There's No Gilded Cage for Betty

A year ago, political stargazers liked to predict that Jerry Ford would not run in '76, in large measure because his wife had just gone through a harrowing operation, and she didn't enjoy political life in the first place. They were quite wrong. Betty Ford today seems to be having the time of her life. She is outrunning every word-mincing candidate in public opinion polls. She acknowledges that other First Ladies have felt overwhelmed, trapped by the White House. "It could be considered a goldfish bowl or a gilded cage," she mused in an interview with TIME'S Bonnie Angelo. "But I made up my mind that I wouldn't let it be that way. I would go ahead and live my life the way I normally would. I've done it. I'm having fun."

More Outgoing. There were some anxious days, though, she confides, during the flood of criticism that followed her candid observations on premarital affairs and pot on CBS's 60 Minutes. The outrage was particularly violent among conservatives, whom her husband is courting. Then a pro-Betty backlash began to develop. Signs supporting the First Lady appeared in every crowd on the President's travels; his audiences broke into applause at the mention of her name. Pollster Louis Harris sampled the public and declared, "Betty Ford has now become one of the most popular wives of a President." By 64% to 23%, Harris also found approval of her cool statement that if her daughter were having an affair, she would want to know "if the young man were nice or not." Said Mrs. Ford of the findings: "I was completely dumbfounded."

Reassured, Betty Ford is more outgoing than ever. One recent morning, she arrived at St. John's Church, where the Fords often worship, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening a Christmas bazaar. When a clown on hand for the occasion broke into a dance, Mrs. Ford, a former student of Martha Graham, spontaneously joined in. A few days later she taped a cameo appearance for a forthcoming Mary Tyler Moore show. The same day she helped launch a Braniff airplane painted with a Bicentennial design by Alexander Calder. At home, she brings in Liberty's puppies for guests to cuddle in the family living room, where the Fords do their personal entertaining -usually sit-on-the-floor buffet suppers. On a glorious Indian summer day last week, she strolled along Georgetown's Wisconsin Avenue, window-shopping. A florist thrust a bouquet into her hands; a young woman impetuously gave her the book she was reading. A touched Mrs. Ford said: "I think they like to see me as a normal human being, doing the same thing they are doing."

The surveys indicate that Betty Ford could be an asset to Ford in his campaign. "I'll travel with him when I can, and I'll fill in when he can't be there," she says. "But I'm not going to talk issues. I can only say what I think -and sometimes my ideas may be at variance with his." Mrs. Ford would not have taken his hard line on New York City's financial crisis. She also feels strongly that a woman should be on the Supreme Court. As a lobbyist, Betty Ford shows innate skill. Along with the unique advantage of what she calls "pillow talk," she confides that she plans her lobbying with care. "I try to pick times when he's in a good mood. I certainly don't harangue him with it when he's had a tough day."

Last week, as Ronald Reagan challenged her husband for the Republican nomination, Betty Ford emphatically insisted that regardless of what happens in the months before the Republican National Convention, her husband "will go ahead with his plans." But she realistically appraised the long, hard political year ahead. "This is a very negative year for incumbents," she observed. "I was watching Jimmy Carter on television today, and I thought, 'It's quite an advantage to say all those things you would do, but when you are the incumbent you know those promises can't be kept.' "

Time to Plan. Political speculators are forewarned not to think that the President's lady, who years ago saw a psychiatrist as a consequence of the loneliness of political wifedom, would now encourage a decision to bow out. "It's a completely different world," she declares with enthusiasm. "I see more of Jerry than I ever did before. And there's so much I want to do to build interest in all of the performing arts, and for retarded citizens. Another four years would give time to plan so much more."

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