decreased federal involvement in the economy, lower taxes, and long-term sustainable growth with low inflation. Rampant inflation was the economic terror of the 1970s, and its reduction was Ford's overriding domestic priority. But growth rates were also low--the combination was new and unexpected and was called "stagflation." Mus of the problem came from international economic trends, as oil prices skyrocketed and Japanese and German imports for the first time became major threats to American factories.
Ford's favored means for combating inflation was the conservative stand-by: a combination of fiscal austerity and a tight federal monetary policy. He attacked the heavily Democratic 94th Congress for wasteful spending, and 66 times wielded the presidential veto to kill costly congressional bills. His refusal to help New York City's financial crisis was briefly popular in the hinterland.<ref>Yanek Mieczkowski, ''Gerald Ford And The Challenges Of The 1970s'' (2005).</ref>
The weak economy was a major concern during the Ford administration. [Inflation was in the double digits, unemployment was rising and the gross domestic product was in decline. <ref>Henry F. Graff, "Gerald R. Ford," ''The Presidents, P. 538</ref> Ford proposed a tight lid of $300 billion on the federal budget and asked for a $5 billion surtax (additional income tax) on corporations and families in the higher income bracket. These were part of his "whip inflation now" (WIN) program; they proved ineffective.
Ford fought constantly with Congress, especially when Democrats made major gains after attacking his pardon in the 1974 elections. Sixty-six times he exercised his veto power. ''Congressional Quarterly'' reported that Ford won only 58% of congressional votes that he took a position on, the lowest level of support from any president. Ford's press secretary, Ron Nessen, was incompetent and repeatedly blamed the news media for reporting on Ford's failures.
Ford's vision for America were grounded in conservative principles that emphasized fiscal responsibility, decreased federal involvement in the economy, lower taxes, and long-term sustainable growth with low inflation. Rampant inflation was the economic terror of the 1970s, and its reduction was Ford's overriding domestic priority. Throughout his presidency his favored means for combating inflation was the conservative stand-by: a combination of fiscal austerity and a tight federal monetary policy. He scored the heavily Democratic 94th Congress for wasteful spending, and 66 times wielded the presidential veto to kill costly congressional bills. His refusal to help New York City's financial crisis was briefly popular in the hinterland.<ref>Yanek Mieczkowski, ''Gerald Ford And The Challenges Of The 1970s'' (2005).</ref>
Oil prices were also a major concern. Congress turned down Ford's proposals for phasing out the federal ceilings on the price of most domestic oil. Senate Majority Whip [[Robert Byrd]] (D-West Virginia) explained why Democrats rejected Ford's plans: "After all, he doesn't have a national constituency, his is an inherited Presidency." Ford and Congressional Democrats finally reached a compromise with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. "Half a loaf was better then none, so I decided to sign it," Ford explained.
Oil prices were also a major concern. Congress turned down Ford's proposals for phasing out the federal ceilings on the price of most domestic oil. Senate Majority Whip [[Robert Byrd]] (D-West Virginia) explained why Democrats rejected Ford's plans: "After all, he doesn't have a national constituency, his is an inherited Presidency." Ford and Congressional Democrats finally reached a compromise with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. "Half a loaf was better then none, so I decided to sign it," Ford explained.
===Vietnam===
===Vietnam===
Ford blamed Congress for Communist North Vietnam's conquest of American ally South Vietnam in April 1975, because it had banned the renewed use of U.S. military forces there and refused his request for more aid to the crumbling resistance. In May 1975, when Cambodia seized a U.S. merchant ship, the SS Mayagüez, sailing close to its coast, he demonstrated that he could still act with secrecy and haste by sending U.S. marines to help recover the vessel and planes to bomb Sihanoukville (see [[Mayagüez incident]]). In 1975-1976 he sanctioned secret U.S. aid to the anti-Soviet factions in the civil war in [[Angola]], which ended in a leftist victory.
Ford blamed Congress for Communist North Vietnam's conquest of American ally South Vietnam in April 1975, because it had banned the renewed use of U.S. military forces there and refused his request for more aid to the crumbling resistance.
Historians are sharply critical of Ford's handling of the Mayaguez incident in which fifteen Marines were killed and eight helicopters downed. They were rescuing the crew of the merchant ship ''Mayageuz'', captured by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia when the ship allegedly sailed into Cambodian waters. More American rescuers died than crewmen were saved.
In 1975-1976 Ford sanctioned secret U.S. aid to the anti-Soviet factions in the civil war in [[Angola]], which ended in a leftist victory.
==1976 Reelection Campaign==
==1976 Reelection Campaign==
''Main article: [[United States presidential election, 1976]]''
''Main article: [[United States presidential election, 1976]]''
But by late 1976 the United States was not involved in any war, but the détente policy was rapidly losing political support, with Kissinger a scapegoat. Inflation had moderated. Business had recovered from the deep slump, though unemployment was still high.
Ford, after overcoming a strong challenge for the Republican nomination from conservative [[Ronald Reagan]], replaced liberal Rockefeller with conservative Senator [[Robert Dole]] of Kansas, as his running mate. He campaigned on his record of having blocked expensive social programs and thereby slowed inflation.
Ford, after overcoming a strong challenge for the Republican nomination from conservative [[Ronald Reagan]], replaced liberal Rockefeller with conservative Senator [[Robert Dole]] of Kansas, as his running mate. He campaigned on his record of having blocked expensive social programs and thereby slowed inflation.
Ford-the-insider was challenged by a complete outsider, [[Jimmy Carter]], a former Georgia governor who promised to restore trust in government, reduce unemployment, and shrink the federal bureaucracy. Beneficial to Ford, the economy was improving and inflation was being reduced. He portrayed himself as a post-Watergate healer. Ford accused Carter of being fuzzy on issues and of lacking experience in foreign affairs. However he agreed to nationally televised debates - the first between presidential candidates since 1960 and in one debate Ford blundered badly by insisting falsely that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe."
Ford-the-insider was challenged by a complete outsider, [[Jimmy Carter]], a former Georgia governor who promised to restore trust in government, reduce unemployment, and shrink the federal bureaucracy. Beneficial to Ford, the economy was improving and inflation was being reduced. He portrayed himself as a post-Watergate healer. Ford accused Carter of being fuzzy on issues and of lacking experience in foreign affairs. However he agreed to nationally televised debates - the first between presidential candidates since 1960 and in one debate Ford blundered badly by insisting falsely that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe."
Although Carter was expected to win easily, Ford almost wiped out his lead by the end of the campaign. Carter won on November 2nd, narrowly defeating Ford 50%-48%. Ford is the only president who never won a national election. Carter payed tribute to his foe in his inaugural address. "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land."
Although Carter was expected to win easily, Ford almost wiped out his lead by the end of the campaign. Carter won on November 2nd, narrowly defeating Ford 50%-48%. Ford is the only president who never won a national election. Carter payed tribute to his foe in his inaugural address. "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land."
Historians generally agree with the verdict: the Ford presidency showed indecisive leadership, repeated political miscalculation, poor judgment, and lack of vision.
==Post-Presidency==
==Post-Presidency==