Letter from Washington

White House aides, profound-depressed by the debacle in Texas, are busily assigning blame for Ford’s unpredictably bad showing. Much of the problem, they believe, continues to center in the beleaguered White House writing department, the uninspired products of which Ford plods through with wooden awkwardness, losing listeners as he goes. In desperation, Ford decided to make question and answer sessions the centerpieces of his Texas appearances, a high-risk practice which in several instances backfired badly. Ford, say aides, is not the best-briefed President of recent years, and often tends to answer questions without facts in hand—as he did, for instance, in response to questions about Panama Canal negotiations and about our attitudes toward Hanoi, thereby handing Reagan extremely effective pieces of campaign ammunition. “You’re going to see another purge of White House writers before Ford gets to California,” says a Ford staffer. “The only problem is, there don’t seem to be any Republican writers left.”

Also being blamed for what is now being called “Ford’s Alamo” are Frank Zarb and Henry Kissinger. Zarb, the Nixon holdover who heads the Federal Energy Administration, persuaded Ford, over strong objections from political advisors, to sign the controversial Energy Act, an action which cost Ford the early support of Texas oilmen and the endorsement of John Connally. And Kissinger’s trip to Africa, Ford staffers believe, also hurt badly. “Incredible timing,” says one White House aide. “Primaries coming up in Texas, Georgia, Alabama—all places where sympathy for Rhodesia and South Africa runs deep—and there’s Kissinger seeming to say we’re going to support the people who intend to bring on a bloodbath.”

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White House aides, profound-depressed by the debacle in Texas, are busily assigning blame for Ford’s unpredictably bad showing. Much of the problem, they believe, continues to center in the beleaguered White House writing department, the uninspired products of which Ford plods through with wooden awkwardness, losing listeners as he goes. In desperation, Ford decided to make question and answer sessions the centerpieces of his Texas appearances, a high-risk practice which in several instances backfired badly. Ford, say aides, is not the best-briefed President of recent years, and often tends to answer questions without facts in hand—as he did, for instance, in response to questions about Panama Canal negotiations and about our attitudes toward Hanoi, thereby handing Reagan extremely effective pieces of campaign ammunition. “You’re going to see another purge of White House writers before Ford gets to California,” says a Ford staffer. “The only problem is, there don’t seem to be any Republican writers left.”

Also being blamed for what is now being called “Ford’s Alamo” are Frank Zarb and Henry Kissinger. Zarb, the Nixon holdover who heads the Federal Energy Administration, persuaded Ford, over strong objections from political advisors, to sign the controversial Energy Act, an action which cost Ford the early support of Texas oilmen and the endorsement of John Connally. And Kissinger’s trip to Africa, Ford staffers believe, also hurt badly. “Incredible timing,” says one White House aide. “Primaries coming up in Texas, Georgia, Alabama—all places where sympathy for Rhodesia and South Africa runs deep—and there’s Kissinger seeming to say we’re going to support the people who intend to bring on a bloodbath.”