Michael Barone: Jerry Ford in History
Gerald Ford, who died last week at age 93, lived longer than any other president and survived after leaving office longer than any other president but Herbert Hoover. So we've had time to reflect on where he and his presidency stand in history. As commentators have been reminding us, Ford healed the wounds of Watergate and provided steady leadership in difficult times. But there is more to be said.
Ford came to office when the postwar consensus on foreign and economic policy was in ruins. The nation seemed on a downward trajectory at home and abroad. By dint of hard work and with the help of top-flight appointees, he helped to steer us toward a different course. This despite the fact that he was very much part of the postwar consensus himself. He was elected to Congress in 1948, defeating an isolationist Republican incumbent: This was a victory for the bipartisan Cold War policies of President Harry Truman and of Republican Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, who, like Ford, was from Grand Rapids.
In the House, Ford served on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and specialized in defense and foreign policy, mostly supporting the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations at a time when politics tended to stop at the water's edge. On domestic policy, Ford took a standard Republican line, favoring less spending than Democrats but declining to challenge New Deal programs. He supported some limits on labor unions but basically accepted the postwar consensus that big decisions should be hammered out by big government, big business, and big labor....
Read entire article at US News & World Report
Ford came to office when the postwar consensus on foreign and economic policy was in ruins. The nation seemed on a downward trajectory at home and abroad. By dint of hard work and with the help of top-flight appointees, he helped to steer us toward a different course. This despite the fact that he was very much part of the postwar consensus himself. He was elected to Congress in 1948, defeating an isolationist Republican incumbent: This was a victory for the bipartisan Cold War policies of President Harry Truman and of Republican Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, who, like Ford, was from Grand Rapids.
In the House, Ford served on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and specialized in defense and foreign policy, mostly supporting the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations at a time when politics tended to stop at the water's edge. On domestic policy, Ford took a standard Republican line, favoring less spending than Democrats but declining to challenge New Deal programs. He supported some limits on labor unions but basically accepted the postwar consensus that big decisions should be hammered out by big government, big business, and big labor....