Taking the Heat On Nixon Pardon

Gerald Ford demonstrated one refreshing presidential trait last week: when the heat is on, he does not flee the kitchen. Despite the outcry over his premature pardon of Richard Nixon, Ford held the second press conference of his presidency--in prime televiewing time. Apart from some touchy questions about the CIA in Chile, most of the questions (16 out of 20) related to Nixon. Most of the questioners implied, and some said with insulting directness, that Ford had been deceptive and devious in reaching his decision. The President unflinchingly stood his ground.

Was there some undisclosed reason that made him shift so abruptly and free Nixon from prosecution? "I had no secret reason," Ford replied. But wasn't Nixon guilty of an impeachable offense? Ford found the unanimous report of the House Judiciary Committee "very persuasive" and conceded that acceptance of a pardon "can be construed ... as an admission of guilt." Ford thought it was sufficient that Nixon had been "shamed and disgraced."

The President insisted that reports of Nixon's ill health were not a major factor ("I was more anxious to heal the nation"). He conceded that new negotiations were under way with Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski on the controversial arrangement under which Nixon would retain effective control of his tapes and presidential papers. As for the pardon, however, "there was no understanding, no deal, between me and the former President." Ford admitted that "the decision has created more antagonism than I anticipated."

Inevitably, Ford was asked why he gave a full pardon to Nixon and only conditional amnesty to Viet Nam War evaders. Ford said that he saw no real connection between the two--hardly a convincing reply. Overall, it was a gutsy performance under fire, although Ford's explanation of the timing of the pardon remained thoroughly unsatisfying.

Continuing his frenzied pace but in an imperturbable fashion, Ford in one day rushed through eleven meetings, running from 8 a.m. until past 10:30 p.m. At a press party the next evening, he laughed when the Washington Star-News' Ronald Sarro, the first male president of the formerly all women's Washington Press Club, commented: "I guess it just proves that in America anyone can be President." In his own speech, Ford quipped: "You don't need a pool in the White House to get into deep water."

Sharp Defeat. Ford's extraverted socializing included some golfing with members of Congress. Yet this did not avert a sharp congressional defeat for him on the first issue on which he directly challenged the legislators. The Senate rejected, by a vote of 64 to 35, Ford's plan to save $700 million by postponing for three months a pay raise for federal employees.

Ford continued to grapple with problems of fratricide within his own staff, mainly between his recent appointees and Nixon holdovers. The imminent exit of Chief of Staff Alexander Haig, who was approved by the NATO Council last week as Supreme Allied Commander of Europe effective Dec. 15, will help; more departures may follow.

For the first time, Ford ventured publicly into foreign policy. In an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, he expressed strong views on the need for international cooperation on oil and food (see THE WORLD). He wrote into his text an expression of firm support for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, leading some diplomats to wonder just how serious Kissinger's domestic troubles may be.

With scores of foreign ministers in the U.S. for the convening of the Assembly, Ford seized the opportunity to invite a number of them to Washington. One visitor was Russia's Andrei Gromyko, whose search for trade concessions from the U.S. has so far been thwarted by congressional demands that Soviet immigration policies be liberalized first. As Gromyko entered the Oval Office, Senator Henry Jackson, chief opponent of the Soviet trade bill, was departing. Jackson introduced himself, waggled his forefingers from his forehead like horns, and declared good-humoredly: "I am the villain." Gromyko smiled noncommittally--but whether any progress on the matter was made during his 2 1/2-hour meeting with Ford was not revealed.

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"A press secretary is responsible first to the public," said the new man. "I will never knowingly lie to the White House press corps. I will never knowingly mislead the White House press corps. And if I should, you are justified in questioning my staying in this job."

With that ringing declaration of conscience, Ron Nessen, 40, last week took on the demanding post of press secretary to President Ford. A White House reporter for NBC, Nessen replaces J.F. terHorst, Ford's first press secretary, who quit on the day that the President pardoned Richard Nixon.

Before taking the job, Nessen got Ford's promise that he would be kept fully informed of the President's plans. Nessen told newsmen: "A press secretary does not always have to agree with the President. My job is to report to you the action and how the President arrived at the action."

Nessen, who comes across as a cool and balanced analyst, is the first electronic journalist to serve in the post of press secretary. But he is more a reporter than an on-camera showman. A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., he spent five years in the capital with United Press International, joining NBC in 1962. While covering the Viet Nam War, Nessen was hit by a grenade fragment, which punctured his left lung.

Assigned to cover Ford last October, Nessen and his future boss became friends during long chats on the 57 trips that they made aboard Air Force Two.

After Nessen was introduced by Ford as the new press secretary, he could not resist the obvious joke: "I am a Ron, but not a Ziegler." It was a flawless start.

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