Betty Ford, a courageous lady, fought her battles in the public eye so as to give courage to others facing the same problems. She never hesitated to tackle the tough talk about subjects previously hidden and in the process she focused the country on important issues that needed attention. She was out-spoken and plain-spoken. She was proud of the fact that she was the first President's wife to be picketed by antifeminists. Hard to believe that this was just a little over thirty years ago.
Betty was thrilled to be First Lady. At the inauguration ceremony she said she felt she was taking the oath as well. "My God, what a job I have to do," she remarked. Early on she noted that the guards scattered throughout the White House would not respond when she spoke to them. She learned that they had been instructed by the previous administration not to speak to the President and First Lady. She quickly changed that rule and soon they were all chatting with each other and with the Fords. Beatle George Harrison remarked after having lunch at the White House that "I feel good vibes about this White House." Betty brought back song and dance to the White House, after the gloom of the Watergate years. She changed the rules and swept in a new era of simplicity. "Jerry and I are very ordinary people," she said, "who enjoy life and aren't overly impressed with ourselves."
In 1975, on the heels of the sexual revolution of the sixties, when the country was still reeling from the new mantra of "if it feels good do it", Betty appeared on "60 minutes". She answered Morley Safer's questions frankly, saying that although she did not approve of premarital sex, it might lower the divorce rate. In addition, she called the Supreme Court's ruling allowing abortion a "great, great decision." She admitted that if she found out her daughter was having an affair, she wouldn't be surprised, because after all she is a perfectly normal human being. These were shocking admissions at the time, but necessary. Betty was shining the light of reason on circumstances that were happening right under our noses, but we had not yet come to understand or accept. Deal with it, she was saying. A flood of angry letters hit the White House, but within a week the tone had changed. The mail and the polls showed Betty's rating higher than her husband's. Polster Lou Harris said, "Betty Ford has now become one of the most popular wives of a President to occupy the White House."
One day Betty was showing a friend around the White House. "This," she said, "is our bedroom and that is our bed. We are the first President and First Lady to share a bedroom in an awfully long time. To my great surprise, though, people have written me objecting to the idea of a President of the United States sleeping with his wife." Another day Mrs. Ford was showing actress Candace Bergen through the Oval Room. There was a winged gold figure there of a woman with a bowl on her head. Betty told Candace that originally the lady in the statute was holding a scroll, but it had long ago disappeared. So now, whenever she could get away with it, Betty would stick something in the statute's hand, usually a cigarette. Of course, the staff would remove it, but Betty got a kick out of the game. She wondered if they ever figured out who was doing it.
In 1974, the President hosted a dinner party honoring Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Vicki Carr, a popular Mexican-American singer was the entertainment. President Ford congratulated her after her performance and she invited him to her home for a Mexican dinner. "What Mexican dish do you like," Vicki Carr asked the President, "I like you," he said. Mrs. Ford overheard the exchange. "That woman", she said, " will never get into the White House again."
We will talk more about Betty Ford in later posts. In fact, we will visit all the First Ladies many times so stay tuned. And thanks for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment