Ford was before my time, but curious to know what you guys think of the man as president, his legacy and policies?
Another question:
As Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara was way before my time but a few people have stated that he shared a lot of similarities with Donald Rumsfeld. Any thoughts?
The book, “Dereliction of Duty”, by McMaster, sums up MacNamara to me—an arrogant, amoral bean counter. MacNamara’s book, “In Retrospect” and his documentary interview tend to support that.
Don’t know that much about Rumsfeld. Tried to read his book but couldn’t get through it…
Ford seemed like an amiable placeholder. Everybody was so sick of Watergate, etc., that we just wanted some semblance of normalcy. Sort of like now. I thought that his handling of the whole Mayaguez affair was a giant cluster though.
I’d hate to be a historian in, say, 2060 trying to make sense of events 1960-2060. Makes my head hurt.
Ford would be considered a RINO by today’s right-of-the-aisle standards. Like someone else mentioned above: a “placeholder” to ride out Nixon’s second term.
I know most of you know this but Ford is the only POTUS to have never been elected to either that post or VP.
Like has been said, President Ford was a benevolent placeholder. He was not terribly conservative but was generally well-liked.
Secretary of Defense McNamara was a putz. He had been president of Ford Motor Company, when he was in the Air Force he was an efficiency expert. He thought he knew a lot more about the military and Military strategy then he did.
We my first squadron commander was still a cadet at the Air Force Academy (‘76), he and 3 of his buddies wrote a letter to President Ford that said:
“We’d like to go skiing in Vail over Spring Break, but don’t have a place to stay. Any chance we could stay at your house there?”
Much to their surprise the President wrote and get this, he let them stay at his house! So the four cadets spent the entire break skiing and chilling in the Presidents house. Needless to say, my commander was a big fan of President Ford.
Gerald R. Ford was a moderate Conservative; moderate on social issues but quite Conservative on foreign affairs. He was not afraid to use US military force when our interests were at stake. Many here probably have never heard of the “Mayaguez Incident”, considered the last battle of the Vietnam War in 1975. I was in High School at the time and it was big news. An interesting read:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayaguez_incident
This incident, and the 1980 Operation Eagle Claw fiasco, were two of the reasons SOCOM became a reality, and provided me a job for a while during the years leading up to it’s creation.
Gerald “veto” Ford’s term was short, but I cannot think of anything he did that was bad.
Refusing to bailout NYC, was epic and should have gotten him on Mt Rushmore.
Generally Ford did fine as president, following Watergate, with a Congress and Judiciary opposed to him. Not afraid to take the courageous pardon of Nixon and draft dodgers, even if it cost him the election. When the Soviets were on the rise and the US on the ropes, he did a great job of keeping the Cold War under control. The only major mistake was the appointment of Justice Stevens… Understanding that he had a tough Congressional environment and knew the election would be a battle.
He seems to be a good and decent man, faced with tough odds. Additionally, he served honorably in the Second World War.
A little off topic, but his pre-Presidential life was impressive imo.
Yes, he was an naval officer on a carrier in the Pacific during WW2. He almost got blown overboard during a massive typhoon, best read about in the book “Halsey’s Typhoon”.
McNamara’s bean counting is what got a bunch of GI’s killed when he acquiesced to the production of M-16’s without chrome lined barrels and chambers all in the name of saving money. He should have been sacked or resigned for that decision.
He was also one of the most athletic POTUS of all time.
Correct- he was actually the Athletic Officer for the carrier he was on.
I was referring to something bigger like 2 national titles playing multiple positions and having his jersey retired at Michigan.
This😀.
His childhood history is worth reading over also… I knew the football and service facts, but just heard a little history of his early life on a podcast last week. Seems he was squared away early on.
Squeaky Fromme tried to shoot him and he didnt try to ban guns like a bitch.
A decent chap IMO
AND she tried it with one of them there DCM 1911s. Just forgot to chamber a round. Now we’re getting ready to release a flood of the same evil gummint surplus 1911s again. Fast & Furious II, I calls it.
I knew a retired officer who liaised with several White Houses for the Pentagon. He had immense respect for Ford. I think history is beginning to see Ford as more than just a placeholder. By my account, he was a pretty respectable president. But for the Nixon pardon, he probably would’ve been elected in his own right, but pardoning Nixon was the right decision at the time. It may seem easy to judge that as a poor decision now, but it was right for the time. Well, the Nixon pardon and his handling of “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe." That was as poorly timed a campaign gaffe as there ever was.
He also sat on the Warren Commission.
what about Rumsfeld during Bush’s presidency during the GWOT? Was he a good SECDEF?