Going to Windward: A Mosbacher Family Memoir

13: Blessed are the Gatherers

Chapter 13 Blessed are the Gatherers The first time you enter the Oval Office, your mind has a hard time processing the fact that such a stately, but relatively modest, space could already possess such a vast history. The mind’s eye becomes a mental newsreel filled with touchstone moments of national trial and triumph that have transpired between its gently curved walls. For that reason, it is perhaps the most powerful symbol of the presidency itself , and has been referred to as the “greatest home field advantage in the world” given its propensity to strike awe in the hearts of visitors. Many a person has arrived at the White House intent on giving the president of the United States a piece of their mind, only to find themselves suddenly weak in the knees and tight in the throat upon entering the Oval Office. Since FDR relocated the office to its present location in the southeast corner of the West Wing in 1936, each succeeding occupant has put their own stylistic imprint on that space—choosing everything from the desk they use, to smaller details such as the décor, artwork, and personal mementos on display. Looking back, the Oval Office as I found it during my very first visit on December 16, 1975 offered an apt reflection of the thirty-eighth president of the United States—with its rich salmon, gold, and green hues projecting a warm, inviting atmosphere. “Hi Bob,” President Ford said as I was escorted in, making my way across the pale gold rug accented with blue florets. Though I was hardly a member of his inner circle, the president’s avuncular manner made me feel instantly at ease. Like George Bush, Gerald Ford was without a doubt one of the nicest, most decent—and most capable—men ever to occupy the Oval Office. I found him unfailingly kind and calm in demeanor. What’s more, Jerry Ford had an amazing work ethic, and was an ardent practitioner of the politics of inclusion. During his career at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, his natural political instinct was to reach out, and to try and find common ground with allies and adversaries alike. The occasion for my fist visit to the Oval Office actually had as much to do with my brand new duties as the national finance chairman of the President 144 夝 Blessed Are the Gatherers Ford Committee (PFC)—his 1976 election campaign—as it did with my regular day job in the energy business. In the wake of the OPEC oil embargo of 1973—an event that shocked the national psyche and caused high fuel prices and long lines at gas stations—Congress in December 1975 passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act that called for establishing the strategic petroleum reserve and mandating vehicle fuel economy standards. Both of these measures were fine. The objectionable part of the bill, however, was that it also called for gradually phasing out price controls on domestic oil over a forty-month period ending in 1979. In his low-key manner, President Ford referred to this last provision as an “inadequate measure,” but it struck me as both economically irresponsible and politically lethal when I first heard about it. As it turned out, President Ford’s top economic advisors, Treasury Secretary Bill Simon and Alan Greenspan— then heading the Council of Economic Advisors—also wanted an immediate end to the controls, and were actively urging the president to veto the bill. Why not deregulate immediately? Congress was predictably wary of the political fallout because removing the price controls would have led to rising Talking politics and the oil business with President Ford during my first visit to the Oval Office in December 1975. Blessed Are the Gatherers 夝 145 energy prices. Those of us who favored a veto on economic grounds, meanwhile , believed that keeping prices at an artificially low level would deprive energy companies of the capital they needed to find and develop new sources of fuel. Immediate deregulation would, as we saw it, foster greater energy independence the nation needed while enabling U.S. companies to produce a greater, and more stable, supply of fuel that would lower prices for consumers in the long run. Unfortunately, most of President Ford’s political advisors shared Congress’ shortsighted concerns—wishing neither to see rising gas prices at the pump, nor to engage in a divisive debate with Democrats...