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Gerald Ford might not be counted among the top tier of great presidents, but staring at a portrait of him, I have noticed that he sure as hell looks like one. His physical appearance seems to me to be the perfect aesthetic representation of an American President. With his good looks, athletic bearing, dashing suit vests, the pipe he frequently smoked and hair that yelled "I'm not too young and not too old", he resembled one of those highly idealized, fictional Presidents from the movies and television. These perceptions I have of Ford probably have a lot to do with what Malcolm Gladwell called the "Warren Harding Error", the phenomenon of politicians being regarded more for their image than for their actual ideas and actions, but just take a look at him!



First of all the highly unusual circumstances of his OTL elevation to the presidency could from the foundation of a great presidential mythology, "The humble, unpretentious man who did not seek the great office, but who did not shirk from it, and who went on to heal the nation". The "National Nightmare" speech was also a great rhetorical foundation for said mythology. So there's a good start to the "Ford as great president" idea...

Now, what would it take for Gerald Ford to go down in history as, if not a "great president" in the category of the Lincolns and Roosevelts, maybe a highly esteemed and universally respected POTUS, more in the category of say Eisenhower or Clinton?

Two brief, quite rudimentary scenarios here;

Maybe he avoids the "Soviet domination" gaffe and is elected in '76. He does what Carter does and pulls off an exact ATL replica of the Camp David accords. Come 1979, his own attempt at an ATL Eagle Claw succeeds brilliantly, results in the discrediting of the Ayatollah and the emergence of a moderate, democratic regime in Tehran led by Mehdi Bazargan, with whom Secretary of State Kissinger negotiates a lucrative oil deal in the same vein as in '74 with the Arabs which eases then ends the '79 Oil Crisis, all in time for the 1980 election.

Humphrey is narrowly elected in '68 and while pursuing a diplomatic peace settlement with North Vietnam, continues to escalate militarily on the ground (though there is no expansion of the war in Cambodia), domestically, Humphrey presides over a continuation of Johnson's Great Society. Come 72, the Republicans are divided between Reagan and Rockefeller and pick Ford as a compromise candidate. Due to the incumbency fatigue, Ford wins in November and becomes the 38th President. He gets Kissinger from Rockefeller and most of the OTL Nixon administration achievements are instead accomplished by the ATL Ford Administration (relations with China, Detente, end to the American war in Vietnam, etc.)

But what other factors and scenarios could make for a greater Ford presidency? What could he do differently upon inheriting a dwindling Vietnam war from Nixon, that results in the survival of South Vietnam?

What other foreign policy achievements could he and Kissinger pull off?

What about the pardon, which could play a very big part in his being a great president? What if he does not pardon Nixon which many say contributed heavily to why he lost in '76? What happens to Nixon and the nation, and how would that relate to Ford as President? What if he goes ahead with the pardon as in OTL but then goes before the nation and delivers a highly eloquent and far more detailed justification for his action, appealing to the need for healing and national unity? What opportunities for presidential greatness lie in these scenarios?

Also, rhetorically the bicentennial could have been more memorable.

Could someone explain to me his policy of "Whip Inflation Now"? I don't know much about that, how did it work in OTL and how could be a truly successful economic policy in TTL? And is there anything else economically and domestically that could add to Ford being a great president?

Also, what would be the consequences of a greater Ford Presidency, in terms of the development of the Republican Party and national politics in general? Would a successful and highly respected moderate Republican president stem the tide of Reaganite Conservatism, both inside and outside the GOP? Could we be looking at a much more moderate Republican Party by 2012? Instead of Romney, Santorum and Gingrich battling for the legacy of Ronald Reagan, I imagine that in such a TL, the present battle for the GOP nomination would be headlined by the likes of Jon Huntsman, Jeb Bush, Bobby Jindal, Scott Brown, and maybe even the circa 1994 Mitt Romney, all claiming to be proud and dedicated "Ford Republicans".
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