To What Extent Did Ford And Carter Create A New Style Of P Leadership

Question 1

P1-
P2
P3

Answer 1

1. Rejected excessive formality demonstrates a dramatic shift away from politicians who the public had become disillusioned with. - YES
   2.Problems with congress; poor relationship mirrored previous presidencies that constricted their power and influence - NO
   3.
   Scandal; showed themselves to be just as scandalous to previous presidents despite appearing different initially - contributed to political disillusionment - NO

Question 2

P1 evidence

Answer 2

E1: Ford
-Ford
Newsweek: ‘nothing different from your next-door neighbour’
Wife (betty ford)
Outspoken and lively: photographed pushing him into a pool fully clothed
Spoke openly about breast cancer
Entered office with a high approval rating of 71%
Kids
Susan wore jeans in the white house
Middle America sympathised when it was rumored that his son smoked pot
Honesty helped Ford to reestablish confidence in office as he attempted to heal disillusionment caused by watergate.
Personality contrasted favourably with past politicians
Ordinary nature appealed to the public who were disillusioned with the white house politics and corruption

Carter
Peanut farmer from Georgia
Not corrupted by washington politics
Broke tradition when he walked back from congress to the white house after his inauguration instead of travelling by limousine
Sold the presidential yacht
Wore casual clothes on television broadcasts
Preferred BBQs to formal dinners
Preferred to be called Jimmy
Attended council house meetings and engaged with ordinary citizens around the country in the early years
Not associated with the corrupt Washington politicians and tainted white house politics so appealed to the disillusioned electorate who believed he would have the interests of the ordinary people at heart. Demonstrated a rejection of washington politics.
Overall, they were both outsiders; elections show a clear public rejection of those associated with washington politics in favour of ‘normal’ leaders.

Question 3

P2

Answer 3

Problems with congress; poor relationship mirrored previous presidencies that constricted their power and influence
Ford
Vetoed 66 bills in his 29 month presidency
Congress overrode his veto 12 times
Republicans (his party) were a minority on both houses of congress and he had no genuine electoral mandate as he was not actually elected
Initially advocated tax increase but only a few weeks later asked congress to approve a $16 billion tax cut
Congress agreed to $7 billion
President without a clear sense of direction and without persuasion skills who compromised too easily
Both Kennedy and Nixon had poor relationships with congress, therefore, ford failed to create a new style of leadership as he faced strong congressional opposition, similar to previous presidents
Congress had authority over him and constrained his political power
Carter
Quickly judged to be aloof, self-righteous and a micromanager who had lost the big picture
Personally received all requests to use the white house tennis courts in his first 6 months
Limited the number of pens at signing ceremonies to 4
Lack of ability became a liability
Inexperienced, insular, uncoordinated, and error prone
Aloof style with congress
Surrounded himself with advisers from his own state: ‘Peanut brigade’
Poor relations with democratic congress (own party)
Rejected his proposals for a consumer protection agency and gutted his energy programme
House speaker said carter ‘didn’t seem to understand’ the need to master the legislative process
Embarrassed congress by cancelling the production of some expensive planes after congress declared their production should go ahead
Character and inexperience meant he continued the trend of having a bad relationship with congress despite being in the same party.
Congress showed clear authority over Carter, similarly to with Kennedy
Overall, failed to make a new style of leadership; congressional opposition majorly constrained their politics, similarly to previous presidents

Question 4

P3

Answer 4

Scandal; showed themselves to be just as scandalous to previous presidents despite appearing different initially - contributed to political disillusionment
Ford
Pardoned Nixon for Watergate (8th September 1974)
Prevented Nixon going to prison
Many Americans believed Nixon should be put on trial like the other Watergate conspirators
Ford (vice president to Nixon) worked to block congressional investigations into the financing of the break-in to the democrat national committee headquarters at the Washington DC Watergate Office building
Approval rating dropped to 49% almost instantly
Although he initially appeared as a normal guy, his exposure to the public showed the lack of change to the presidency.
Involvement in cover ups showed his true colour and created further disillusionment
Not dissimilar to Nixon
Carter beat him in the 1976 election
Carter
Personal loyalties made voters doubt his political wisdom
Supported the office of management and budget director and friend Bert Lance over his dubious banking and business practice longer than was politically prudent
Media saw his wife as too influential: ‘Miss President’
Participated on discussions on cabinet purge
Billygate scandal (July 1980)
Admitted to receiving $222,000 ‘loan’ from the Libyan government
Media speculated on Carter’s involvement
Incompetent
Senate acquitted Carter of all but unwisely trying to use Billy’s Libyan contacts to free Iranian hostages
December 1977, 18% America had a lot of confidence in Carter
1980, 64% America believed their country was ‘in deep and serious trouble’
Lowest approval rating of any president
Incompetence and inability to deal with things caused the electorate to lose faith in him, similarly to Ford and Nixon. Followed Ford’s (and others) footsteps in having a presidency that lacked corruption and scandal, adding to existing disillusionment that the electorate were trying to escape by electing him in the first place
Overall, the existence of scandals demonstrates they did not create a new style of leadership; corruption and incompetence mirrored that of those before them even though they had tried to distance themselves from this.