Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life

Chapter 19 - Ford’s Way

332 Chapter 19 Ford’s Way When President Ford appointed me to be Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs and Executive Director of the Domestic Council, I did not know him well. That changed. I never met anyone so easy to like, or so comfortable with who he was. He was a man contented. He envied no one, wanted for no attribute or asset he did not have. Self-­ esteem was part of his character, yet matched by a deep and genuine humility. He was driven by principle, not ego. He knew his reach and he knew his limits. He liked being Jerry Ford. He was at peace with himself. Ford’s temperament was remarkably well suited to the office. He was cheerful, good humored, open, mentally alert, physically strong. In crisis he was calm, resolute. With his easy grin and ingrained optimism he radiated self-­ assurance. He was invariably curious—­ about people, problems, situations, issues, crises. He listened. He read, purposefully and prodigiously. He studied. He asked the right question. His inquiry was pragmatic: How does this affect the guy in a hardware store in Grand Rapids? He welcomed advocates with strong views, always making sure he heard from those who differed with him. He respected every opinion. He learned. He remembered. Visitors, whether staff or outsiders, he quickly put at ease. He rarely kept anyone waiting. Quintessentially punctual, Ford believed a visitor’s most precious asset, and his own, was time. After a warm handshake, Ford would get down to business. He was easy to talk to. He welcomed facts, statistics, reason, logic, good arguments. He expected brevity, conciseness . He would ponder for a moment, give his answer, and the visit was over. He allowed no one to waste his time in idle talk. Equanimity ruled in President Ford’s office. I never saw him anxious Ford’s Way 333 or rattled. Vexed he could become, particularly when, right in front of him, his staff engaged in petty squabbling. Ford rarely lost his temper , but when he did, it was unforgettable. Once, in the Cabinet Room, when rival factions of speechwriters were haggling over inconsequential speech points, Ford slammed that big left fist down so hard that the top of the Cabinet table seemed to bounce six inches off its base. At least half of a President’s job is office work, and at that, Ford excelled. Every major problem in the world that cannot be solved elsewhere lands in the Oval Office in-­ box. As President, Ford spent most of his time at his desk, and there he was at his best, studying position papers, discussing a problem with advisers, weighing alternatives, meeting Congressmen. My favorite portrait of President Ford shows him at that desk, head down, glasses glinting in the sun coming through the bulletproof window behind him. He is reading. Ford’s ability to concentrate was extraordinary. Observing him at work or on the tennis court, you saw that he had an innate ability to focus on the subject at hand and block out all distractions. His attention in a meeting never lagged. Marsh once remarked on how one morning Ford immersed himself in a national-­ security crisis for one hour, engaged in a critical economic discussion in the Roosevelt Room for the next hour, then chaired a complex legislative discussion with House leaders in the Cabinet Room the next hour—­ and never lost concentration on the problem at hand. I once asked the President how he managed to compartment his mind.“I always had that capability to a degree,” he said.“In high school I had to learn to concentrate on my academics and play three sports—­ football, basketball, and track. I never fretted on the football field about my academics, and vice versa. So I learned that particular discipline back then, and it became better tuned as I went along in life. At Michigan I had classes, football, managing the fraternity house. If you don’t separate things, you screw up everything. At law school I scheduled classes in the early morning, met with the Yale football squad from 10 to 12, attended class from 1 to 3, coached on the football field from 3:30 to 6, and then I had to study at night. In addition I was courting Phyllis against heavy competition. With that kind of schedule, I couldn’t get behind. Even more so when I went on the Warren Commission, and still had all those House committees...