Ford's assessment of fellow presidents released

[AFE7FATMAN]

Story Highlights• Ford: Carter, a fine person but a poor president
• Ford: Reagan, a bad manager and the least well-informed on running gov't
• Ford: Truman, Nixon were good on foreign policy
• Ford: Eisenhower best president of his lifetime


GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP) -- In 25 years of interviews with his hometown paper that could only be released upon his death, former President Ford once called Jimmy Carter a "disaster" who ranked alongside Warren Harding, and said Ronald Reagan received far too much credit for ending the Cold War.

"It makes me very irritated when Reagan's people pound their chests and say that because we had this big military buildup, the Kremlin collapsed," Ford told The Grand Rapids Press.

Ford contended his own negotiation of the Helsinki accords on human rights did more to win the Cold War than Reagan's military buildup.

The best president of his lifetime, Ford said, was a more moderate Republican: Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Harry Truman "would get very high marks" for his handling of foreign crises, Ford said. He also praised Richard Nixon as a foreign policy master, despite the Watergate scandal that drove him from office.

Ford considered John F. Kennedy overrated and Bill Clinton average. He admired George H.W. Bush's handling of the Persian Gulf War and had mixed opinions of Carter, who defeated Ford in 1976.

In 1981, Ford said: "I think Jimmy Carter would be very close to Warren G. Harding. I feel very strongly that Jimmy Carter was a disaster, particularly domestically and economically. I have said more than once that he was certainly the poorest president in my lifetime."

But two years later, he praised Carter's performance on the Panama Canal treaty, China and the Middle East. And in 1998, he said Carter "will be looked on as a better president than some comments we hear today."

"He was a very decent, fine individual," Ford told the paper. "There were no major mistakes. There just weren't a lot of exciting results."

Ford gave the interviews on the condition they be withheld until after his death.

According to the newspaper, Ford declined to rate George W. Bush, saying he did not know him well enough.

Ford said Reagan, who challenged him unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in 1976, was "a great spokesman for attractive political objectives" such as a balanced budget and defeating communism, "but when it came to implementation, his record never matched his words."

Reagan was "probably the least well-informed on the details of running the government of any president I knew," Ford said. In a separate interview, he said Reagan "was just a poor manager, and you can't be president and do a good job unless you manage."

Under the 1975 Helsinki accords signed by Ford, the United States recognized borders in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe in exchange for the Soviets' pledge to respect basic human rights.

Ford said other key factors that won the Cold War were the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe after World War II and the establishment of NATO.

"When you put peace, prosperity and human rights against poverty, a massive unsuccessful military program and a lack of human rights, communism was bound to collapse," he said. "No president, no Democrat or Republican, can claim credit for those programs. I'll tell you who deserves the credit -- the American people."







I don't agree with his assessment on IKE but his take on JIMMY is right on the money.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/12/for....ap/index.html

[ChumpDumper]

I agree with pretty much all of it.

[Yonivore]

Ford Impressive in First 100 Days as Dead President

News Fairly Unbalanced. We Report. You Decipher.

(2007-01-13) — President Gerald R. Ford, who since his death last month has released a barrage of personal opinions about U.S. presidents and their policies, today announced a new program to overcome the devastating inflation that plagued his brief time in the White House.

Early on in his first 100 days as a dead president, Mr. Ford has already racked up a series of “impressive” accomplishments, including questioning the rationale for invading Iraq, calling former President Jimmy Carter a “disaster” and saying President Ronald Reagan was ignorant of government and a bad manager.

The late former president, best known for pardoning President Richard Nixon, said his new economic proposal would build on his previous ‘Whip Inflation Now’ campaign, that attempted to beat back consumer prices with distribution of attractive red buttons bearing the acronym WIN.

“I’ve always felt that a president can accomplish more from the casket than from the Oval Office,” Mr. Ford said. “That’s why I’ve waited until now to unleash my courageous opinions about Reagan, Carter and Bush.”

The 38th president said he enjoys leading the nation from the grave, “because there are no elections to lose, and no term limits.”

[johnsmith]

^^^

[JoeChalupa]

I've always thought Reagan got too much credit as well.

[101A]

Swinging after the bell.

Weak.

[Nbadan]

There are much worse things than being hated by Gerald Ford, for instance, being admired by Gerald Ford would be one.

[Nbadan]

This synopsis of Ford from the Beast is so....right.

Precedent-setting cowardice; admitted to pardoning Nixon because they were friends. Enabled the sense of executive impunity that pervades the White House today. A bumbling doofus who inadvertently helped launch the diseased career of Chevy Chase. Strongly criticized the current administration on Iraq in a 2004 taped interview with Bob Woodward on the typically spineless stipulation it wouldn’t be released until after his death. Has become a burlesque reminder of American fealty and inability to speak truth to power while it might have an actual impact. Posthumous media flip-flop on the pardon highlights how sad and weak the press has become.

The BEAST 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2006

[BIG IRISH]

This synopsis of Ford from the Beast is so....right.

Quote:

Precedent-setting cowardice; admitted to pardoning Nixon because they were friends. Enabled the sense of executive impunity that pervades the White House today. A bumbling doofus who inadvertently helped launch the diseased career of Chevy Chase. Strongly criticized the current administration on Iraq in a 2004 taped interview with Bob Woodward on the typically spineless stipulation it wouldn’t be released until after his death. Has become a burlesque reminder of American fealty and inability to speak truth to power while it might have an actual impact.

Posthumous media flip-flop on the pardon highlights how sad and weak the press has become
It was known and discussed in Military Circles for years, just no-one that
valued their career would stand-up.


The BEAST 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2006

"This synopsis of Ford from the Beast is so....right" but DAN , nothing in here about "Work" on the Warren Commission, this was some of his greatest "work"
Everbody has a price-I wonder what Ford's was?

Thanks for the link I loved the one about McCain.

[Nbadan]

Everbody has a price-I wonder what Ford's was?

The presidency?

[MajorMike]

I've always thought Reagan got too much credit as well.

Regan was a slick talking, in the right place at the right time, grandfatherly figure for America. His cabinet ran the office most of his terms. He was just there to smile and make everyone say, "Grandpa, tell me bout the good ol days."