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8 A New President, a New Right Gerald Ford and Russell Train appeared to be cut from the same cloth. While the new President lacked Train’s pedigree, he had earned his status as a Washington insider. Colleagues from both sides of the aisle liked Ford’s genial manner. Democratic Speaker of the House Carl Albert was a close personal friend, declaring Ford, “a very fine man to work with.”1 With a quarter-century in the House of Representatives, Ford was not the overt, aggressive partisan like Nixon. Rugged, even tough looking in appearance, Ford revealed a much more gentle nature than his background as a lineman on the University of Michigan football team suggested. Like Train, he enjoyed the cocktail circuit and Washington’s social scene, his standard martini with lunch a concern for image-conscious sta≠ers. “He doesn’t twist arms,” concluded Illinois congressman Edward Derwinski. He was an “open tactician” but more subtle and clever. In his vice presidential Senate confirmation hearings only months before, Ford appealed to the Democratic Congress. “There has to be a two-way street,” he testified, promising to seek the advice of legislators. Train could not have said it better; both men were apparent masters in the traditional ways of Washington.2 No one doubted Ford’s conservatism but neither had Ford joined in Nixon ’s recent denunciation of environmentalists. “America must change its way of living or smother in its own wastes,” he had stated on the first Earth Day. Ford had supported Nixon’s early environmental agenda and now declared himself a “moderate on domestic issues.” Although relatively quiet on environmental matters, he had voted to override Nixon’s veto of the Clean Water Act two years before. As Train battled Nixon over weakening the Clean Air Act, Ford had surprised many with words of support. “We must establish stringent air quality standards, particularly for pollutants that are hazardous to health,” he declared as the debate raged. As if to highlight his moderation, Ford soon selected New York governor Nelson Rockefeller as his Vice President. Long 158 recognized as a pragmatist and not an ideologue, Rockefeller shared Train’s patrician background as well as his overall political philosophy. Train welcomed the selection.3 Train did not know Ford well; the new President had never served on any of the environment-related committees in Congress. Nevertheless, the two had met several times and Train, while CEQ chair, had periodically telephoned Ford, then Minority Leader in the House of Representatives. Wasting no time in gaining Ford’s favor, Train quickly o≠ered congratulations. “Your statement today was right in every respect and exactly what the country needed to hear,” Train wrote after Ford’s inaugural address. “You have my full support and I look forward to an opportunity to meet with you at your convenience.”4 Working indirectly , Train called his friend Rogers Morton, who served on Ford’s transition team. Morton recommended Train put his thoughts into writing. Train then talked with Donald Rumsfeld, the designated chair. Rumsfeld likewise encouraged his old acquaintance while adding, “I wouldn’t touch the top White House sta≠ job with a ten foot pole.”5 Train’s memo on “how to strengthen and make more e≠ective the relationship of the President to agencies and to Congress” reflected his frustrations with the Nixon White House. Agency heads deserved “open and direct communication on a regular basis” and “maximum freedom in decision-making consonant with overall Presidential policy.” The President should allow “full, advance consultation with Congress, on as bipartisan basis as possible.” Finally, on a point that Train acknowledged had “an element of self-interest,” he asked to “attend Cabinet meetings as a matter of course.”6 Once again Train’s luck had turned; Ford shared most of his concerns. Ford sought advisors who “had no qualms about telling me when I was wrong.” There needed to be “openness and the free movement of people and ideas,” their di≠erences a source of strength. “What I wanted in my Cabinet were strong managers who would control the career bureaucrats and not become their captives , people who knew how to build support in Congress and the media,” he later recalled. “I would leave the details of the administration to them and concentrate on determining national priorities and directions myself.”7 Train had a hint of this attitude early. After meeting with agency heads in the White House’s Blue Room, Ford...

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