A Ford, Not an Edsel

NOT TOO LONG AGO, it seems, the American people and press were eager to expose the power-hungry venality of Richard M. Nixon. But few are the Cassandras today who perceive the painful parallels between Jimmy Carter and the much-maligned Mr. Nixon. Humorless and ambitious, highly sensitive to negative press coverage, Carter emerges an ironic product of the Watergate mentality. He and his counterparts appear bereft of all commitment. They are masters of ad hoc politics, practitioners of a winning "master plan."

Lucky for Carter that political memories are short, for truth has scarcely been the keystone of his campaign. Words and promises come easily each election year, and Carter has not been one to miss the chance to make such political hay.

By so doing, he has widened the gulf between image and reality and provided a sorry harbinger of the expedient half-truths the American public may expect for the next four years.

As Bernard Stein argues in his recent Penthouse article, "If You Like Richard Nixon, You'll Love Jimmy Carter," Carter's statements too often belie the facts. Though Carter now says he'd "rather die than betray" the trust of loyal black supporters, it was not very long ago that he maintained in Georgia he was a "redneck" candidate who could win "without a single black vote."

And though Carter now conveniently insists he called for a pull-out from Vietnam in March 1971, there is no record of this demand. To the contrary, Stein reports, "As late as April 1975, Carter called for another year of funding the Saigon government."

In another familiar claim, Carter maintains he drastically cut the Georgia state bureaucracy. But facts again contradict those claims. By the time Carter left office, the number of state employees and state spending in Georgia had jumped 30 and 50 per cent respectively.

In much the same vein. Carter and the Democratic platform have called for $100 billion more in annual federal spending while seeking at the same time a balanced budget and a smaller role for the federal bureaucracy. Yet it is common knowledge that you cannot have bigger programs in Washington and less power at the same time. Jimmy just can't have it both ways.

Measures such as the Humphrey-Hawkins bill, which Carter supports, likewise offer only short-term panaceas to problems that must be dealt with on a broader scale. Bills such as these mean massive fiscal outlays and only short-term job security. And without proportionate tax increases, they mean huge deficits, runaway inflation and the "hidden tax" of diminished purchasing power for the individual.

Yet such contradictory consequences in Carter's political proposals are only a few examples of a single-minded effort to obfuscate the political fact. In part the blame rests with the media, whose episodic nature has too often elevated "immediate analysis" to the level of Truth, thereby ignoring a more detailed and accurate investigation of policies this year.

Against this backdrop of conflicting promises, President Gerald R. Ford offers documented achievement and proven integrity.

Faced with increased oil prices and a worldwide commodity shortage since 1974, Ford has managed to cut inflation and attack unemployment with considerable success. Last month industrial production reached its highest level in U.S. history, and in the past 18 months housing starts have doubled.

Under the direction of Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger '50, the Republicans have also espoused a principled, strong and realistic foreign policy. They have worked for peace in the Middle East, black majority rule in southern Africa, and international cooperation and negotiation.

Over the last two years, Republicans have also made considerable progress in the area of tax reform. Under President Ford's direction, Congress recently passed an extensive tax reform bill that has eliminated numerous loopholes and inequities of pas tax legislation. At the same time, the Ford administration has judiciously encouraged corporate tax deducations in order to encourage investment and attendant generation of jobs in the private sector. With considerable vision, Ford has bucked the big-spending Democratic Congress in favor of fiscal responsibility. Through veto after veto he has condemned deficit spending and debasement of the currency as sure to destroy incentives to save, to invest and to create jobs.

With the election of Senator Robert Dole as vice-presidential nominee, Ford has also picked a man of demonstrated political knowledge and expertise. The moderate Republican Senator brings extensive experience in government with particular strengths in the areas of agriculture and foreign affairs to the ticket. Though much maligned, he has manifested considerable political finesse and a subtle and welcome wry humor otherwise missing in the 1976 campaigns.

So it is with these facts in mind that the American voter can make his choice next Tuesday. Promising only what he can produce, proven both honest and successful, President Gerald R. Ford deserves the voters' support when the polls open. November 2. With growth at home and peace abroad, America merits another four years of a responsible and experienced administration.