Ford's Grades For Carter, Reagan, Nixon

Late President Called Carter A "Disaster," Nixon A "Master," Reagan "A Poor Manager"

(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.

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

Harry Truman "would get very high marks from me" 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, 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 died Dec. 26 at the age of 93. During a Jan. 3 funeral service in East Grand Rapids, Carter said he and Ford had developed a close personal friendship over the years.

Ford commented on fellow presidents of the second half of the 20th century during a series of interviews with the Grand Rapids paper over more than 25 years, on condition that his remarks be withheld until after his death. Maury DeJonge, then a Press reporter, began the interviews in 1979. Mike Lloyd, editor of The Press, took over the interviews in 1981.

The Press reported on the interviews in a recent story and said it would publish another Sunday with Ford's reflections on his pardon of Nixon. The paper said Ford declined to rate George W. Bush, saying he didn't know the current president 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, "He was just a poor manager, and you can't be president and do a good job unless you manage."

Ford contended his negotiation of the Helsinki Accord on human rights did more to win the Cold War than Reagan's Pentagon buildup. Other key factors were the Marshall Plan and establishment of NATO, Ford said.

"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."

Ford hailed Truman for decisiveness in using nuclear weapons against Japan, meeting the communist challenge in Korea, supporting the Marshall Plan and aiding Greece and Turkey. But he said Eisenhower was even better, describing him as "the father of NATO" who prevented the Soviets from overrunning Western Europe and presided over a mostly prosperous economy.

"He was not a person who did a lot of evident things, but he ran the country in a very responsible way," Ford said.

Clinton rivaled Reagan for communication savvy, Ford said: "You have to be careful of what he (Clinton) says because it's so skillfully said."

Three years ago, Ford said, "On substance, I would rate Clinton about a 5. To hear him talk about it, he should have gotten a 10. I never felt that, when the chips were down, in a tough crisis, he would make the right decision. ... You could never give Clinton a high mark on integrity."

[grazinggoat]

%u201CWhen 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,%u201D he said. %u201CNo president, no Democrat or Republican, can claim credit for those programs. I'll tell you who deserves the credit %u2014 the American people.%u201D

This is great. It's great. The people is the WISE dosage in every decision. The leaders should know that, understand it forever. The masses are the last word-sayers.

[jdweymouth]

The worst presidents in U.S. history were as follows: Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson. I'll stop there because people would be horrified who I say is next.

My point is, Ford, God rest him, was a bad president, and we shouldn't listen to him about bad presidents. The media had no use for him while he was alive for pardoning Nixon (whom I have believed was framed for Watergate to this day, I've believed this for years), but now that he's dead these statements come out, all of the sudden we should put stock in what he says.

Hypocrisy, that's the left's middle name.

[randalds]

Worst presidents ever is a specious list anyway, since there is no one who is even a close 2nd to George W. Bush. He is so breathtakingly bad that all others pale by comparison and it's really not even fair to them to put them on the same list. The mental midget in the White House is a a class by himself. The dunce class.

[oleander8]

jdweymouth :
"...alive for pardoning Nixon (whom I have believed was framed for Watergate to this day, I've believed this for years)"

...with this statement you wiped out any credibility your comments may have garnered.

[cruzn66]

Even a dead president offers more insight than the current resident of the White House ever will!

[jimfinster]

oleander8:

Wow. So they had an actor imitating his voice on all those tapes that incriminated him?

[jdweymouth]

oleander8: Ever heard of the missing 15 minutes? itsa coincidence that 6 months after Nixon resigns, North Vietnam invades the south? Nixon had threatened China and Russia with nuclear war if they intervened on the north's behalf. Nixon is conveniently indicted after a succession of events that would have given the U.S. a Korean War class victory, better than the humiliation we sustained. Nixon had won re-election by a landslide, and it seems inconceivable that he would risk ruining his popular standings with something as trivial as a burglary (to put it in simple terms).

Maybe Joe McCarthy had a point with his communist party accusations. The liberals ruin him, while at the same time it seemed every time there was a democrat in power; communism took two steps forward.

Do you know how the Watergate congress answered Ford's plea for funds to assist the south during the invasion? They said "no". Why? I don't know, but I sure wonder what was on the missing 15 minutes...

In the end, however, it doesn%u2019t matter, because we won as a result of Regan's admanistration and that annoys the media to its very foundation. We know that, because they've been trying to ruin the U.S. image since then, and the way they're swinging public opinion, it looks like this might be the best chance they'll ever get.

They've already got the populace crying Vietnam.

[rharrin1]

hey mouth

You really should go back to school as your timetables are way wrong. North invading the south WHEN?

[jdweymouth]

rharrin1: I'm aware and apologize about my beinge rusty with the exact dates, but my point is valid. They invaded the south after Nixon stepped down, you are evading, because you see my point: it is distinctly possible that Nixon was innocent in the whole Watergate scandal.

I've noticed the liberal way of losing an argument time and time again: look around for minor errors to try and distact as well as discredit. Very honorable, but I've come to expect no more from the left

[antoniof123]

I have to say Bush (son), followed by Nixon, then Ford, then Carter in that oreder rank as the worst Presidents in history. By far Nixon was the smartest but he was so crooked that he had to screw his socks on in the morning. The fall of the Soviet Union does not belong to the build of arms it is because the West was better suited for the job. Now we have fallen from grace because we are allowing the wacko religious right to run things we have become no better then Islam when it comes to war.

[jdweymouth]

an'toniof123: Yeah, you're right, we deliberately and purposefully target women and children, we use terror to support our cause, and we force everyone to worship Christianity. For the first time in a while we implemented our old phrase: "Don't tread upon me". Do you have a problem with that? We did win the Cold War as a result of the Regan military buildup, and economic reform. Remember Carter's presidency was where communism continued its great advance, we betrayed another ally, and terrorists started bullying us.

In order the top five worse presidents were, in my opinion: Carter, Johnson, Ford, Clinton, and FDR. In my opinion he'd be in late teen early 20 rank. I know my opinion of Bush and that name will anger you, but if you want to know my reasons, ask me.

[jdweymouth]

P.S.
When I said, "he'd be in the teen early twenty rank", I meant George Bush jr.

[hungry1968]

First, let me say that George Bush Jr. is by far and away one of the worst leaders, of any country, throughout recorded history.

Second, it amazes me how Ford is described as having so much "integrity" and "character". If he would have pushed to have Nixon arrested tried in a court of law, that would have shown integrity and character. Pardoning Nixon under any reasoning and logic basically said, "As long as you're an elected official, you can do anything you want and get away with it - you're above the law."

And then people can't understand why politicians have a rap for being so corrupt? No wonder why the Bush administration is so flagrant in all of their illegal actions.

[j_flood]

God love you folks, they way you go on about this and that.

I found the point of the article refreshing. Ford was a plain speaker and given to changing his mind too. We could use a person on our political stage today like him.

Pity we think all these conspiracies are afoot - perhaps we still need more sunshine laws to prevent all of the back office secrets. And more oversight from the Congress.

Take care

[grumpas]

Reagan was by far one of the worst President's this country has had jdweymouth! He did more to bring about the current mess we find ourselves in than any other President! He was not the working person's friend it was during the Reagan years that one paycheck per family went out the window! He brought the more radical element into the Republican party and let them have free reign in order to garner a few votes! He allowed all the media to be owned by only a small group of Republican's! He should have been impeached over the Iran/Contra affair! But, he conveniently lost his memory! This list of his failure's goes on an on! He almost bankrupted us and the Soviet Union both with his arms race! So, as far as a lot of us concerned he ranks up there with George W as one of the worst!

[Jasonian18]

your an idiot if you think George was a bad pres yourna moron he did more for this country then any dem has ever done well how to put this properly if it weren't for the dems being in office we wouldn't have a problem with socail security goin caput reagan was not the best pres i know but roosevelt was far worse in my opinion.

[rceskr]

Every president has both good and bad points,although some will naturally rank higher. (But how can anyone consider FDR to be anything less than one of our top three or four presidents.) A growing consensus, though, is that George W. Bush will rank right down there with James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson.

[bluestardad]

whogivesashit!

[jdweymouth]

rceskr: I agree that James Buchanan is on the top ten worst president list, but not AAndrew Johnson, just because he got impeached doesn't mean he was bad. George W. is definitely not one of the best, but not as bad as Carter, Buchanan, or L.Johnson.

FDR was a president who implemented socialist measures: centralizing banks, seizing private gold, and setting up bread lines, as well as recognizing the Soviet Union. Part of this can be attributed to his wonderful aide Morgantheau, but FDR was the president.

[thgdriver]

FDR's seizing of private gold was unconstitutional, the man should have been challenged on this order.

[thgdriver]

PS-- at the time my family did not have any "coal" let alone gold, but he was still wrong.

[jn122736]

grumpas at 09:57 AM : Jan 13, 2007

I could not agree more that Reagan was one of the worst presidents, at least in my lifetime. His administration did insurmountable damage to the working classes. He began the destruction of unions which was the most powerful voice speaking on their behalf.

But perhaps the worst damage has and is still being done by the huge run up of the national debt. The total interest we have paid on this debt is staggering. It comes right off the top of taxes collected each year and no one gives it a thought.

Now Bush Junior has doubled the debt and therefore the interests due each year. GWB has passed Reagan on the worst president list and may have made himself unreachable by any future president.

[tiddsanbeer]

It would be nice if people paid closer attention to the so called TV "news".

Please Take a moment and count how many times the words "I Think" or, "do you think" are actually said when a so called EXPERT is consulted or a FIELD REPORTER is asked a question.

You will find that those two words are USED WAY TOO MUCH for any reasonable person to deduce that the story being reported on is based on proven facts instead of speculation and opinion.

This is a major problem with the mainstream media and why this country continues to divide more and more each day.

We should ALL want the truth and the facts...not speculation. Blaming Bush alone, without holding your "own" accountable for their fair share of the blame is outrageous in itself.

I found this story about Ford refreshing and well done..with "opinions" clearly outlined.

Has Bush made mistakes?? You bet.. but where have the dems been for the last 10 years?? Nobody there has come up with one good solution to any of OUR country's problems...just OPINIONS...and you know what they say, opinions are like democrats..everybody's got one....

[rafterman1]

"where have the dems been for the last 10 years??"

Under the thumb of the Republican leadership in Congress, not allowing Dems to bring legislation for votes or have any significant impact on committees. That's where they've been.

Republicans wanted absolute, unchallenged power, they got it. That also means they get absolute, unchallenged blame for what went wrong.

[bluestardad]

I found this on one of you guys blogs it is great I took the liberty to send it to many people and Cafferty File Reported on it last night. Go to it and forward it to all you can. Expose the reason for this war. Oil!

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010807A.shtml

[jlmcscanner]

I quote the most insane reason for the end of the cold war.
"I'll give you the best reason I've ever heard - if not THE reason - for the final/ultimate collapse of USSR.
Jimmy Carter stopping the USA from participating in the Olympics in 1980.

BC Kelly

I just want to know what you base this on ??? They lost maybe a few billion dollars.The arms race the stupid Soviets tried to math us in cost TRILLIONS !!! The Olympics ?!?! Put down the bong because you are a Carter Democrat.The United States isolated the Soviets during the cold war and spent them into the ash heap of history.The Olympics ?!?! NOW I HEARD IT ALL !!!

[florida65]

God Bless Jerry Ford, RIP.
That said, I've got a bit of a problem with President Ford taking pot-shots from the grave.
Plus I'd like to see a little humility from a guy critisizing other Presidents all who were elected, something Ford never accomplished, not even once.
Great and honorable guy? Absolutely.
Stepped up to the plate, during our biggest executive crisis? Without a doubt.
But as honorable as Ford was during his short time of service, he will never be more that a temporary President, provided by the Constitution. The Rodney Dangerfield of Presidents.
Maybe that's why old Jerry felt the need to throw some *** he'd been hangin onto for so *** many years. That he didn't have the balls to speak his mind when he was alive kind of shows why he lost to Carter, doesn't it? I agree with Ford that Carter was a disaster. I disagree with old Jimmy at least 100% of the time, he's a communist for heaven's sake! But at least he has the kahonas to speak his mind.
I think the reason Ford's harsh critiquing rubs me so wrong is this. Don't try to be the nice guy for 93 years and then pre-arrange almost vitriolic interviews/press releases to hit immmediately following your death! Give me a break! If you were a harsh mean, judgemental, unforgiving SOB, why couldn't you have been honest about it when you were alive Jerry? Wasn't the
whole problem with Nixon a lack of honesty???!!!
N.Nordine
Clearwater, FL

[florida65]

God Bless Jerry Ford, RIP.
That said, I've got a bit of a problem with President Ford taking pot-shots from the grave.
Plus I'd like to see a little humility from a guy critisizing other Presidents all who were elected, something Ford never accomplished, not even once.
Great and honorable guy? Absolutely.
Stepped up to the plate, during our biggest executive crisis? Without a doubt.
But as honorable as Ford was during his short time of service, he will never be more that a temporary President, provided by the Constitution. The Rodney Dangerfield of Presidents.
Maybe that's why old Jerry felt the need to throw some *** he'd been hangin onto for so *** many years. That he didn't have the balls to speak his mind when he was alive kind of shows why he lost to Carter, doesn't it? I agree with Ford that Carter was a disaster. I disagree with old Jimmy at least 100% of the time, he's a communist for heaven's sake! But at least he has the kahonas to speak his mind.
I think the reason Ford's harsh critiquing rubs me so wrong is this. Don't try to be the nice guy for 93 years and then pre-arrange almost vitriolic interviews/press releases to hit immmediately following your death! Give me a break! If you were a harsh mean, judgemental, unforgiving SOB, why couldn't you have been honest about it when you were alive Jerry? Wasn't the
whole problem with Nixon a lack of honesty???!!!
N.Nordine
Clearwater, FL

Ford's grades are from a Republican perspective and therefore to be viewed with that in mind. It cannot be forgotten that his perception of Carter would also be shaped by the fact that Carter defeated him at the polls. As that pain receded, so did his bad grades for Carter. As for Reagan, he was on the mark and his comments on Nixon of course must be seen in light of his pardon. Perhaps he remained silent about Bush, Jr. out of party loyalty because he is still in office. At any rate, Dubya has to be the worst in my lifetime. No other president has done more to alienate the world from us and to waste our tax dollars than this man whose only claim to the office was name recognition.

[florida65]

Boy this has really set me off.

Further more President Ford, I think pardoning Nixon was a cataclysmic mistake!

I'm a Republican, and even a bit of a closet Nixon fan! But President Ford, you hold much responsibility for the trouble we've had in America since 1974 with no one willing to take responsibility for their own behavior.

Your pardoning Nixon said, that at least Presidents, or some Presidents are above the law! Plus, you robbed Nixon and our country of getting the whole truth about watergate to come out. If all Nixon did is lie about the coverup and he really had nothing to do with the break in, the country had a right to know. Would it be so bad for Mr. Nixon to spend a couple years in the slammer to "pay his debt to society"? Or maybe who would have beat the rap, who knows?
But all these people saying Ford had the courage to pardon Nixon? Excuse me? Am I missing something here? How imperial is that?
No, courage would have been to trust our judicial system, yes, even for, and maybe especially for Presidents too!
Does anyone out there agree with me on this?

N.Nordine
Clearwater, FL

[randalds]

All right, I'll bite. Worst presidents in recent history (since it's harder to honestly judge most of the older ones or at least the less outstanding ones) are Bush JR (head and shoulders above the rest and an almost infinite distance ahead of the rest. Not even close. The worst ever.), Nixon (a crook, but at least a good foreign policy guy on some issues and pro-choice), Reagen (scary stupid and had Alzheimer's even in his first term) and last Bush the First (dumb, but not dumb enough to invade Iraq). The best are FDR (far and away. A legend and rightfully so), Clinton (a surprise 2nd, but just think about and you'll realize it too), Kennedy (would have been the best if the mob hadn't killed him), Truman (hard times required a hard man. He did it right), Johnson (god love him he tried), Ford (honest and sincere), Eisenhower (warned us about the rise of the military industrial complex (and coined the phrase) but we didn't listen) and Carter (the single most under-rated president of the modern era).

Yep, that's about right.

[jlmcscanner]

BC Kelly,

1st... no assumption you ARE a Carter Democrat, no one else would make such a comment.2nd... you need to get your history straight because the Soviets that have been interviewed since the "Fall" have ALL said that the U.S. Build up was the start of the end for them.They had no hope economically or in a technological sense to stay even with us.It does appear to me that you are not a Patriot but part of a blame America and first, root for America to loose crowd.I do think this is very sad for the current state of our country and the future because the enemies of our great country will one day be knocking or should I say breaking down your (Mine as well) door some day and we will loose all the blessings that we enjoy today.Question to everyone on this blog... Has anybody seen a country in this world have citizens root for and relish our enemies success against us like ours ??? What the hell have we become !!!If we as a country taken this attitude during WW-2 then my friend we would have lost badly.I`m done.......

[jlmcscanner]

RandalDS,


All I have to say is that your a bleeding heart liberal and stoned as well.Kennedy, Johnson ?!?! They destroyed the pubic educational system, it was the envy of the world and now it is a joke.Reagan was a pivotal figure in winning the cold war.What the hell did Kennedy or Johnson do ??? Clinton was a man that lacked ANY integrity and would lie to his mother for a vote.PUT the bong down !!!

[randalds]

Kennedy was one of the most inspirational leaders in human history, let alone American. He inspired our people and nation to try bigger and better and to move into the future. That alone makes him great. Johnson started the war on poverty, the only valuable use for the word war. Reagan just happened to be the president in office when the Soviet system collapsed. It would have collapsed if at that time under the weight of it's own bureauocracy at that time if PeeWee Herman had been president. Reagan was irrelevant. as for Clinton, who cares who was sucking his d*ick? Personally I don't care if he had a thing for *** squirrels. He was still one of the greatest presidents of the modern era for his domestic polices.

Oh and I haven't hit the bong in years.

[battlground]

Yes! Carter was and is one of the worst ever.

Clinton was and is an average boob. He did no real harm though. He actually helped Republicans take contol in the '90s. I don't understand why Democrats still like him.

Reagan did help tip the "EVIL EMPIRE" towards collapse. I think Ford is a little jealous here.

I like Truman. He seemed to have old fashioned common sense.

JFK was a forceful leader even though he was a tomcatting playboy. Clinton wanted to be like that but failed.

Ford's comments seem fairly accurate and honest. That's probably why they could not be revealed until after his death.

BG