THE RECESSION: Ford's Risky Plan Against Slumpflation

It was anything but the standard State of the Union speech. Instead of congratulating himself on the achievements of his young and troubled Administration, Gerald Ford adopted the somber tone of a wartime leader calling for an all-out effort to repel the enemy. Instead of skipping lightly over a broad spectrum of national and foreign policies, the President concentrated almost exclusively on specific means to counter the worst economic slump since the Great Depression, the nation's almost 14% rate of inflation and the U.S.'s dangerous dependence on cartel-controlled foreign oil. Displaying the blunt candor that is his most politically attractive quality,...