Gerald R. Ford: Not A Bad Guy
It's a little tricky to sum up Ford's brief presidency. On the one hand he helped launch the careers of Rumsfeld and Cheney, and elevated George H. W. Bush to be Director of Central Intelligence (who among many other seamy acts while there approved the murder of Orlando Letelier, carried out here in DC). Ford also, earlier in life, played a not insignificant role in the Warren Commission's whitewash of the Kennedy assassination. On the other hand, as Alex Cockburn deftly puts it, he did the least possible harm while president. I wouldn't go so far in my praise as AC, but I do think Ford was in many respects a decent person and a much better than average president. Perhaps the most underrated of the modern era.
I never met Ford, but once while at the University of Chicago had occasion to drop in on his former Attorney General, Ed Levi (now deceased). Levi, who had been born in the University of Chicago's hospital, gone through its K-12, college, and law school, had also been Dean of the Law School and President of the University before being tapped by Ford for AG. A U of C product through and through, much beloved by both faculty and students. Anyhow, a mutual friend, a famous historian, had passed away and I was there just to offer some brief condolences. To my surprise Levi wanted to talk, to pass on some of what he'd learned in government. We spent over three hours talking, never having met before, and I never saw him since. I was, to say the least, impressed and duly overawed.
The most important thing he passed on to me—that is, the thing which he himself said was most important—which I subsequently have always kept in mind, was how difficult it was for him, as AG, to ever get the straight story on a controversial issue. He had to resort to many different stratagems, which he described to me in detail but which I won't bore you with, to try to get his subordinates to be honest in describing problems. Eventually he relied mainly on a staff of carefully selected young lawyers to keep him appraised of the real policy and political landscape. He seriously drummed it in to me: people at the top of a federal bureaucracy become hugely isolated, merely by dint of their position, and it is a great struggle for them to overcome that isolation. Often many fail, or never try.
When I think of Ford I think of Ed Levi, and regret that Ford didn't get the chance to pick more like him for a Cabinet in a second term.
Posted by George Kenney on December 28, 2006 1:25 AM 
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Comments
May be this is not nice to say after someone as prestigious as a president has died, but if Cathy O’Brian is telling the truth in her book co-written with ex-CIA man Mark Phillips Trance Formation of America, then Gerald Ford was a sadistic pervert, who worked in conjunction with the CIA in the infamous project mk-ultra and all its diabolical paginations. So long Gerald and good riddance. WAKE UP AMERICA, before it's too late. PEACE.
Posted by: someone who loves the people of America | December 28, 2006 5:33 PM
In addition to the recent Woodward revelation that Ford granted Nixon a pardon based on friendship, not to heal the nation, there is the issue of Ford approving the invasion of East Timor with US supplied weapons. I'm not feeling good about this guy. (This is not to say that any subsequent presidents distinguished themselves in regard to East Timor.)
Posted by: John | December 30, 2006 12:40 AM