Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s

This is an excellent book not only for summarizing the presidency of Gerald Ford but also for understanding of how the 1970's changed America. For those who wish to understand 2008 and the problems facing the election and the country they only have to look back to this time in history where unbridled disgust of the government and economic woes were abound. As past reviewers have stated this book does an excellent job of looking at how the Ford presidency shaped the America and provides a necessary reevaluation of the times. While Truman got his mythical bounce during the Ford era it may be in the times of the 2008 election and George W Bush that Ford may see his redemption. Ford faced a challenge unlike many presidents and as the author states "Ford may have been elected at the most unlucky time in history" with a host of internal political strife, economic woes of inflation and soon to be rising unemployment, as well as falling world prestige. He approached these problems with honesty and common sense providing leadership that saved the Republican Party and possibly allowed the country to heal from the rifts. Despite not wining reelection Ford shaped the future by marshaling the economic forces of the time trying to give the Carter administration a policy to work with. As you read the energy policies in this book they smack of the very things being discussed in 2008 from CAFÉ standards to development of alternate energy standards. In all this is a fascinating book to read and I recommend it to all students of political history.

This is a very good book that looks back at the Ford presidency in an unbiased way and examines almost every aspect of Ford's term in office, including his foreign policy and leadership style. Ford actually understood economic policy better than any postwar president, having spent fourteen years on the House Appropriations Committee in Congress - his actual goal had been to be Speaker of the House. Facing unprecedented increases in inflation and the rate of unemployment, Ford insisted that controlling inflation would serve the country better in the long run than trying to reach full employment. Therefore, he fought hard to decrease government spending and deregulate industry rather than promoting jobs programs or accepting the price controls advocated by many in Congress, which his predecessor had attempted with disastrous results. Before he left office, inflation had been cut by more than one half and the number of Americans without jobs was declining. However, it was not enough to save him from defeat in the 1976 elections. Only after the disastrous Carter administration did the federal government and the nation actually have the political will to implement Ford's original suggestions more fully during the Reagan years - and they worked. The book does a good job of detailing how the energy problems and inflation that plagued Ford were not of his making, and would have caused problems for any president. Also detailed are the unparalleled expectations of the American public at that time, having just finished exiting the unprecedented 25 year-long post-war boom as well as the radical nature of the Congress that Ford had to work with that was ushered in during the 1974 elections almost immediately post-Watergate. The author makes a good case that if you had members of this Congress trying to introduce legislation that would outlaw the spanking of children by their own parents, it is unlikely that Ford would be able to get this bunch to compromise on Congressional spending. The author's analysis also points to the need to consider Ford's presidency in the context of other threads of conservative thought, such as the rise of the religious right and the later growth of the GOP. I would recommend this well-written book to anyone wanting to understand Ford's presidency in the context of the unique decade of the 1970's. Recognize, however, that this is not a biography of President Ford. It's entire focus is his presidency.

An entertaining and historically necessary re-evaluation of one of our most underrated Presidents. Largely remembered for falling down, Mieczkowski shows how Ford's personal honesty, lack of arrogance or secrecy and willingness to let Congress, despite their largely successful attempt to thwart Ford's policy initiatives to regain their sense of power after four terms of an "Imperial Presidency" was exactly what America needed after the trauma of Watergate and Vietnam. Ford never had any interest in seeking the Presidency. He was happy to stay in Congress, dreaming of being Speaker of the House. As Mieczkowski mentions, it takes a pretty big ego and a lot of ruthlessness to decide to run for President, make through the primaries and come out on top in November. As an "accidental" President who was never elected, Ford has perhaps the unique distinction of having smallest ego of any sitting President, an important bending of the stick after years of Nixon and Johnson. Ironically despite being one of the most open Presidents when it came to press, he was mercilessly ridiculed by them, leading to his klutzy reputation. After Watergate and the 60's rebellion, no one was willing to trust anyone in authority and Ford had the bad luck to come into office when he did. Many who did attack him (even Chevy Chase as the book recounts) would latter regret it. Mieczkowski also does a good job of reminding readers was a state of crisis America was in the mid- 1970's. Rampart inflation, out of control energy prices and a generalized lack of confidence in the future and our leaders were all problems Ford inherited and tried his best to confront. A combative Democratic controlled Congress, with a high percentage of "new Democrat" freshmen made sure that Ford spent more time in veto wars with the House and Senate instead signing his name to bills, so in terms of policy he accomplished little, but he did succeed in bringing back some sense of trust to the White House. In the end Ford was a man who never labored to sit in the White House, but when called upon to try to rebuild the broken trust America had in the Executive branch after the lies of Johnson and Nixon, Mieczkowski shows how Ford stepped into one of the more difficult positions any President has ever faced and left an important mark. His pardon of Nixon largely killed his chances to be re-elected, but Mieczkowski makes a well-argued defense of Ford's decision *whether you agree with it or not) and that Ford did it out of a need to move America onto issues beyond Watergate; not becuase of any "secret deal" with Nixon as some had rumoured. Even then, during his re-election campaign, he managed to cut Carter's intial dominating lead to mere points making the 76 election one of the closest in the 20th century. His openness, moderation and dialogue when dealing with opponents and scrupulous honesty are characteristics that I'm sure many of would like to see make a comeback in Washington.