Known and Unknown - Donald Rumsfeld [103]
The President had real strengths and one of Ford’s most important assets was the First Lady. Betty Ford was a gracious, lively, and entertaining woman whom the President clearly adored. She helped set the standard for modern first ladies by talking openly about controversial public issues, a role that traditionally was not considered the province of a president’s wife. Mrs. Ford expressed her support for the Equal Rights Amendment, for example, and for legalized abortion. She talked openly about her battle against breast cancer, as she did in later years about her struggle with alcoholism.44 All of this was unorthodox stuff for the mid-1970s. Not everyone who supported President Ford welcomed Betty’s outspoken views. Some even thought it made the President look weak, because he couldn’t seem to “control his wife,” as was said back in those days. A few urged me to ask Ford to encourage Betty to withhold some of her opinions.
I had a different perspective as a husband of an independent woman and a father of two independent-minded daughters. It seemed to me you’d be yelling into the wind to suggest that somebody like Betty Ford ought not say what she believed. From a political standpoint, Mrs. Ford’s remarks probably even helped the President. The First Lady’s frankness about her personal struggles no doubt encouraged many Americans to seek treatment for similar problems and made them feel less alone. Years later, the treatment center for addiction that bears her name has been a lifeline to thousands and a living testament to her courage and candor. Further, her husband’s obvious comfort with Betty’s directness highlighted the Fords’ respectful as well as devoted relationship. Mrs. Ford, in fact, proved so popular that Republicans printed up campaign buttons that read “Betty’s Husband for President!” Still, Ford’s presidency would continue to be buffeted by Chevy Chase’s parodies or some other extraneous factor. We were losing ground. Time was short, and Ford needed to make the presidency his own.
When Ford became Nixon’s vice president, he had all but ruled out a run for the presidency.45 But by the spring of 1975, he had changed his mind.* Ford was growing more confident in the office. He was becoming a more skillful executive everyday.
Several months later, I was with Ford in California when his presidency almost came to an abrupt end. On September 5, 1975, we were heading for a meeting with California’s governor at the state capitol in Sacramento. As we were walking, a woman aimed a gun only a few feet from the President.46 A Secret Service agent spotted her, wrestled the gun from her hand, and forced her to the ground. “It didn’t go off,” she kept saying, as police swarmed in to arrest her. “It didn’t go off. Can you believe it?”47 The would-be assassin was Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a follower of the notorious mass murderer Charles Manson.
A few weeks later, on September 22, 1975, we were in San Francisco for a full day of events. After a speech at the AFL-CIO, we left the building by a freight elevator, which had doors that opened from the top and bottom. When we stepped out, the top door malfunctioned and came down hard. Ford, the tallest person among us, was struck on the head. He went down in a crouch, briefly stunned, then stood back up. He seemed fine, although the blow had left a cut on the bald spot above his forehead. It looked like a red neon sign. I suspected we had just made Chevy Chase’s night.
We resigned ourselves to another round of jokes and made our way toward the lobby when I suggested the President walk fast and not shake hands. Ford agreed and walked briskly toward the back door of his limousine. We proceeded to the St. Francis Hotel, where his doctor treated the wound with cold packs. Before long, it was time to head to the airport. The mark on his head was less noticeable at this point, but I still wasn’t taking any chances. Again, I recommended he head straight to the car, which he did. This time, as we came out of the building, we heard the crack of a gunshot. The President