"He was a man of the House. He became a president."
—Vice President Walter Mondale
I remember when Ford went back to Congress for the first time as the new president. It was a State of the Union speech, or its equivalent, and the warmth with which he greeted his former House colleagues was a very moving, touching expression by him. He had a sense of modesty that people who love the House develop. He was a man of the House. He became a president. I was in the Congress when he was in the House and I would meet him occasionally—but I wouldn't say I knew him. I didn't really get to know him until I was vice president and I went out to Vail—and there he was—and he said, "Let's ski together.'" We ended up spending most of the day going up and down chairlifts. We had a wonderful time. I told Carter when we were shaping the government that "Ford will try to help you. He wants to see a strong president." Carter was a little reluctant at first. There were bruised feelings, but over the years Carter became quite close to Ford, and they did many things together in the civic arena. I'll never forget what a nice, decent guy he was.
"They discovered their views were so similar …"
—Jody Powell, President Jimmy Carter's longtime press secretary
At the end of the 1980 campaign, Carter was a little put-out with Ford. ... When Carter was president, he went out of his way to keep Ford involved, to make sure he was briefed and to ask his advice. He knew Ford didn't care for [Ronald] Reagan, didn't have much respect for him. Given that, Carter felt that he'd gone overboard campaigning for Reagan and against him. It changed with the assassination of [Egyptian President Anwar] Sadat when Reagan sent the three former presidents—Ford, Carter and Nixon—to represent him at the funeral. They all gathered at the White House for a ceremonial sendoff. We got on the helicopter, Marine One with Carter, Ford, Nixon and Mrs. Carter. It was a little stiff and the person who broke the ice was that social butterfly, Richard Nixon. He launched into conversation with Mrs. Carter. It was small talk but it got things going. And that trip was the beginning of the Carter-Ford friendship and relationship. By the time we were on the way back, they had talked so much about the Middle East and discovered their views were so similar that they decided to issue a joint statement.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
