Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life

Afterword

465 Afterword This book is in essence the one the author first set out to write in the early 1990s to chronicle the White House years of Gerald R. Ford. But President Ford’s compelling early life story distracted the author—my father—on that first attempt; the more he learned about the self-­ made Michigan man who rose to Congress and the presidency, the more he was convinced that he should tell that story first. Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History was published 19 years ago, but the author never forgot his commitment to the initial task, or “Ford II” as he referred to it, and the White House years. Following publication of Time and Chance, the author took part in the 1996 Character Above All lecture series on presidential history and recounted how President Ford restored stability and integrity to the Oval Office. Character was the essence of Gerald Ford’s life, and of the author’s life as well, so it’s not surprising they had mingled destinies; honesty, good work, directness marked their lives and careers. After leaving office, the President was generous with his time in discussions, interviews, and correspondence with the author. No subject was off limits, mutual respect was assured, and both men had the chance to reflect on the past and capture details and turning points in history. For that and for the privilege of serving the country in the White House, the author was always grateful. In the introduction to his first book, Politics U.S.A., published in 1960, the author seemed to predict his own move from journalism to government service some nine years later. He wrote of meeting Connecticut Governor Abraham Ribicoff and Nelson Rockefeller in 1958. Rockefeller was considering a run for New York governor and sketched 466 gerald r. ford the methods he would use to get things done if nominated and elected. The author, at that time an editor at Newsweek magazine, “listened with fascination” to Rockefeller and to Ribicoff, who explained like a military strategist how he had defeated bureaucrats and cut government spending. “Political techniques have long interested me,” the author wrote. He could not find a “how-­ to” book on winning and holding public office, so he determined to publish one. “I believe this book will truly inform people—­ those who want to go into politics, those who are in it now, and those who, as good citizens, simply want to find out more about it. I also hope that this book will contribute in some way to the public ’s understanding of how the democratic system works. What I set out to do was as difficult as it is simple: to tell the story the way it really is.” Decades later, that same approach would serve him well in writing about Gerald Ford. At the end of a long and fascinating tenure on the Capitol Hill staff of Senator Howard Baker Jr., in 1984 the author was reflective in a note to an old friend: My clear and singular first choice for a profession is politics . . . I enjoy the sense of being in public life, the demands of governing, the defining of choices, the study of human nature and motivation . . . I enlisted in politics as an idealist; I remain an idealist. The Greeks considered politics the ultimate responsibility of a citizen and the most noble of professions. So do I . . . I try not to take myself or my political associates all that seriously; but I do take the system very seriously. I believe profoundly that any one person can make a difference. On occasion, I believe I have made a difference. Moreover, politics is great fun. Journalism was good fun; this is better. In the interim between Time and Chance and this book, my father wrote Apostle Paul: A Novel of the Man Who Brought Christianity to the Western World. He had always wondered how difficult it would be to write fiction.“Well,” he said with a weary smile after it was done,“I sure found out.” Then, in 2006 he turned his full attention back to “Ford II.” He passed away in late 2011, several pages shy of completing this manuscript. A new book by a writer recently deceased can perplex the publishing world, with no telegenic principal to press it on the talk Afterword 467 show circuit. But supporters and advocates for President Ford...