THE NEW PRESIDENT: A MAN FOR THIS SEASON

"It's the quality of the ordinary, the straight, the square that accounts for the great stability and success of our nation. It's a quality to be proud of. But it's a quality that many people seem to have neglected."

—Gerald R. Ford, Jan. 28,1974

The 38th President has not neglected that quality. To be called a square or a straight is not exactly a compliment in some circles, where the words imply a certain woodenness and an unadventurous approach to life. But they suggest something more as well: loyalty, honesty, diligence, patience, a fear of the Lord and what the ancient Romans used to call pietas. Gerald Rudolph Ford has all these qualities.

Another question, which remains to be answered, is whether Ford offers anything more for the most burdensome office in the world. In a cutting commentary on the new President's intelligence, Lyndon Johnson once suggested that Ford had played football too long without a helmet, and could not chew gum and walk at the same time. Ford's executive abilities have yet to be tested, but there is little reason to doubt his political and legislative acumen. For nearly a quarter of a century, he has demonstrated his skills in one of the most complex parliamentary arenas on earth, winning the respect of adversaries and allies alike even as he played the role of a loyal partisan. In a sense, he was not Richard Nixon's choice for President. He was the selection of Congress and it has to be assumed that the House and Senate knew their man.

Congressional Ethic

Gerald Ford likes to call himself a child of Congress; he loves the place, and the affection is returned. He subscribes to what can be called the congressional ethic: a tolerance of differing views, a desire to accommodate, a sense that at the heart of government lies the right to disagree and to have that disagreement voiced and voted. Although he has been a major political figure for many years, Ford has a minor ego that does not get in the way of his politics. Like most men of action, he has a temper, but the bouts pass quickly. He does not indulge lasting grudges; an enemies list would be unthinkable to him. "I have had lots of adversaries," he says, "but no enemies that I can remember."

Ford reaches the presidency with a record somewhat right of center. His views reflect his solidly conservative Michigan district, but he now represents a far broader, more diverse constituency. Can he make the shift—and how hard will he try? His supporters are convinced that his temperament will permit it. Says a close associate: "He may not be the man for all seasons, but he is the man for this season."