In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

213 twenty-nine Change in Course In a political sense, there is one problem that currently underlies all others.That problem is making government sufficiently responsive to the people. If we don’t make government responsive to the people, we don’t make it believable. And we must make it believable if we are to have a functioning democracy. —Gerald R. Ford My greatest ambition—the unrelenting career focus of my life since my sophomore year in college—was to be a successful practicing lawyer in an outstanding private law firm. I love the law, the courtroom clashes, the demands of anxious clients, the challenge of complex transactions, the resolution of conflicts through reason, and the income that a law practice can generate. But that world was about to change. In his genial, disarming way, President Ford had drafted me onto his team. The former star center at the University of Michigan was facing the greatest challenge of his career, and I was to join him on the front line.1 The goal: restoring the confidence of the American people in the integrity of their governmental institutions. As the president had said at his swearing in, “Truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad. In all my public and private acts as your president, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end.”2 After the president sent my nomination to Capitol Hill, I met with the White House congressional relations staff to arrange courtesy calls on key senators. Armed with heavy briefing books, I endured the senate confirmation hearing without any unexpected surprises and was confirmed unanimously by the full senate. There was no turning back now. A couple of days before I was sworn in, I was at a dinner party at the British embassy. A member of the British cabinet asked me about the budget and workforce of the Department of Transportation. From my confirmation briefings , I knew that the department had a budget of more than $80 billion and about 118,000 employees, making it at that time the fourth largest in the federal government—facts I rattled off with cocky confidence. But his next question stunned me. He asked, “How many people have you ever managed?” On 05-0488-1 part5.indd 213 9/9/10 8:26 PM 214 / serving in the ford cabinet the way home that night I began to feel like Robert Redford in the movie The Candidate: I’ve got the job, what do I do now? In a near state of panic I called Elliot Richardson, who by that time had served in four federal departments. He had just been nominated by President Ford to be the U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James. The Richardsons had offered us the use of their house on the bluffs overlooking the Potomac River in McLean, Virginia. In my call to Elliot I accepted the Richardsons’ kind offer of a riparian home and told him I had a pressing problem that I needed to discuss with him. Although it was quite late he invited me over to his house, where we discussed what it takes to be an effective cabinet officer. In the wee hours of the morning I took copious mental notes from my Professor of Secretary for Everything 101. I came away from that conversation with twelve aphorisms that I recall to this day.3 First, my loyalty first and foremost should be to the American people and to the president who appointed me. On important matters I should ask to see the president and argue vigorously for the department’s position, but once the president makes a decision, I had an obligation to carry out his policies, unless I was convinced that they were either unethical or so abhorrent to my principles that I had no option but to resign. (Obviously, Elliot knew whereof he spoke on this issue.) The president and White House staff quickly detect those cabinet officers who are charting their own course, dealing surreptitiously with the media to advance their own agenda, and making deals with members of Congress that undercut the president’s policy. Ultimately, they are ineffectual and replaced, often under a cloud. Second, most federal departments are conglomerates of older, longstanding , autonomous fiefdoms that have their own direct contacts...

Share