You know, what the DBM calls a "good Republican."
Clearly that's an oversimplification and doesn't account for lots of things he did do, such as taking on Johnson's "great society" programs in the 60s, but it's how I picture him.
I also agree with those that characterize Ford as an "anti-conservative Republican," if you take Reagan to represent the conservatives in the party. Lots of people have pointed out the slap in the face selecting Nelson Rockefeller as his VP was to conservatives. At the time it was intended to broaden his standing across the party as Ford was nominally a midwestern conservative (of the old school) and Rockefeller represented a different wing of the party, but events later made me associate Ford (and the old school midwest Republicans) with the country club Rockefeller Republicans as oppposed to the Reagan conservatives.
It's also interesting to me the account in the New York Times indicating that Ford and Carter became close friends based largely on their mutual dislike of Ronald Reagan. I take the report with a big grain of salt based on the source, but it is consistent with my impression of the late President Ford.
I do agree that Reagan probably couldn't have been elected in 1976 and that it took 4 years of Carter to slap people "up side the head" and make them realize that, yes, the Dhimmicrats really are that stupid, dishonest and incompetent. I think that's going to be the consensus in two years, as well, after we have watched the wheels fall off of Nazi Pelosi's little red wagon.
None of this is that strongly held or backed by any research. It's just my impression, having lived through the times in question (though I wasn't paying that much attention to politics at the time).
Some one here must have saved that delightful exchange with Ford in which he says, referring to Carter who had just behaved badly and made a subordinate feel very crushed, that you can't make chicken salad out of chicken s#%t. I don't think the stories about them being friends are all they are cracked up to be.
#190, that is very telling info about Ford. I am not surprised, and I was a dem at the time, but was really not a big fan of Ford even though I voted for him.
Facts are facts. You really can't compare the two because they served in much different circumstances as far as the composition of the Rep party was concerned, i.e., the percentage identifying themselves as conservatives. The GOP during Ford's tenure had many Northeasterners and Midwesterners. It was more liberal overall as a party. This changed as the GOP gained in the conservative South, which has now become the GOP's principal power base. Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford were not conservatives nor did they pretend to be so. Neither was Bush 41. You can't fault Ford for being accommodating to the Dems because he had little choice given the large Dem majorities. Most of the politically meaningful dialogue took place within the Dem party with the Southern Dems pitted against the rest of the Party. The Reps could use some leverage in forming coalitions with Dems to determine the outcome of some issues.
Also, the Dems controlled the House to a much greater degree when Ford took over as the minority leader [1965-73] than under Gingrich's minority whip tenure [1989-95] when he took over for Cheney. The Dems controlled the 89th Congress [1965-67] in the House 295-140 and 68-32 in the Senate. The Reps high water mark in the House never got above 192 during Ford's tenure and many of those Reps were not conservatives.
The GOP under Gingrich was a much different party thanks to the success of Reagan and the shift of the South to the Rep column. It was much different than the GOP that had been practically destroyed when Goldwater was the standard bearer in the 1964 election.
I also agree with those that characterize Ford as an "anti-conservative Republican," if you take Reagan to represent the conservatives in the party. Lots of people have pointed out the slap in the face selecting Nelson Rockefeller as his VP was to conservatives. At the time it was intended to broaden his standing across the party as Ford was nominally a midwestern conservative (of the old school) and Rockefeller represented a different wing of the party, but events later made me associate Ford (and the old school midwest Republicans) with the country club Rockefeller Republicans as oppposed to the Reagan conservatives.
Ford was being a political realist. In 1964 Goldwater, an avowed and proud conservative, got the nomination of the GOP. He lost the popular vote 61% to 38.5% and the electoral vote 486-52. I can understand why Ford would be reluctant 12 years later to place another conservative on the national ticket.
None of this is that strongly held or backed by any research. It's just my impression, having lived through the times in question (though I wasn't paying that much attention to politics at the time).
It sounds like you a bit older than me. I am only 63, but I can remember much of it, especially the 60s having served in Vietnam. As a 17 year old in 1960, I was distributing campaign literature door to door in a small town in very Rep upstate NY on behalf of JFK. Of course, by today's standards, JFK might be considered a conservative.