What Does it Take to be a Great President?

 

♥Claire Fielder, Elena Tompkins, Lies Wolf♥

 

♥Gerald Ford♥

1974-1977

 

 

Gerald Ford is being nibbled on by maggots...ew

Networks: Grand Rapids, MI

                 White House

Sex: Male

Interested In: Women

Relationship Status: Married to Elizabeth Anne Bloomer Warren

Looking For: Friendship in life after death

Birthday: July 14, 1913

Deathday: December 26, 2006: Age-93

Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Political Views: Republican

Religious Views: Episcopalian

 

 

 

 

Interests/Hobbies:

• Golf
• Jogging
• Sailing
• Skiing
• Swimming
• Football (played for U of M)

 

Favorite Music:

• The Carpenters
• Elton John
• The Doobie Brothers
• Diana Ross and The Supremes

 

Favorite Books:

• National Lampoon
• The Late Great Planet Earth
• Dick and Jane Series
• A Time To Heal

 

Favorite Movies and Television:

• The Mary Tyler Moore Show
• Soul Train

 

 

Favorite Quotes:

“We judge presidents by the one or two big things that they do. Nobody remembers that Lincoln balanced the budget, and nobody cares. In the end, President Ford did the one thing he had to do, which was hold the country together.”

                                                            ~ Richard Reeves

 

"I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our government,but civilization itself. that bond, though strained, is unbrokenat home and abroad."

                                                            ~ Gerald Ford

 

About Me:

I am the first vise president to be chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and, after the Watergate scandal, was succeeding the first President to ever resign.

 

Friends:

Arthur H. Vandenberg

Richard Nixon

Lyndon Johnson

 

 

Where I Live(ed):

I have lived in Omaha, Nabraska, California and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

 

Years Served as President:

1974-1977

 

Children:

I have four children: Michael Gerald, John Gardner, Steven Meigs, and Susan Elizabeth

 

Education:

• University of Michigan
• Yale Law School

 

Occupations:

• Lawyer
• Navy Leutenant Commander
• Congressman
• Vice President
• President

 

 

 

                             

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (at home) included:

 

Political

• He was the only person to assume the vice-presidency and the presidency without having been voted into either office.
• He issued Proclamation 4311 which gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he may have committed against the United States while President.In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country. This was a very controversial decision and there are many theories that the two struck a deal prior to Nixon resigning that Ford would pardon him later in exchange for the presidency. Nixon's Chief of Staff, Haig, did in fact offer a deal to Ford, but Ford didn't accept it and instead pardoned Nixon on his own terms. Historians believe that the conspiracy theories were the reason Ford lost the election in 1976. 

   

Social

• Ford was confronted with a potential swine flu pandemic. Sometime in the early 1970s, an influenza strain H1N1 shifted from a form of flu that affected primarily pigs and crossed over to humans. On February 5, 1976, an army recruit at Fort Dix mysteriously died and four fellow soldiers were hospitalized; health officials announced that "swine flu" was the cause. Soon after, public health officials in the Ford administration urged that every person in the United States be vaccinated. Although the vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, some 25% of the population was vaccinated by the time the program was canceled in December of that year. The vaccine was blamed for twenty-five deaths; more people died from the shots than from the swine flu.

• As president, Ford's position on abortion was that he supported "a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 States to make the choice." This had also been his position as House Minority Leader in response to the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, which he opposed. Ford came under criticism for a 60 Minutes interview his wife Betty gave in 1975, in which she stated that Roe v. Wade was a "great, great decision."During his later life, Ford would identify as pro-choice.

   

Economic

• Ford consistently championed legislative proposals to effect economic recovery by reducing taxes, spending, and the federal role in the national economy, but he got little from Congress except a temporary tax reduction
• In response to rising inflation, Ford went before the American public in October 1974 and asked them to "Whip Inflation Now." As part of this program, he urged people to wear "WIN" buttons.In hindsight, this was viewed as simply a public relations gimmick without offering any effective means of solving the underlying problems. At the time, inflation was approximately seven percent
• When New York City faced bankruptcy in 1975, Mayor Beame was unsuccessful in obtaining Ford's support for a federal bailout. The incident prompted the New York Daily News notorious headline: "Ford to City: Drop Dead."

 

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (abroad) included:

 

Political

• When the U.S. ship  Mayaguez was seized by Cambodia, President Ford made the though decision to send in the Marines-all the crew members where rescued

• President Ford was critisized for signing the Helsinki Accords, and now history shows that they helped bring an end to the Soviet union

• His support for initiatives led to political reform in Centeral Europe

Economic

 

• • South East Asia, Saigon fell just nine months after Ford became president and Ford was a stable rock for the nation and for his family. during this time the nation was in an economic termoil because of inflation.

  •  

     Imperial Majesties Shahashan and Shahbanou: with the help of President Ford discuss and create a stragedy for the economy of Iraq

  • Ford had to deal with another war between Israel and it's Arab neighbors, with the constant threat of petrolium being cut of.

  •     Social    

• 1942-Ford volunteers for the navy ( Pearl Harbor) and works hard to serve the country and it's people
• Gerald Ford took a 10 day European tour
• All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which astablished special education to anyone that needed it or wanted it

 

 

Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats."  Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:

 

Commander-in-Chief

Ford ordered the final withdrawal of U.S. civilians from Vietnam in Operation Frequent Wind, and the subsequent fall of Saigon. He was often criticized for this. On April 29 and the morning ofApril 30,1975, the U.S. embassy inSaigon was evacuated amidst a chaotic scene. Some 1,373 U.S. citizens and 5,595 Vietnamese and third country nationals were evacuated by military andAir America helicopters to U.S. Navy ships off-shore.

In his meeting withIndonesian president Suharto , Ford gave the green light through arms and aid to invade the former Portuguese colonyEast Timor.

Chief Executive

Drastically changed the presidential cabinet after becoming president.

otherwise no significant achievements or failures

Chief Diplomat

Ford continued the détente policy with both the Soviet Union and China, easing the tensions of the Cold War.

Ford attended the inaugural meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations (initially the G5) in 1975 and secured membership for Canada. Ford supported international solutions to issues. "We live in an interdependent world and, therefore, must work together to resolve common economic problems," he said in a 1974 speech.

Helsinki Accords.

Ceremonial Head of State

Immediately after taking the oath of office in the East Room of the White House he spoke to the assembled audience in a speech broadcast live to the nation. Ford noted the peculiarity of his position: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers."

Manager of the Economy

Ford tried very hard to improve the economy, but did not get very far because congress was pretty much blocking his every move.

Party Leader

Being republican, many of his policies and ideas were stopped by the congress which had a majority of democrats in it larger than the 2/3s needed to override a presidential veto or pass a constitutional amendment. This prevented Ford from effectively putting the ideas his party represented into effect.

National Leader

When Ford became president the people did not trust him very much. Many people believed he had struck a deal with Nixon. These rumors prevented him from doing the best he could during the presidency. The fact that he was also very clumsy physically made it seem as if he wasn't quite up to the role.

He was also one of the five presidents never to have been elected for the office and the only one never to have won a national election. 

 

  

Positive Political Cartoon

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 

 

 

Works Cited:

     Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC   

     "Gerald Ford." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.

Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

     Pendergast, Sara and Tom Pendergast, eds. St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. International Academy High School. 30 Apr. 2008 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=lom_inac>.