This is the first comprehensive study of one of our most popular yet
most misunderstood presidents. Reaching well beyond the image of Ford as
"healer" of a war-torn and scandal-ridden nation, John Robert Greene
extends and revises our understanding of Ford's struggles to restore
credibility to the presidency in the wake of Watergate and Vietnam.
Few
presidents had ever been asked to achieve so much in so little time
against such great adversity. Greene shows that Ford's efforts to lead
the nation were severely hampered by Nixon's misdeeds, by America's
ignominious disengagement from an unpopular war, and by a watchdog
Congress eager to put a brake on presidential power.
Working from
a wealth of recently declassified documents, Greene reveals new
evidence on Ford's roles in Watergate and challenges the prevailing view
of the infamous Mayaguez incident. He argues persuasively that Ford
made no "deal" with Nixon, but that his pardon of Nixon was costly
nonetheless, for it shadowed his entire presidency thereafter. He also
shows that the Mayaguez catastrophe was less a simple "rescue mission"
than it was an attempt to revive sagging political fortunes by attacking
Cambodia.
In addition, Greene details Ford's rise to prominence
within the Republican Party; chronicles the president's problematic
relations with his staff, the new Democratic Congress, and Ronald
Reagan; sheds new light on the selection and performance of
Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller; offers new insights into the election
of 1976; and provides the first in-depth look at Ford's Amnesty Program
for Vietnam Era Draft Evaders.
Based on interviews with Ford and
more than sixty individuals who figured prominently in his presidency
and on extensive use of the Ford Library, Greene's study illuminates
Ford's valiant efforts during some of the presidency's most troubled
years.
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