Talk:Gerald Ford/Archive 5

Ford expresses regret for continuing military aid to Indonesia following invasion of East Timor
Gerald R. Ford, Douglas Brinkley, New York: Time Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2007, page 132.

“ .  .  Given the brutality that Indonesia exhibited in East Timor, our support was wrong. Henry was not infallible. I didn’t realize just how bad the situation would become. . ”

“Yes. I mean I truly, honestly feel for those families which suffered losses. I’m sorry for them. The whole thing was tragic but I only learned the extent to what happened there after I left Washington. . ”


 * Important for both its own right, how it affected the people of East Timor, and also as a legacy of the Cold War. FriendlyRiverOtter (talk) 19:24, 23 February 2012 (UTC)

awkward dealings with absentee and abusive biologic father
"The 38th President: More Than Met the Eye," In Newsweek Magazine, U.S. News, The Daily Beast, Evan Thomas, Jan. 7, 2007.

(page 1, bottom) http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/01/07/the-38th-president-more-than-met-the-eye.html

‘ .  .  Gerald R. Ford Jr. was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. His real father was a handsome, wealthy, blond-haired wife-beater who first struck his bride on the first night of their honeymoon for smiling at a stranger in the elevator. Later, Leslie King Sr. held a knife over his wife as she lay in bed with her newborn baby; she then fled to Grand Rapids, Mich., and married a paint salesman named Gerald Ford, who gave her baby boy his name. At 16, young Jerry, by then a high-school football hero, was tending a lunch counter when Leslie King Sr. sauntered in. "I'm your father," he announced. "I'd like to take you to lunch." King was passing through town on his way to pick up an expensive new car, a Lincoln. King asked Ford if he would like to move back to live with his true father in Wyoming.’

(page 2, top)

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/01/07/the-38th-president-more-than-met-the-eye.html

‘"It was a hell of a shock," Ford later recalled. He went to lunch, but was shaking with resentment. "Nothing could erase the image I gained of my real father that day--a carefree, well-to-do man who really didn't give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his son." In bed that night, Ford wept "tears of anger." He tried to remember verses from Proverbs his mother had taught him: ''Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.''’

(page 4, bottom) http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2007/01/07/the-38th-president-more-than-met-the-eye.html ‘ .  .  .  It may well be that in his political life Ford had never been approached with such a naked blandishment. But his personal history contains, at the very least, a foreshadowing of his decision to end what he called "the long national nightmare" of Watergate with a presidential pardon. In 1937, when Ford was at Yale, his delinquent father turned up again--this time with a quid pro quo. For years, Leslie King had been embroiled with Ford's mother regarding unpaid alimony and child-support payments. Now King was offering Ford a deal: if he would get his mother to back off her legal claims, King would make sure his son was not forgotten in his will. Ford was cool to his father's approach, but ultimately worked out a settlement that won his mother $4,000. She sent her son a check for more than $2,000, which he promptly returned to her. "I was simply acting as a peacemaker," Ford testified in a 1939 court proceeding.

‘Duke history professor Peter Wood has speculated that when Ford pardoned Nixon, he was re-enacting the drama of trying to bring peace between his mother and father. This interpretation may be stretching the bounds of psychohistory. Still, Ford's language, when he announced the pardon that September Sunday in 1974, does suggest that he was obeying what Wood calls "a submerged but controlling personal logic." Ford told the nation: "My conscience tells me clearly and certainly that I cannot continue to prolong the bad dreams that continue to reopen a chapter that is closed ... My conscience tells me it is my duty to not merely proclaim domestic tranquillity but to use every means that I have to ensure it."’


 * Shows some of his background, some of his heart, and that he wrestled with big issues early on, which of course many people do. Domestic violence is all too common, across all kinds of income strata.


 * I checked the above with the physical copy of the 2007 Newsweek and it is accurate except that the physical copy is dated one day later as January 8, 2007.  FriendlyRiverOtter (talk) 21:40, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Somebody know this guy from the Ford administration?
Hi, on this picture from 1976 are Dick Cheney and ... and ...??? Please tell me. Thx. 217.7.150.122 (talk) 17:10, 26 June 2012 (UTC)

Ford Museum and Library Upload
For those interested, there is an ongoing plan on the commons to upload Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. See Commons:Commons:Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.Smallman12q (talk) 23:44, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Archives and records at Ford Presidential Library
For some reason an editor has informed me about the documents and records held at the Ford Presidential Library and Museum on my '''my talk page. Evidently it is a good source for information regarding Ford and related history. -- Gwillhickers (talk) 16:48, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Add Mention of Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft Carrier
I thought it was odd that this is not mentioned anywhere in the article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.104.24.176 (talk) 02:33, 17 February 2013 (UTC)

Correct usage
Because this is such an important and well-read article, and also because it has been graded as 'FA Class', I'm hoping someone could comment on the correct way to write "vice president".

Within the article it has been written: "Vice President", "Vice-President, "vice presidency", "Vice Presidency", and "vice-presidential".

Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.231.128.184 (talk) 21:40, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Obvious Mistake
At the beginning, the article states: ...he became the first and to date only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected by the Electoral College... He was the only president without being elected by the electoral college, but not the only vice president. Nelson Rockefeller, whom Ford appointed, was also not elected in any presidential election. --91.103.112.54 (talk) 06:55, 5 July 2013 (UTC)


 * I think the point being made is that Ford was the only person to serve in both positions, the latter position not derived from an electoral college vote. Rockefeller was VP but never president. Binksternet (talk) 00:33, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Technically John Quincy Adams wasn't elected by the Electoral College either. Hot Stop talk-contribs 00:39, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Good point! Binksternet (talk) 02:19, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
 * I would point out, that he appointed Rockfeller to the vice presidency --91.103.112.54 (talk) 12:25, 8 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Yes, you said that above. So what? Fat&#38;Happy (talk) 15:52, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Dubious tag
The account of Squeaky Fromme's assassination attempt doesn't line up with the account in Gerald Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento, which has a lot better sourcing. Kaldari (talk) 00:22, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

Usage of 'jerry' in bold text
I believe the placement of "Jerry" inside the bold text at the start of this article is inappropriate. The placement of such a nickname there is only proper if that nickname constitutes a common name to which the individual may be referred in most settings. For example, James Earl "Jimmy" Carter is appropriate because he was referred to as Jimmy Carter in effectively all settings, even being inaugurated with that, in principle, nickname. The same goes for Ted Cruz and Bob Dole, among others. However, President Ford would never have been called Jerry to his face by anybody but those closely befriended/related.

He may have been informally referred to as such, but in referencing Ford, media sources would type and broadcast referring to him as Gerald, if his first name was applied. Just like John F. Kennedy, who was informally called Jack, by friends and family, and in conversation, was as commonly called John as he was Jack. Perhaps the most prudent example is Theodore Roosevelt, who would be referred to as "TR" or "the Colonel", but putting "Teddy" (a more common nickname than Jerry, I would say) in the bold text would be completely improper: nobody every called him Teddy to his face, he despised the name. While President Ford's opinions about being called "Jerry" aren't as vocally known as Roosevelt's objections to "Teddy", the same principle applies, and Jerry was often used in a diminutive manner towards the President. To place "Jerry" in the bold text insinuates the notion that he was properly called "Jerry", as Carter was "Jimmy" or Senator Kennedy "Ted". The nickname is not a universal first name for Ford, and does not belong in the bold text. The mere fact it was used in a manner to demean the individual supports its removal.

Furthermore, no discussion to the beginning of archives of the talk page in 2004 exists on the topic of usage of this name. No consensus or precedent is being broken.  Spartan 7W  §  05:26, 28 July 2015 (UTC)

Imprecise language in the header section regarding terms
The article states: "Before ascending to the vice presidency, Ford served 13 terms as Representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of them as the House Minority Leader." While Ford WAS elected 13 times as Representative (he broke off the last term after half the time due to being made VP, so he did not serve it full time), the second half of the sentence is mixing terms and years. Either it should say "four of them (the terms) as the House Minority Leader" which he was acc. to the box from 65-73 when he became VP OR it should say "during which he also was House Minority Leader for 8 years" 178.203.29.150 (talk) 23:21, 20 January 2016 (UTC)

Middle initial in infobox's heading
Look folks, see. Established professional journalistic practice, per style manuals of the AP, NYT, ad infinitum, is to render a subject's name in that indivual prefers. Thus it is WP's practice to render this in the header to the infobox when it conflicts with the shortened form the subject is generally known to the public by (as in wp:Common name); eg see Template:Infobox person: " If middle initials are specified (or implied) by the lead of the article, and are not specified separately in the birth_name field, include them here."--Hodgdon&#39;s secret garden (talk) 15:24, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

"Reluctantly agreed ton run"?
The article states that Ford only reluctantly agreed to run for reelection in 1976. As far as I know, he stated as early as summer 1975 that he intends to be a candidate. That doesn’t seem like he was actually unwilling to seek the job in his own right. --217.110.69.30 (talk) 08:36, 30 August 2016 (UTC)

False statement in opening paragraph?
"As he was appointed to fill a vacancy and then succeeded to the presidency, Ford also earned the distinction of being the only person in American history to neither begin nor finish either a presidential or vice presidential term on the date of a regularly-scheduled inauguration."

I'm confused, because from what I can tell, Gerald Ford did finish his presidential term on January 20, 1977 -- the same day that Jimmy Carter was sworn in as president. 74.132.206.182 (talk) 04:46, 11 September 2016 (UTC)

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age.
His age is incorrect on his profile. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.37.233.230 (talk) 13:38, 20 January 2017 (UTC)

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Warren Commission
Relevant discussion opened in Fringe theories/Noticeboard. (Archived at Fringe theories/Noticeboard/Archive 47.) - Location (talk) 05:38, 20 August 2015 (UTC) edited 00:40, 15 June 2017 (UTC)
 * That nonsense like this was embedded into a Featured Article is quite disheartening. jps (talk) 11:52, 20 August 2015 (UTC)

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