Citizen legislator led with common sense

U.S. Rep. John Dingell

I first met Gerald Ford when he was a new congressman, representing western Michigan in the same chamber as my father who represented southeast Michigan. We were both returning veterans of World War II and both were part of a generation that had witnessed the brutality of war and wanted to make sure the world never again fell prey to such extremism and bloodshed.

When Ford left for duty, he was considered an "isolationist." When he came back, he was a committed internationalist. This change marks the type of person that my friend Gerald Ford was.

Many of today's pundits will call him a "throwback" or a "dying breed." I say he simply possessed a remarkable sense of self, strong patriotism and astute common sense. He looked at the world, saw the conflicts, recognized the need for U.S. leadership and changed his own opinion.

Leadership sought Ford

Too often today, men and women in public life who change their opinion are derided. Stubborn consistency in the face of rebutting evidence is now considered leadership.

But this narrow definition of leadership was never the Ford model. He was a citizen legislator, a stalwart in a grand tradition that stretches back throughout democracy, from the complexities of the 21st century to the founding of Athens. He never sought leadership; it always came to him.

His first run for public office came reluctantly, after much cajoling. He ran and won, defeating an unrepentant isolationist GOP incumbent.

In the House of Representatives, Ford was a natural. His easygoing style, across-the-aisle friendships and ability to find consensus on even the most complicated of issues made him one of the most effective members of Congress. After little more than a decade in office, his party chose Ford to be minority leader.

Although he battled with President Lyndon Johnson almost daily, he never once stopped being a gentleman and never regressed into the vitriolic partisanship that is commonplace in today's political debates.

President Ford was a true legislator and possessed the increasingly rare ability to work with both sides of the aisle.

Despite the fact that Congress was controlled by the opposite party, several important laws were passed with bipartisan support under the Ford administration, including the Community Development Block Grant, which provides crucial economic support to cities for urban renewal; the Privacy Act, which protects our precious right to individual privacy; and the Federal Elections Campaign Act amendments, which established the Federal Election Commission and set limits on campaign contributions and expenditures.

Rep. Ford was pondering retirement when President Richard Nixon nominated him to be vice president following the resignation of Spiro Agnew.

Soon after, Nixon resigned and Vice President Ford inherited the Oval Office at a time when Watergate had almost destroyed the presidency, South Vietnam was falling to Communist forces, inflation was soaring, unemployment was high, and the country was gripped by an energy crisis. It was, as President Ford said, "an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts."

Presidency instills pride

Overall, it was his performance as president that makes me most proud to call Gerald Ford my friend. Showing his Michigan roots, President Ford restored the faith of the people of the United States through his wisdom, courage and integrity. These values were instilled in him as a boy in Grand Rapids, as a star on the University of Michigan football field, as a valiant soldier during World War II and as a public servant in the United States Congress.

Ford was devoted to ensuring that America and the presidency were in better shape than when he found it, and above all else, this was his most important accomplishment. His honesty and patriotism should be a model to elected officials today who are often too eager to create a sound bite and too reluctant to find common ground. In the end, it is up to all of us to continue Gerald Ford's legacy.

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, is the incoming chairman of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee and has served in Congress since 1955. E-mail: letters@detnews.com.