Customer Reviews

31 Days: Gerald Ford, the Nixon Pardon and A Government in Crisis

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While the scandal known as Watergate has sired a number of books that explore the period, few authors have taken the path of exploring the aftermath of the scandal. In "31 Days" Barry Werth does a commendable job of not only documenting history, but capturing the feeling of the era.

After Nixon resigned, a man ascended to the presidency that was planning to leave politics only a short time earlier. In his first 31 days in office, Gerald Ford enjoyed an adoring public as the cold and hidden administration of Richard Nixon faded into memory. Ford was initially a favorable president. This changed on his 31st day in office when he pardoned Richard Nixon for his role in Watergate.

Werth provides readers with real insight into the characters of Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon. Few have noted the deteriorated state, both mentally and physically, of Nixon after his resignation. Werth also tries to demonstrate Ford's motivation for the pardon. While Ford saw it as the merciful action to take, he also drew a parallel to his own strained relationship with his biological father.

While only serving three years in office, Gerald Ford's mark on the presidency may seem insignificant. However, his initial days in office were marked by turmoil and controversy. Though the pardon soiled his presidency in its time, current reflection seems to suggest it was the correct thing to do.

There are a ton of books on Watergate, but very few on the aftermath. As a result, Barry Werth gives his readers an important account of the political ramifications of a constitutional crisis. The publishers have spent a lot of time hyping the role of Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Cheney, because of their roles in the administration of George W. Bush, but the central figure in this book is the highly underrated Gerald R. Ford.

The basic argument of this book is that the nation was fortunate that Gerald R. Ford came into office because he made decisions that were in the best interest of the country even if they hurt his political standing (which they did). His main goal was to help the country recover from the pain and trauma of Watergate. He had experience in these type of matters. Werth sees Ford's leadership as a product of the man's past, specifically the time when he brokered a settlement between his mother and biological father over child support issues that could easily have sent his father to jail for non-payment. Werth is exactly right in seeing these connections. He presents Ford as a compassionate, quietly religious man who was exceptionally authentic.

This book is evocative of the times and that is one of its major strengths. Ford was extremely popular when he first came into office, and with no mantel of authority to inherit the way Theodore Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Lyndon Johnson had done when they inherited the job, he decided to govern from the middle. He did this for about a month. His decision to pardon Nixon cost him most of his public standing. Many saw it the last corrupt deal of Watergate. The decline in his popularity led many in the right wing of the Republican Party too see an opportunity to challenge him for the nomination. Afterwards, he was trying to find support from the right, which he could not find from the left or the center because of suspicions about the pardon.

The only problem with this book is its superficial research. Werth based his account on mostly previously published accounts and a few interviews with minor players. Since he designed this book for the general public, that probably matters little to most of his readership, but if he had gone into the archives or talked to some of the major players, he might have garnered more information that would have given his book more impact on the historical community.

I think that Gerald Ford is underrated, as both a politician and a man. I was glad to see a book that talked about his presidency, and was written for a general readership, not an academic one. The book is nominally about the transition of Nixon to Ford, but it talks about more than that, giving plenty in the way of what happened before and after the 31 days of the title. Current events have made it profitable for the book to be marketed as the story of Rumsfeld and Cheney's early days in Washington, and there is plenty on that too. But the main focus is Ford's assumption of the presidency, and all the decisions he made and actions he took, and their consequences. The most obvious of these are the pardon of Nixon, Ford's decision to run in 1976, and his choice of a vice president (Nelson Rockefeller). But the book also goes into detail about the conflicts between the old Nixon aides and Ford's own staff, Ford's dealings with the Democrats in Congress, and his relationship with the Washington press corps. It is clear from this book why Ford's place in history is ambiguous, to say the least.

Gerald Ford would have been a great president, if he won in 1976. As it was, he was average but is given high marks for his handling of the post Watergate era in the White House. In this very readable book by Werth, Ford is shown in his first 31 days after taking over the Presidency. Not only was Ford his own man, but he made some tough decisions. One of those tough decisions was in pardoning Nixon. Ford pardoned Nixon on principle. He didn't want the nation to lose focus on other more pressing issues such as inflation and the energy crisis. He took a lot of heat for this decision and may have lost the election because of this. However, he felt he did the right thing.

This is a nice read for those interested in Watergate and the presidency of Gerald R. Ford. Because of this book, I came to respect the difficult decisions Ford made in the White House.