December 28, 2006
Ford and Schlesinger Posted by Alexander Burns at 12:40 PM EST In virtually all the responses I’ve read to the passing of Gerald Ford, the thirty-eighth President has been described as a decent and kind man, whose upright character helped heal a wounded nation. I have no doubt that there is much truth to these portraits. While it is ultimately a minor piece of Ford’s career, his good-natured response to Saturday Night Live’s mockery also says a lot about the man’s sense of humor and self-effacing patience. I think one can learn at least as much about Ford from a moment in which he lost his patience, though, as from the many in which he tolerated disappointments around him. During the autumn of 1975, Ford’s administration was coming increasingly into conflict with the overwhelmingly Democratic Congress. After Nixon’s resignation and their blowout victory in the 1974 midterms, Democrats were becoming bolder in their opposition to the White House’s defense policies. As the month of October wore on, friction continued growing between Congress and the administration over the size of the military budget. Then on October 20, after a contentious hearing in the House of Representatives, Defense Secretary James Schlesinger held a press conference to blast congressional leaders for “deep, savage and arbitrary cuts” in the Pentagon budget. A particular target of Schlesinger’s wrath was the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, George Mahon. Unfortunately for Schlesinger, Mahon was a dear friend of Gerald Ford’s—according to The New York Times, one of his “oldest and closest confidants in Congress.” President Ford and Secretary Schlesinger had never gotten along terribly well. Where Ford was a modest and hard-working man, Schlesinger was a comparatively blustery and arrogant official. He had some reason for this arrogance, having risen from a relatively obscure budgetary job to the office of Defense Secretary in only four years. But his personal comportment and management style clashed with Ford’s, and when Ford assumed the Presidency it seemed likely that the two were headed for a collision. Schlesinger’s attack on Mahon brought his differences with the President to a breaking point. In the first days of November, Ford fired Schlesinger as part of an administration-wide defense shakeup. The President also dismissed CIA Director William Colby, and relieved Secretary of State Henry Kissinger of his dual function as National Security Adviser. The brunt of his frustration, though, was directed at the defense secretary. Ford even took uncharacteristic pleasure in firing Schlesinger. As I heard the story told by a close aide to Ford, the President informed his senior staff of his intention to dismiss Schlesinger the night before doing so. Many of those he informed accepted the President’s decision but expected him to change his mind by the next day. The next morning, when the President arrived in the Oval Office, a number of his staff were waiting for him, and one of them asked whether he had reconsidered his decision about Schlesinger. “No,” he replied, reportedly with a smile on his face, “I’m really looking forward to firing that guy.” Some interpreted Ford’s personnel decisions as an attempt to run to the political right in anticipation of a stiff primary challenge from Ronald Reagan. Democratic Senator Henry Jackson declared that Schlesinger’s firing “indicated that the Administration cannot tolerate different views and honest advice.” When Ford replaced Schlesinger with White House Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld and named the diplomat and former Representative George H. W. Bush to the job of CIA director, it did little to quiet complaints that this shakeup was politically motivated. But Ford’s most immediate motivations had little to do with the 1976 elections. Instead, they stemmed from an insistence on civil discourse, a deep-seated respect for the legislature, and a loyalty to his friends. Ford deserves all the recognition he’s receiving for these qualities, and his treatment of Schlesinger shows them in full color.
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