the presidential challenger jimmy carter. this is about a half hour. >> hi. i'm joe garigiola in the last ten days i have been traveling all over america with an extraordinary human being, president gerald ford. i've done it because i believe in this man. you know, i've never done much more before than just vote. this year the stakes are just too high to just sit on the sidelines. so in this last night before the election i want you to see a film about jerry ford. documentary about his background, about his family, about the job he's already doing, about his hopes for america. then i want you to hear from president ford himself. but before you see this film or hear from the president, somebody else has something to say about this election and about this man. now, all america knows her and all america loves her. it's pearly, miss pearl bailey.

>> i've never done this before in my life. i'm not here to judge man. the bible says i am not to judge. but i do hope that you think before you vote with all the goodness within you. don't -- just because some people will say, well, yeah, but what happened a couple of years ago? yes, you're right. a couple of years ago our country was truly shaken. and a man was put at the head of it named gerald ford. i really believe in his heart -- oh, he's made some mistakes, honey. you better believe he has. i wouldn't sit here and even try to tell you he didn't. but i'll tell you what. if a man is trying and a man has more than dreams, he has something called get up and go and truth, most of all he has

something i like very much in every human being, simplicity and honesty, because i really believe he's an honest man. that's why i like gerald ford. and that's why i hope, i don't know, please think about it. it's so important. it really is. >> that's a real lady. she gives you a lump in your throat. she's talking about my kind of guy. and i think he's your kind of guy, too. and now i want you to take a look at a special documentary film about president ford. and then when it's over, president ford himself will talk to you right here from air force one. president ford: i am honored by your nomination, and i accept it. [cheers and applause] >> august 19, 1976. with the mandate of his party, president ford spoke from the heart to the heartland of

america. >> you are the people who pay the taxes and obey the laws. you are the people who make our system work. you are the people who make america what it is. it is from your ranks that i come and on your side i stand. [cheers and applause] >> something wonderful happened to this country of ours the past two years. we all came to realize it on the fourth of july. together out of years of turmoil and tragedy, americans recaptured the spirit of 1776. >> the pioneer spirit of the revolutionary founders and immigrant ancestors have found new expression on the fourth of july was a spirit that moved gerald ford all of his life. it was alive and flourishing in omaha, nebraska in 1913.

it was a spirit of men who could reach as high as they were tall. gerald ford was born there. born to reach for the highest in personal achievement. he moved to grand rapids and grew up with a family that was loving and who taught him that it was also the obligation to serve. it showed in achieving the national honor society, and in the badge of eagle scout. it showed again as captain of the high school football team. >> he played practically every position on the team. the more he learned the more he helped. and jerry was 100% in whatever he attempted to do. because he wouldn't go nooig -- go into anything and do it just half. and when the going was the toughest he was the best. >> it got tougher at michigan where he lettered three years, and where his teammates voted him most valuable player in 1934. >> he was a good ballplayer.

he played and lettered three years. he earned his letter. he earned it. >> and will his ward earned his letter, too. in those years, some major teams would not play against black athletes. >> well, we played georgia tech i was benched. it hurt jerry ford. badly. it seemed as though when the game got started, the fellow on the other side of the line made a remark about him loving people like me. and his attitudes were not they were bleep adjectives so i won't use it. whereupon jerry and bill boykin put a block on him that ended that fellow's participation in the game. so they came back that monday and told me that they dedicated that block to me.

>> every time i am back to yale i find myself almost overwhelmed , by nostalgia. it's been so long, and so much has happened since i first got off the train at the new haven station in 1935. >> gerald ford went on to yale to become an assistant football coach. he decided on a career in law as well. >> that made it very difficult for him. because i know very few students in the law school at that time that were doing outside activities simultaneously with a very rigorous schedule, a very rigorous kind of place to be. and the competition was acute. and you couldn't do outside things and still get through law school and with high standing. and yet he did this and he was one of the few that did. >> besides governor scranton, his extraordinary class at yale law school was to produce supreme court justices stewart and white.

after the 120, 99 were phi phi -- phi beta kappa. gerald ford graduated in the top third. gerald ford serves in combat through the decisive pacific campaigns. one duty, manning the aft station guns. >> lieutenant ford has the qualities to prepare and the qualities to act. this required leadership of a very high order. the steady day-to-day work, the maintenance, the routine, that's what you have to have so that when the crisis comes you can meet it. on this particular occasion we were attacked by japanese torpedo bombers. two of them penetrated the destroyer screen and launched torpedos. the torpedos missed. but ford didn't miss. he fired on them and they went

down. >> lieutenant ford leaves the campaigns of war for the campaigns of politics. congressman ford wins re-election 12 times. politics and marriage began together for jerry ford. he married betty during his first campaign. >> when you're a congressman and dedicated to your work, you work hard at the job. and every two years you work hard to keep it by campaigning. when he was home -- >> but jerry ford found time for family. he had grown up in a loving environment. together, he and betty created another. >> jerry ford, as i knew him for 19 years in the house, was one of the most decent, honorable guys with whom i've ever had the privilege of working. he was selected by his peers as the minority leader of his

party, one of the toughest duties in the world. and then when he was selected as vice president of the united states and there were 300 fbi people out looking at everything he'd done or said from i guess almost the day he was born, a thorough investigation was made by an overwhelmingly democratic congress. and he came through with flying colors. the people in the house and in the senate had confidence in not only jerry ford the man, but in the way that they believed he would conduct the government responsibilities as the vice president and later as the president, as the leader of the country. >> it was an hour in our history that troubled our minds and tore at our hearts.

anger and hatred had risen to dangerous levels, dividing friends and families. the polarization of our political order had aroused unworthy passions of reprisal and revenge. our governmental system was closer to stalemate than at any time since abraham lincoln took that same oath of office. >> in those troubled times, a distressed nation was stirred by a new and candid voice. president ford: i am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. so i ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers. my fellow americans, our long

nightmare is over. >> and so he began without seeking the job he had been preparing for it with virtually a lifetime of leadership and achievement. reflectnistration would his decency and openness. this ovalcame to office, i tried to get people to speak up to me even though they disagreed. i tried to make the atmosphere in the oval office more relaxed rather than austere. i just wouldn't be comfortable making people snap to just because i'm president. >> he sits back and listens and relaxes. and at the end of that, he feels he's much closer to the issue that must be decided than if he were to merely look at a piece of paper. being in and out of the office as frequently i am on handling appointments i have a chance to see that a number of times.

>> there's one issue i disagreed on. that's the issue of bussing. my feeling is different from that of the other people in the administration. but once again, i had the feeling that the president has taken my views into full consideration, and weighing them, i can't say that his conclusion is wrong. >> while he is willing to listen to contrary points of view and listen to a debate, he's also extremely aware that there comes a point when the debate has to cease. >> i think we ought to go public, tell the public who's causing the problem. the congress is just plain negligent in this case. and i think we ought to hit them very hard. >> we'll do that this morning? >> i think we should. >> the administration of gerald ford had begun its steady course. the spiral of government spending had seemed unstoppable. taxes, inflation had risen relentlessly.

no one before had had the courage to say no to ever-increasing government programs. >> we have a no new start program where we don't cancel a single contract or single project. >> president ford cut spending by over $9 billion. he cut inflation in half. our confidence was coming back. america started back to work with meaningful, proud jobs, not dependent on government handouts. while extending and improving benefits for those without work, president ford unshackled the private sector providing an unparalleled 4 million new jobs in 1 1/2 years. >> over one half of the grain moving across international boundaries is grown by you, the american farmer. it's imperative that you maintain the freedom to market crops and to find customers wherever you can.

>> unfetterred by government restraints, the productive capacity of the american farmer has been turned loose. farm income has risen dramatically. america is the grainery for a hungry world. >> americans have learned that we cannot police every remote corner of the earth, nor fill every empty bowl, but we can be an immense influence for reason and for peace in this world in which we live. i would rather travel 1,000 miles for peace than take a single step for war. >> in two years of office, president ford traveled over 200,000 miles in pursuit of world peace and economic progress.

he visits 14 foreign nations as 121 meetings with foreign leaders. >> when i start talking about foreign policy, i'm talking about people like me who represent people like you. while i'm at a negotiating table with a foreign leader, i'm not looking across the table at a nation. i'm looking at another person. the differences between nations that keep us apart are less important than the similarities that bring us together as people. this is the lesson of our common humanity. >> the lines of communication are kept open. small wars must not become big wars. step-by-step, war averted is peace preserved. in the middle east, with the seemingly insoluble conflicts yield for the first time to negotiation.

it is the united states president who brings about what is real in egypt. >> the agreement initialled this past week provides time that will be needed to work toward concluding a lasting peace agreement in the middle east. america can be very proud of its role as peacemaker in these negotiations. >> a nation at peace must be a nation prepared. under president ford's leadership, congress enenlarges -- enlarges the military budget, reversing the downward ten-year trend. the superiority of american weapons is insured. -- ensured. cords of steel can best bind the accords of peace. >> president ford has no fear for the future of this country. the america of gerald ford is

secure. idealistic and mature. his vision of tomorrow is as close as his own children. >> she got it. >> gerald ford sees the future as something his children will inherit. he sees their present much like any other parent. >> my parents won't say anything until it's all over with. and i'll sit there and beg them, what do you think? what do you think? never says a word. then when it's all over with then they tell me what they really thought of him. because we've been taught to learn by our own experiences and to be independent and make our own decisions. and they don't want to be hovering over us 24 hours a day, which is really very nice. i wouldn't trade them for anything. they're my best friends. >> try and communicate to as many people as possible.

the man that we know as a family. >> so much easier to get up and talk off the top of your head and tell people about you, because we know you, than have someone throwing notes in your face. it's so formal. and we're not formal. >> that's for sure. >> one of the most impressive things about the family is that each one of the kids is an individual. and certainly mrs. ford's an individual. and has expressed her opinions quite candidly, as has jack, as have the other kids. the president, to his credit, although he may not like them on certain occasions what they say, strongly believes that they should be able to do what they want to do, and strongly believes that they should be able to say what they want to . i've never heard of one instance of him saying can you cool it a little bit? or that was a little rough. never. >> as outspoken as she is caring, betty ford has been loving wife and colleague,

mother and campaigner. gerald ford has cherished her and cherished her independent spirit. gerald and betty ford are a love story. together they had a family united, able to accept the blessing that life brings and the anguish. >> we learned about this thursday about 7:00 p.m., and we decided that we would just carry on today as though nothing had happened. and then we would hope for the very best on saturday, which we have great faith will be the case. >> the candor about betty ford's operation for breast cancer lifted once and for all a veil

of shame and secrecy for all women. the nation rejoiced with the president and his family on her recovery. >> the greatest source of strength, one person, who i love, respect, and am darn proud to have as part of the ford. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, mr. president. [laughter] >> i truly appreciate you all coming out. and i just can't tell you how much we appreciate the support that you have given the president. and i sort of like him, too. [cheers] >> idealism, responsibility, and strength. these principles guide president ford. >> it seems to me that this is

important when an individual is going to make decisions affecting the world, that if he's a mean guy, if he carries on a vendetta, if he's vindictive, i'd be really worried about how he might treat some crisis in another part of the world. i think that you need that calm, careful, deliberate consideration of issues and put all petty passions aside. >> sometimes we get the idea that to succeed you have to be expedient and you can't afford to be a man of principle. and he is such a contradiction to that prevailing attitude and image that had been coming up the last few years. i think it's good for people to see that you can stick by your principles and still be very successful. traditionally it was always the office rubbed off on the man. and i think just the reverse has happened where the man with

these tremendous principles has rubbed off on the office. and we've seen the office start to rise in prestige. ♪ >> there is a new pride in the nation. america has found itself again. he promised no more than he could deliver. he delivered all that he promised. gerald ford, a man of strength, a decent man, a man america can trust. ♪

president ford: you are the people who pay the taxes and obey the laws. you are the people who make our system work. you are the people who make america what it is. it is from your ranks they come -- that i come and on your side i stand. >> tomorrow is a very crucial election. but tonight america's strong, america's free. america is on the move. but two years ago, america was in deep trouble. when i became president, inflation was over 12%, we were on the brink of a serious recession, the worst in 40 years. there had been a loss of trust in the white house itself. we were still involved in vietnam.

when i took the oath of office in august of 1974, i said i have not been elected by your ballots , but i ask that you confirm me by your prayers. those prayers really help. in the meantime, america has turned around. i put the ship of state on an even keel. i held a firm hand on the tiller for a steady course. and today we're doing much, much better. the rate of inflation has been cut by more than 50%. the job picture is getting better. we've added 4 million more jobs in the last 18 months. 88 million people are working today. we've restored confidence and trust in the white house itself.

and america is at peace. not a single young american is fighting or dying on any foreign soil tonight. and i will keep it that way for the next four years. we have two major problems. one, to keep america strong beneath the challenge of any adversary, to strengthen our alliances. and i pledge to you that the united states will remain number one, our army, navy, air force , and marines will be the best as they are today. some people have wanted to cut the defense budgets. that would be a big gamble. i believe that the way to keep the peace is to keep strong. but in order to keep our domestic economy strong, woe

-- we need additional tax reduction. last january i told the congress they should cut your personal taxes. i think the best tax reform is tax reduction. i recommended that your personal exemption be increased from $750 to $1,000. congress didn't do its job. but on january 3rd, when congress comes back, i'll have that tax reduction proposal on their desk so that they can give the middle income tax payer who has been shortchanged the kind a tax reduction that that group in our society so badly need. but in addition we have some other problems. we'll do a better job in the next four years in making certain that the victims of crime are protected and that the criminal goes to jail.

we'll do a better job to help our older people who have earned our respect and our support. we'll do a better job in meeting some of the problems of our major metropolitan areas. we have a lot of things to do, but we're in shape to do it. now that we're over the hump of the tough last two years. and so we come to the final round in this election. i want your prayers as you gave them to me two years ago. but i would hope that you would confirm me this time by your ballots. i promise you, i pledge you, that i will not let you down. thank you and good night. >> ♪ i'm feeling good about

america i'm feeling good about me i'm feeling good about america i see it everywhere i go i'm feeling good about america and i really want to know that i'm feeling good about america it's sure been great to see i am feeling good about america ♪ wrote to the white house rewind brings you archival coverage of presidential races. next, a program for the 1976 campaign of democratic candidate jimmy carter. former governor carter answers questions from voters and a half hour program taped in his home in georgia.

he defeated incumbent president gerald ford, winning the popular vote 50% to 48%. >> i am leaning towards carter. i am a registered democrat. i would like to see the democrats back in power. i am not definitely decided yet. >> on tuesday, the voters will decide who will be the next president of the next states. many are still undecided about their choice or even if they will vote because they have unanswered questions or jimmy carter and gerald ford. in this program, people from every part of the country will ask their questions of jimmy carter. from his home in plains, georgia, jimmy carter. president carter: good evening. i began mygo when campaign, i was a lonely candidate. i saw oneso