The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford / Edition 1

by John Robert Greene

Overview

This is the first comprehensive study of one of our most popular yet most misunderstood presidents. Reaching well beyond the image of Ford as "healer" of a war-torn and scandal-ridden nation, John Robert Greene extends and revises our understanding of Ford's struggles to restore credibility to the presidency in the wake of Watergate and Vietnam.

Few presidents had ever been asked to achieve so much in so little time against such great adversity. Greene shows that Ford's efforts to lead the nation were severely hampered by Nixon's misdeeds, by America's ignominious disengagement from an unpopular war, and by a watchdog Congress eager to put a brake on presidential power.

Working from a wealth of recently declassified documents, Greene reveals new evidence on Ford's roles in Watergate and challenges the prevailing view of the infamous Mayaguez incident. He argues persuasively that Ford made no "deal" with Nixon, but that his pardon of Nixon was costly nonetheless, for it shadowed his entire presidency thereafter. He also shows that the Mayaguez catastrophe was less a simple "rescue mission" than it was an attempt to revive sagging political fortunes by attacking Cambodia.

In addition, Greene details Ford's rise to prominence within the Republican Party; chronicles the president's problematic relations with his staff, the new Democratic Congress, and Ronald Reagan; sheds new light on the selection and performance of Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller; offers new insights into the election of 1976; and provides the first in-depth look at Ford's Amnesty Program for Vietnam Era Draft Evaders.

Based on interviews with Ford and more than sixty individuals who figured prominently in his presidency and on extensive use of the Ford Library, Greene's study illuminates Ford's valiant efforts during some of the presidency's most troubled years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700606399
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	11/28/1994
Series:	American Presidency Series
Pages:	270
Sales rank:	1,025,713
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

1. “Thank God, It Worked”

2. Transition

3. “For God’s Sake, Enough Is Enough”

4. “Doesn’t He Have Any Sense of Timing?”

5. Stagflation

6. “Brush Fires”

7. “A Rogue Elephant”

8. “Reassessment”

9. “The Running”

10. “Let’s Look Ferocious”

11. “I Didn’t Take Reagan Seriously”

12. “The No-Campaign Campaign”

13. “If I’m Remembered, It Will Probably Be for Healing the Land”

Notes

Bibliographical Essay

Index

Editorial Reviews

"A revealing and important book."—James M. Cannon, author of Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History "Should remain the standard work for some time to come. Greene’s close, judicious examination will go far toward dispelling simplistic notions about a ‘failed’ administration. I found it riveting from start to finish."—Herbert S. Parmet, author of Richard Nixon and His America "This insightful study jettisons the caretaker/healer stereotype to plumb Ford’s accomplishments and failures, his sound judgments and miscalculations. A rich portrait of an important period."—Louis Fisher, coeditor of the Encyclopedia of the American Presidency "An incisively critical account of an important period in twentieth century American history."—Bernard J. Firestone, coeditor of Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America

From the Publisher

Greene (history, Cazenovia Coll.) gives a balanced, thoroughly researched, and highly analytical look at Gerald Ford's meteoric rise from the House Minority leader role to the White House. Culling recently declassified documents and interviewing numerous principals from the Nixon and Ford administrations, Greene provides an insider view that is both critical of the administration's organizational shortfalls and adulatory about Ford's basic decency, moral character, and leadership qualities. He spends more time on the structural development and operation of the White House than on personal development, which served as the unifying theme of James Cannon's Time and Change: Gerald Ford's Appointment with History (LJ 12/93). While chronicling the cynicism about Ford's decision to pardon Nixon, Greene also convincingly dispatches the commonly held belief that Ford and Nixon had a deal. Though the pardon, the shrinking Republican base in Congress, staff infighting, and the Reagan candidacy in 1976 complicated Ford's governing efforts, the author presents a favorable image of a president who did not shrink from tough but necessary decisions while remaining the "nice guy" he sought to be. Likely to be a standard on a much maligned and little researched administration, this is recommended for academic and public libraries.-Frank Kessler, Missouri Western St. Coll., St. Joseph

Library Journal