New York, Sept. 8—In a way, Gerald Ford is already old hat. That is a compliment, by the way. He wears the Presidency with a mild-mannered conviction that is altogether reassuring. It is not as though Douglas MacArthur had been elected President, or Charles de Gaulle; and, accordingly, there are no expectations of majestic proportions, so that, as they would put it on Wall Street, any sense of psychic letdown has been discounted.
He is being carefully observed, needless to say, for evidence of where he stands on issues that divide the country ideologically. His background is nondoctrinaire conservative, but his most conspicuous overtures have been doctrinaire liberal. He seized on amnesty, women’s rights, a cuddle with George Meany, a soul meeting with the Black Caucus, to show that he is President of All the People. Such gestures are to be expected, and tell us not very much. His selection of Nelson Rockefeller was, in my judgment, primarily a gesture intended to restore a sense of stability, Rockefeller being one of the accepted patriarchs of the independent voter. We are left wondering where he will go from here.
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