Pres. Ford highly effective in his first term (5 or fewer changes).

1) Maybe he says matter-of-factly in his first press conference that he is leaning toward pardoning Nixon but has not made his final decision. That way it's not such a shock.

2) Ford and Brezhnev did meet in Vladivostok in the western Soviet Union in Nov. '74 for a SALT II treaty. In part, this was derailed by the requirement that treaties be approved in the Senate by a damn two-thirds majority. That's part of the Constitution, one of several parts I might disagree with, well, so be it. All the same, President Ford may have done a better job of selling this to the American people as moving forward with peace, being a beacon of freedom, and anything but appeasement.

3)

4)

5)


your ideas please . . .
 
from President Ford's Jan. 15, 1975, State of the Union address:

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4938

" . . . The emphasis on our economic efforts must now shift from inflation to jobs.

"To bolster business and industry and to create new jobs, I propose a 1-year tax reduction of $16 billion. Three-quarters would go to individuals and one-quarter to promote business investment."

" . . . I call on the Congress to act by April 1. If you do--and I hope you will--the Treasury can send the first check for half of the rebate in May and the second by September. . . "
Okay, so this is a specific policy proposal by President Ford.

Of course, you have to address unemployment and inflation at the same time, as well as overall economic growth (the shark swimming forward), all of which and more the President does address in other parts of his speech. So, what else might the Ford Administration have done?
 
"In 1974 he [Meredith Willson] offered a marching song, "Whip Inflation Now", to the Ford Administration, but it was not used." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Willson

The admnistration accepts the song, which becomes such an overwhelming hit that public attention is completely deflected from the Nixon pardon, the Democratic landslide of 1974 never happens, and Ford is triumphantly elected in 1976... :p
 

Driftless

Donor
I've got one event that would have given Ford some reflected glory, had it gone better: The Mayaguez Incident

The plan(s)was by necessity impromtu, complex, and geographically far removed from primary US resources. The crew of the Mayaguez was released, but at the cost of 20+ US Marines.

Ford acted promptly and decisively, but the results were troubling. IF the rescue works, or the prompt display of force results in Khmer Rouge release the crew un-harmed - without direct assault by the Marines, then Ford and the military coming off looking real good.
 
I've got one event that would have given Ford some reflected glory, had it gone better: The Mayaguez Incident

The plan(s)was by necessity impromtu, complex, and geographically far removed from primary US resources. The crew of the Mayaguez was released, but at the cost of 20+ US Marines.

Ford acted promptly and decisively, but the results were troubling. IF the rescue works, or the prompt display of force results in Khmer Rouge release the crew un-harmed - without direct assault by the Marines, then Ford and the military coming off looking real good.

I think he would get about as lasting a boost in popularity as Obama did from this: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/30178013/...ptain-freed-after-snipers-kill-somali-pirates
 
"In 1974 he [Meredith Willson] offered a marching song, "Whip Inflation Now", to the Ford Administration, but it was not used." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Willson

The admnistration accepts the song, which becomes such an overwhelming hit that public attention is completely deflected from the Nixon pardon, the Democratic landslide of 1974 never happens, and Ford is triumphantly elected in 1976... :p
Nicely done! And I'll accept it in the spirit it's given in.

But then the question becomes, how good is Ford at the pivot?

What if he chuckles along with the American public, and takes the approach, okay now that I've got your attention . . .
 
We prevent both the Cambodian genocide and the East Timor genocide, there's just no other way to do it.

And I know this is potentially a bleaksville subject.

Now, with East Timor (begun Dec. 1975), this genocide was committed by the invading Indonesian army, a cold war ally whom both the U.S. and UK continued to give arms to all during this, including during the Carter presidency. It is a sorry chapter all the way round. And Cambodia (begun earlier in '75) was far worse just in the sheer number of human beings killed, which I think has to be the first dimension measured and talked about.

And just maybe we get good at the set of skills we should have gotten good at in the immediate aftermath of WWII, and no appreciable genocide anywhere in the world for the next 20+ years. Maybe this is too much of a flight of fancy, but maybe not.
 
Last edited:
Top