{"id":1958162,"date":"2023-06-27T13:09:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-you-know-gerald-ford-was-actually-pretty-great-famed-historian-explains-why\/"},"modified":"2023-06-27T13:12:53","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T17:12:53","slug":"did-you-know-gerald-ford-was-actually-pretty-great-famed-historian-explains-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-you-know-gerald-ford-was-actually-pretty-great-famed-historian-explains-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerald Ford: Surprisingly Great, Explained by Historian"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdid-you-know-gerald-ford-was-actually-pretty-great-famed-historian-explains-why%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1958162&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<blockquote><p>When any scholarly or popular historical book is deemed a \u201crevisionist piece\u201d the connotation is oftentimes negative. This is understandable, as many revisionist writings falter under the weight of their own claims. The attempt at reconfiguring a shared and accepted understanding of a person, place, event, nation, etc., in lieu of a new framework is a tall order even for the most talented and assiduous historians. Yet the famed presidential scholar and historian Richard Norton Smith has accomplished just that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>An Ordinary Man: The Surprising and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford<\/h2>\n<p>In <em>An Ordinary Man: The Surprising and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford<\/em>, Smith argues that many long-held misconceptions about our 38th president require reconsideration. Coming in at more than 700 pages, this tome guides the reader through Leslie King Jr.\u2019s (Ford\u2019s birth name) little-known but tumultuous childhood, his time at Yale studying law, a stint in the Navy during World War II, his tenure in Congress as a mediator and moderate Republican, and his post-presidency. But the majority (just under 400 pages) centers around his time in the White House as both vice president and president. If a biography is, as Mark Twain put it, only the \u201cclothes and buttons of a man,\u201d this work undoubtedly is also the shoes and hat for its voluminous nature.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1919914552\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cba6f64e654ab75411a759c46ac67652 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-cba6f64e654ab75411a759c46ac67652\"><\/div>\n<p>Although it can be at times tedious, the book forces the reader to come to grips with some outdated fallacies. From tackling the bumbling and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-you-know-gerald-ford-was-actually-pretty-great-famed-historian-explains-why\/\" title=\"Gerald Ford: Surprisingly Great, Explained by Historian\">accident-prone perception made popular<\/a> by Chevy Chase on \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d to dismantling the idea that he was Richard Nixon-lite, Smith details how Ford, whom he dubbed \u201cthe Un-Nixon,\u201d not only brought a sense of decency back to the tainted office of the president but had unmitigated successes in both the domestic and foreign policy realms. <\/p>\n<p>Some of the unheralded bright spots Smith highlights in foreign policy are the Helsinki Accords, which he describes as a \u201ctrumpet blast for human rights and a critical milestone on the road to Western victory in the Cold War,\u201d his support for the end of white-minority rule in Rhodesia (precursor to South Africa), the Sinai II agreement paving the way for Jimmy Carter\u2019s peace initiative in 1978, and his preservation of the defense budget, saving crucial items like cruise missiles and the airborne warning and control system.<\/p>\n<p>If his foreign policy achievements went largely unnoticed, his domestic policy accomplishments were willfully ignored. Rather than using government programs and Keynesian economics entrenched in Washington since the New Deal to fight double-digit inflation, Ford relied on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/esg-the-invisible-fist-of-the-economy\/\" title=\"ESG: The Invisible Fist Of The Economy\">free-market principles<\/a> and competition to bring inflation down below 5 percent. As a firm believer in deregulation, he drastically cut federal regulations, and with the help of Alan Greenspan, then-chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors,\u00a0he focused on capital formation in the private sector to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/swing-district-dems-break-from-biden-on-increased-unemployment\/\" title=\"Swing-District Dems Break From Biden on Increased Unemployment\">spur job creation<\/a> and deflation. <\/p>\n<p>Smith puts it adroitly: Ford \u201cushered in the entrepreneurial society with its Individual Retirement Accounts and cross state banking; its competitive fares and heightened productivity; its lowered barriers to market entry and increased choice for consumers. [He] replaced government planners as the ultimate arbiters in an economy where there was less red tape and more R&#038;D.\u201d Ford\u2019s conservative bona-fides sparkle in hindsight but still are nearly always outshined by the great communicator, Ronald Reagan, who four years later would be able to articulate these ideas in a plain and simple fashion like Ford never could.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7fd005d9d0b7f235810fbffe60a69de1 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-7fd005d9d0b7f235810fbffe60a69de1\"><\/div>\n<p>Still, there is something altogether different that comes to the forefront while reading about Ford\u2019s life and presidency. Policy achievements notwithstanding, it was his character that stands out the most. In light of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-cnn-the-super-bowl-does-not-need-more-politics-it-needs-none\/\" title=\"No, CNN, The Super Bowl Does Not Need MORE Politics; It Needs None\">current political environment<\/a>, he appears to be a relic from a bygone era when honor, humility, duty to country, and civility were valued. While not a Cincinnatus or Marcus Aurelius nor a Lincoln or Washington, Ford\u2019s life and time in office are case studies in perseverance, congeniality, diligence, and doing what was right over what was politically expedient.<\/p>\n<p>Heading into yet another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-cabinet-picks-called-divisive-baffling\/\" title=\"Biden cabinet picks called \u2018divisive\u2019, \u2018baffling\u2019\">presidential primary season<\/a>, it seems apt to end with a parting piece of advice Ford gave Time magazine reporter Neil MacNeil more than 40 years ago. When asked to list any qualities that were \u201cespecially disabling\u201d for future presidential candidates, Ford thought a moment and said the word that came to mind was \u201carrogance.\u201d He continued, \u201cThat\u2019s a terrible characteristic for a president. Fortunately, an arrogant person will most unlikely ever be elected, but if you had an arrogant president \u2014 and I mean in a vicious way \u2014 God help the country.\u201d Well said, Mr. President, well said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-de27be61fbd72f374076953dd6c82449 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-de27be61fbd72f374076953dd6c82449\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>often met with skepticism and criticism. However, it is important to recognize that revisionist works can also provide valuable insights and challenge established narratives. While some may dismiss them outright, a balanced approach is necessary to evaluate the merits and potential contributions of these alternative perspectives in shaping our understanding of history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1924,"featured_media":1958163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1958162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1924"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1958162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1958162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1958163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1958162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1958162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1958162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}