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Sixty Minutes Interview Shown October 10, 1975
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Sixty Minutes Interview Shown October 10, 1975
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The original documents are located in Box 45, folder "Sixty Minutes Interview Shown
October 10, 1975" of the Betty Ford White House Papers, 1973-1977 at the Gerald R. Ford
Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Betty Ford donated to the United States
of America her copyrights in all of her unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
CBS
NEWS
A Division of CBS Inc.
524 West 57 Street
New York, New York 10019
(212) 765-4321
Dear Mrs. Ford:
This is a belated note of thanks for your generosity, graciousness,
and candor. I also want to assure you that the reaction to the
interview around CBS has been overwhelmingly positive.
With
Morley
August 12, 1975
P.S. I was particularly pleased to see the way Susan stood up
for her mother.
GLRALD s FORD MIDRARY
Mrs. Betty Ford
DERACO
&
YORD
CBS
NEWS
A Division of CBS Inc.
524 West 57 Street
New York, New York 10019
CBS
HOLD FOR RELEASE
6 P.M. SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
NEWS
"60 MINUTES"
"THE FIRST LADY"
SUNDAY, AUG. 10, 1975
9:30-10:30 P.M, EDT TP
ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK
A CONVERSATION WITH BETTY FORD
WITH
CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT MORLEY SAFER
All copyright and right to copyright in this transcript and in
the broadcast are owned by CBS. Newspapers and periodicals are
permitted to reprint up to 250 words of this transcript for the
purpose of reference, discussion, or review. For permission to
B
FOHD
reprint more than this, contact Director, CBS News Information
Services, 524 West 57th Street, NYC., N.Y. 10019, 212 765-4321.
GERALD
LIBRARY
THIS IS REGYCLED PAPER
60 MINUTES
"THE FIRST LADY"
MRS. FORD:
I told my husband if we have to go to the White
House, "Okay, I will go. But I'm going as myself.
And it's too late to change my pattern. And if
they don't like it, then they'll just have to
throw me out."
SAFER:
Washington can be an awfully tough town on a
political wife. Would you agree?
MRS. FORD:
Well, I agree. But you see, I had twenty-six
years of experience as the wife of a Congressman.
And I did learn a little bit in that twenty-six
years. You know, I wasn't sitting around being
a dummy.
SAFER:
One ex-wife, the ex-wife of a Congressman said,
"He'll do anything for his country, his party and
his family in that order."
MRS. FORD:
Well, I think a Congressional wife has to be a
special kind of woman. I don't think that all
women, really, can adjust to this type of life.
SAFER:
But would you advise your daughter, for example, to
marry a politician given the years you've been
through it in Washington?
1080 LISRARY a DERAID
MRS. FORD:
That's a hard question.
2
SAFER:
Would you advise against marrying a politician,
put it that way?
MRS. FORD:
No, I would not advise her against marrying a
politician. I wouldn't pick one out for her
though.
SAFER:
What are the pressures on a woman living in this
town?
MRS. FORD:
The pressures are many. And it depends on the
family, or the size of the family. The type of
husband that you have. Whether he's a wanderer
or whether he's a homebody. I think that there
are some women that probably have their husbands
around the house more than they'd like. And then
there are those that wish their husbands were home
more.
SAFER:
Did you ever have any doubts about your husband
and some of the attractions in this city?
MRS. FORD:
I have perfect faith in my husband. But I'm always
glad to see him enjoy a pretty girl. And when he
stops looking, then I'm going to begin to worry.
But right now, he still enjoys a pretty girl. And
he really doesn't have time for outside
entertainment. Because I keep him busy.
FOND
8
GERALD
LIBRARY
3
SAFER:
There was a time in your life here where you felt
that you needed some help.
MRS. FORD:
This is true.
SAFER:
Some psychiatric help.
MRS. FORD:
Yes.
SAFER:
Was that, do you think, a function of being in
Washington or what? Why did you feel you had to
go and see a psychiatrist?
MRS. FORD:
Well, I was advised by the doctor who was treating
me for my neck and shoulder and back, that perhaps,
psychiatric help could help me in getting over
this problem. And on his advice I went to a
psychiatrist. And I found it very helpful,
because apparently I was --- I was really giving
too much of myself and not taking any time out for
Betty. It was all going to the children and my
husband. And consequently, I was a little beaten
down. And he built up my ego.
FUND
SAFER:
The psychiatrist did.
8070838
4378914
MRS. FORD:
Yes, he did.
SAFER:
You said you're going to start lobbying for a
salary, what part of the job is the toughest? Is
it simply this sort of thing, the 'paste-on-smile'
as you described it yourself once?
4
MRS. FORD:
I think the publicity and constantly being before
the public and never really feeling that you can
go out and take a swim in the pool because you're
going to get your hair messed up. And you have to
come back and face somebody for tea or some sort
of program. So it's confining.
SAFER:
It's almost a rule of political life, though, that
the higher a man gets in politics, the less
outspoken his wife becomes. She becomes a mouse.
It seems that it's been just the opposite with
Betty Ford. The higher your husband's gotten, the
more, really controversial things have been said.
MRS. FORD:
I know. But my -- what I've spoken out on were
issues pertaining to women. I'm not getting into
the political issues that -
SAFER:
Well, the Equal Rights Amendment was a very hot
political issue.
1080
BERNED
LIBRARY
5
MRS. FORD:
It still is. And we're going to get it. I'm
perfectly willing to tackel a political issue
as long as it doesn't disturb my husband and
he didn't step on my toes. I feel that the
Equal Rights Amendment ought to probably pass
in our Bicentennial year, 200 years. What
could be greater than to pass that?
SAFER:
Do you find the more strident voices of so-called
"liberated women" the advocates, a little bit
hard to take?
MRS. FORD:
I must admit that, yes. I'm not the type that's
going to burn my bra or do something like that.
I really don't feel that strong about it. I
feel that the liberated woman is the woman who
is happy doing what she's doing, whether it's a
job or as a housewife, it doesn't make a bit
of difference. Just so she, inwardly, feels
that she is happy and that she is liberated.
SAFER:
But without meaning to be rude for a minute,
surely, the most unliberated woman in this --
in the world is the wife of the President of
the United States....in terms of the bonds
that tie her, forgive me, to his shadow.
MRS. FORD:
II don't feel unliberated when I'm sitting here
runo
talking to you. You can ask me any question.
GERALD
6
I'm perfectly happy to answer and give you my
idea. And I'm sure my husband won't mind at all.
SAFER:
Okay. Do you ever say to him, "You really
weren't very good today?"
MRS. FORD:
Yes, I do. (LAUGHS) I'm probably his world's
either worst or best critic. I watch everything.
And I check everything. And quite often, I
check if he's going to be on television, I
check his shirt, his tie, his suit. The whole
works.
SAFER:
What are the things about him, the things he
does, the habits he has, that you like least?
MRS. FORD:
Well, after twenty-six years, I guess we've
learned to live together and accept each others
habits. I've learned to correct mine, I think,
that were, perhaps, aggrevating to him. And
I think he's -- I really think that he's trted
to correct his. I believe a marriage, you see,
should be a seventy-thirty proposition. You
don't go into marriage as a fifty-fifty thing.
You go into it, both of you, as a seventy-
thirty proposition. In other words, I'm giving
seventy, he can give thirty. He's giving
seventy, I give the opposite. And when you're
FUND
going overboard like that, trying to please
&
each other, you can't help but be happy.
BERALD
LIBRARY
7
SAFER:
As doubtlessly happy a marriage as the Ford
marriage has been all these years, what's ---
what are the issues that we really --
MRS. FORD:
We've had our fights.
SAFER:
Over what?
MRS. FORD:
Oh, very minor details, probably because I was
late.
SAFER:
You've got a reputation for that?
MRS. FORD:
No, more, no more. It's all gone. I beat him
everyplace.
SAFER:
But what? Did you ever fight over money?
MRS. FORD:
No. Never had any money to fight over.
SAFER:
But did you -- did you ever have words with
him, strong words, over political stands?
MRS. FORD:
No, I would not say strong words. I would say
that we've had disagreements over political
stands.
SAFER:
I think that everyone would be fascinated to know
what is the issue that you sat Jerry Ford down
and said, "Listen, I want you to listen... ?"
MRS. FORD:
Well, a lot of it had to do with, perhaps, putting
a woman in the Cabinet.
ORD . kocheny 077579
SAFER:
You won that one.
8
MRS. FORD:
Yes, I won that one. And I'm working on
another. If I can get a woman on the Supreme
Court Bench, then I think that I'll really be ---
have accomplished a great deal.
SAFER:
Getting back to my original question which was
the more power a politician gets, the more
of a mouse his wife becomes. And among the
things you have spoken out about are abortion,
which is kind of a taboo subject for the wife of
the President. It's one of the ------
MRS. FORD:
(INDISTINCT) --- Ask a question you have to be
honest, exactly how you feel. And I feel
very strongly that it was the best thing in
the world when the Supreme Court voted to
legalize abortion, and in my words, bring it
out of the backwoods and put it in the hospitals
where it belonged. I thought it was a great,
great decision.
SAFER:
You've also talked about the young people living
together before they're married.
MRS. FORD:
Well, they are, aren't they?
SAFER:
Indeed, they are. Well, what if Susan Ford came
to you and said, "Mother, I'm having an affair.
GERALD
Xyynair
9
MRS. FORD:
Well, I wouldn't be surprised. I think she's
a perfectly normal human being like all young
girls, if she wanted to continue and I would
certainly counsel and advise her on the subject,
and I'd want to know pretty much about the
young man that she was planning to have the
affair with; whether it was a worthwhile encounter
or whether it was going to be one of those -------
She's pretty young to start affairs.
SAFER:
But, nevertheless, old enough ---------------
MRS. FORD:
Oh, yes, she's a big girl.
SAFER:
I mean would it surprise you, though, given the
way the -- the way you brought these kids up,
and the President brought them up, would it
surprise you if that happened?
MRS. FORD:
No, I think there's a complete freedom among
the young people now. And in some cases, I'm
not so sure that, perhaps, there would be less
divorce.
SAFER:
Have you worried about your children, about your
children -- I don't know, going wrong, about
drugs?
10
MRS. FORD:
No, I really haven't, because we've always
discussed it and I would have detected it.
And immediately, I would have done something
about it. We brought them up with a certain
moral value that where their friends might
be taking drugs now, I'm not saying that they
haven't tried it, because I'm sure they've all
probably tried marijuana. The last time I
said that I got the devil from one of them
because he said, "How do you know I've tried
marijuana? I've never touched it before.'
And I said, "I don't know. I just supposed that
you probably had." But it's not habit, it's
nothing that we've had to have
SAFER:
Do you think that Betty Bloomer would have been
the kind of girl who would have at least
experimented with marijuana when you were
growing up?
MRS. FORD:
Oh, I'm sure I probably would when I was growing
up at that age, I probably would have been
interested to see what the effect
I never
would have gone into it as a habit or anything
like that. It's the type of thing that the
young people have to experience, like your first
beer or your first cigarette, something like
runn
that.
LIBANKY
11
SAFER:
You know, you've spoken out on a number of
things, the fact that you've sought psychiatric
help. You've spoken on drugs, on abortion, all
kinds of things that used to be considered
taboo, I guess really were taboo for ----
MRS. FORD:
But also didn't --- the fact that I had the
cancer operation and the publicity of that
saved a lot of people's lives.
SAFER:
Indeed, was that a conscious thing when you
decided to ------
MRS. FORD:
Definitely. I felt that if I had it, many
other women have it, because I had no idea
of it whatsoever and it came about as a complete
surprise. One day, like that, and the next day
I was in the hospital. And I thought that there
are women all over the country like me. And if
I don't make this public, then their lives will
be gone, they're in jeopardy. And I think it did
a great deal for women as far as the cancer
problem is concerned. It isn't difficult
if you face up to it. And you can find a power
that's strong enough, that will carry you
through those things. And this is the power
that I have found, has carried me through a lot
of things.
BERALD
12
SAFER:
Power being what? A religious feeling?
MRS. FORD:
Yes, it's a religious feeling, a belief in God.
And knowing that there is God and depending on
Him.
SAFER:
Do you pray? Does the President pray?
MRS. FORD:
Definitely, both of us. The President has his
special prayers that he says at night, I know,
before he goes to sleep. And I have mine.
SAFER:
Then we turned to a subject we've all been
concerned about Betty Ford's health.
And I think that a lot of people would like to
hear it from you, how are you?
MRS. FORD:
Really and truly, I never have felt better.
I feel absolutely marvelous. My weight is
down and I like to be lean and trim. The doctors
reports have all been absolutely clear. There's
not been one iota of question in all of the
tests that they have run on me every three months.
There hasn't been any sign, whatsoever, of a
cancerous reoccurence at this point.
13
Now, this doesn't mean that I'm going on
forever. Because some people go three years,
some people go four years, but I feel great.
And I'm convinced in my own mind, that I'm
completely cured.
SAFER:
And how about your back, that pinched nerve
that you did have to take some -----
MRS. FORD:
Well that still does give me trouble, but I've
had that ten or eleven years and I don't expect,
you know, everybody can't be perfect. You
all have to suffer a little to appreciate
life.
B
FORD
GENNED
LIBRARY
524WEST
57STREET
NEW
N.Y.10019 BS
NEWS
MORLEY SAFER TALKS WITH FIRST LADY BETTY FORD
SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, ON "60 MINUTES"
Catapulted from suburban housewife to the nation's First Lady not quite
a year ago, Betty Ford has rapidly established a reputation for candor and
a willingness to talk about just about anything. In fact, she and CBS News
Correspondent Morley Safer did just that in an interview conducted in the
White House solarium late last month. Their conversation, which delved into
some controversial areas like equal rights, abortion and marijuana, some per-
sonal areas like psycholanalysis and Mrs. Ford's surgery last year, and life
at the White House, will be broadcast on "60 MINUTES," this Sunday, August 10,
(9:30-10:30 PM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.
The third floor solarium, overlooking the Washington Monument, is a
comfortable room usually filled with overstuffed bright yellow furnishings.
On the day of the interview, CBS News did some redocorating -- adding several
large videotape cameras, sound and lighting equipment and streams of coaxial
cable.
When Betty Bloomer Ford arrived for her conversation with Safer, which was
to take place casually over the course of a Monday afternoon, she never once
betrayed what must have been her astonishment at the new decor. And later,
as the veteran correspondent and production staff withered under the hot tele-
R.
FORD
vision lights, Betty Ford was her usual self -- cool, calm and very candid.
GENALD
LIBRARY
THIS IS RECYCLED PAPER
2. . .
"She is a lady in an important position, with a great deal to say,"
said "60 MINUTES" Executive Producer Don Hewitt about the interview. "But,"
he continued, "when Betty Ford says it, she sparkles."
***
BERALD & FUND
/////////////
minutes
July 25, 1975
FIRST LADY BETTY FORD SITS FOR FIRST EXTENSIVE TELEVISION
INTERVIEW ON "60 MINUTES," SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
Betty Ford, First Lady for just one year, sits for her first
extensive television interview in a candid conversation with CBS
News Correspondent Morley Safer on "60 MINUTES" Sunday, Aug. 10
(9:30-10:30 PM, ET) on the CBS Television Network.
"This is an unusual interview with a very unusual woman,"
says Safer. "She is open, honest, and completely frank as she
discusses her attitudes about her roles as First Lady, wife, and
mother -- and as an independent person in her own right."
The interview was conducted in the third floor solarium at
the White House.
Other segments of the August 10 edition, of "60 MINUTES"
are to be announced.
Don Hewitt is executive producer of "60 MINUTES."
* * A
FURD
8
GERALD
LIBRARY
CBS NEWS, 524 WEST 57 STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019 (212)765-4321
THIS IS RECYCLED PAPER
6. pm 8/15
These are indeed strange and
uncertain times.
You try to stay on top of things
by looking. for signals. .trying to
determine if any patterns are
developing. .you seek out barometers
of what is happening and what's about
to happen.
But as it often turns out. .you
look one way and find a note of
encouragement. .only to turn around
and discover your cup of hope is
rusting around the edges.
Two cases in point from the last
five days
Shortly after 9:30 last Sunday
night. .the sun rose over the White
House. .and the light it cast was
warm and nutritious.
GERALD, Agengia P. FORD
page 2
It was Betty Ford on television
talking like a real, live human
being.
The President's wife without even
a hint of a loss of dignity saying
she wouldn't be surprised if her
daughter had an affair.
Not saying she would encourage
it. .not passing it off as an issue
of no concern.
Saying simply and honestly. .that
she wouldn't be surprised.
Lord it was refreshing!
So there we were. .recharged and
heady with such ambrosia. .undaunted
by the sanctimonious shrieks of
protest. .and along comes the saga
of Sarah.
GERALD
& FURN LIBRAR
paya
Sarah is a pin-up. .24 feet long
.true. .but still a pin-up. .not
unlike those in army barracks.
locker rooms. .bedroom walls. .and
any place else where men work or play.
Anyplace. .except a construction
site
sight
where the General Services
Administration is in charge.
To the construction workers.
Sarah was a pleasant diversion from
the demands of their labor.
To the GSA. .she was an
embarrassment . .or would you believe
inappropriate.
That's the reaction to her
attributed to GSA administrator
Arthur Sampson. INAPPROPRIATE?
&
FORD
BERALD
Amenaly
Folks. don't you know that a
site
pin-up at a construction sight is
page 4
about as inappropriate and as
threatening to the national moral fiber
as a hot dog and a cold beer at a
ball game.
Or as a First Lady. .who has
FORD
the courage,the integrity, and the
s
BERALD
LIORARY
grace to address herself on network
television to a nation of grown-ups
.and not a bunck of munchkins.
Dear Mrs. ford,
as a woman, a mother,
a wife, and a first lady,
Thank you for your candor,
your awareness, your
you, in my opinion, are
complete ness. absence of pretentions-
magnificent. Please, be strong under
you're dy-no-mite.
what, I'm sure, is the
cism. you have as lot of
agoniying weight of criti-
Sincerely, appriciatedy
friends and supporters, who,
like me, consider you to
I- Vance
country. be awfully good for the
P.S. Drophy for dinner, sometime.
We'd be pleased to have you.
524WEST
STSTREET
ORK
HOLD FOR RELEASE
6 P.M. SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
"60 MINUTES"
"THE FIRST LADY"
SUNDAY, AUG. 10, 1975
9:30-10:30 P.M, EDT
ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK
A CONVERSATION WITH BETTY FORD
WITH
CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT MORLEY SAFER
BERALD
LIGHARY,
All copyright and right to copyright in this transcript and in
the broadcast are owned by CBS. Newspapers and periodicals are
permitted to reprint up to 250 words of this transcript for the
purpose of reference, discussion, or review. For permission to
reprint more than this, contact Director, CES News Information
Services, 524 West 57th Street, NYC., N.Y. 10019, 212 765-4321
60 MINUTES
"THE FIRST LADY"
MRS. FORD:
I told my husband if we have to go to the White
House, "Okay, I will go. But I'm going as myself.
And it's too late to change my pattern. And if
they don't like it, then they'll just have to
throw me out."
SAFER:
Washington can be an awfully tough town on a
political wife. Would you agree?
MRS. FORD:
Well, I agree. But you see, I had twenty-six
years of experience as the wife of a Congresaman.
And I did learn a little bit in that twenty-six
years. You know, I wasn't sitting around being
a dummy.
SAFER:
One ex-wife, the ex-wife of a Congressman said,
"He'll do anything for his country, his party and
his family in that order."
MRS. FORD:
Well, I think a Congressional wife has to be a
special kind of woman. I don't think that all
women, really, can adjust to this type of life.
SAFER:
But would you advise your daughter, for example, to
marry a politician given the yearsyou've been
FORD
through it in Washington?
BERALU
LIBRARY
MRS. FORD:
That's a hard question.
2
SAFER:
Would you advise against marrying a politician,
put it that way?
MRS. FORD:
No, I would not advise her against marrying a
politician. I wouldn't pick one out for her
though.
SAFER:
What are the pressures on a woman living in this
town?
MRS. FORD:
The pressures are many. And it depends on the
family, or the size of the family. The type of
husband that you have. Whether he's a wanderer
or whether he's a homebody. I think that there
are some women that probably have their husbands
around the house more than they'd like. And then
there are those that wish their husbands were home
more.
SAFER:
Did you ever have any doubts about your husband
and some of the attractions in this city?
MRS. FORD:
I have perfect faith in my husband. But I'm always
glad to see him enjoy a pretty girl. And when he
stops looking, then I'm going to begin to worry.
But right now, he still enjoys a pretty girl. And
he really doesn't have time for outside
entertainment. Because I keep him busy.
GERALD
LIBRARY
3
SAFER:
There was a time in your life here where you felt
that you needed some help.
MRS. FORD:
This is true.
SAFER:
Some psychiatric help.
MRS. FORD:
Yes.
SAFER:
Was that, do you think, a function of being in
Washington or what? Why did you feel you had to
go and see a psychiatrist?
MRS. FORD:
Well, I was advised by the doctor who was treating
me for my neck and shoulder and back, that perhaps,
psychiatric help could help me in getting over
this problem. And on his advice I went to a
psychiatrist. And I found it very helpful,
because apparently I was -- I was really giving
too much of myself and not taking any time out for
Betty. It was all going to the children and my
husband. And consequently, I was a little beaten
down. And he built up my ego.
runo
SAFER:
The psychiatrist did.
GERALD
LIBHARY
MRS. FORD:
Yes, he did.
SAFER:
You said you're going to start lobbying for a
salary, what part of the job is the toughest? Is
it simply this sort of thing, the 'paste-on-smile'
as you described it yourself once?
4
MRS. FORD:
'I think the publicity and constantly being before
the public and never really feeling that you can
go out and take a swim in the pool because you're
going to get your hair messed up. And you have to
come back and face somebody for tea or some sort
of program. So it's confining.
SAFER:
It's almost a rule of political life, though, that
the higher a man gets in politics, the less
outspoken his wife becomes. She becomes a mouse.
It seems that it's been just the opposite with
Betty Ford. The higher your husband's gotten, the
more, really controversial things have been said.
MRS. FORD:
I know. But my -- what I've spoken out on were
issues pertaining to women. I'm not getting into
the political issues that ---
SAFER:
Well, the Equal Rights Amendment was a very hot
political issue.
vunn
BENALD
LIBRARY
5
MRS. FORD:
It still is, And we're going to get it, I'm
perfectly willing to tackel a political issue
as long as it doesn't disturb my husband and
he didn't step on my toes, I feel that the
Equal Rights Amendment ought to probably pass
in our Bicentennial year, 200 years. What
could be greater than to pass that?
SAFER:
Do you find the more strident voices of so-called
"liberated women" the advocates, a little bit
hard to take?
MRS. FORD:
I must admit that, yes. I'm not the type that's
going to burn my bra or do something like that.
I really don't feel that strong about it. I
feel that the liberated woman is the woman who
is happy doing what she's doing, whether it's a
job or as a housewife, it doesn't make a bit
of difference. Just so she, inwardly, feels
that she is happy and that she is liberated.
SAFER:
But without meaning to be rude for a minute,
surely, the most unliberated woman in this --
in the world is the wife of the President of
the United States in terms of the bonds
FORD
that tie her, forgive me, to his shadow.
LIBRARY
MRS. FORD:
I don't feel unliberated when I'm sitting here
talking to you. You can ask me any question.
6
I'm perfectly happy to answer and give you my
idea. And I'm sure my husband won't mind at all.
SAFER:
Okay. Do you ever say to him, "You really
weren't very good today?"
MRS. FORD:
Yes, I do. (LAUGHS) I'm probably his world's
either worst or best critic. I watch everything.
And I check everything. And quite often, I
check if he's going to be on television, I
check his shirt, his tie, his suit. The whole
works.
SAFER:
What are the things about him, the things he
does, the habits he has, that you like least?
MRS. FORD:
Well, after twenty-six years, I guess we've
learned to live together and accept each others
habits. I've learned to correct mine, I think,
that were, perhaps, aggrevating to him. And
I think he's -- I really think that he's tried
to correct his. I believe a marriage, you see,
should be a seventy-thirty proposition. You
don't go into marriage as a fifty-fifty thing.
You go into it, both of you, as a seventy-
thirty proposition. In other words, I'm giving
FUND
&
GENALD
LIBRARY
seventy, he can give thirty. He's giving
seventy, I give the opposite. And when you're
going overboard like that, trying to please
each other, you can't help but be happy.
7
SAFER:
As doubtlessly happy a marriage as the Ford
marriage has been all these years, what's --
what are the issues that we really --
MRS. FORD:
We've had our fights,
SAFER:
Over what?
MRS. FORD:
Oh, very minor details, probably because I was
late.
SAFER:
You've got a reputation for that?
MRS. FORD:
No, more, no more. It's all gone. I beat him
everyplace,
SAFER:
But what? Did you ever fight over money?
?
FORD
MRS. FORD:
No. Never had any money to fight over.
BEHALD
LIBRARY
SAFER:
But did you --- did you ever have words with
him, strong words, over political stands?
MRS. FORD:
No, I would not say strong words. I would say
that we've had disagreements over political
stands.
SAFER:
I think that everyone would be fascinated to know
what is the issue that you sat Jerry Ford down
and said, "Listen, I want you to listen...?"
MRS. FORD:
Well, a lot of it had to do with, perhaps, putting
a woman in the Cabinet.
8
MRS. FORD:
Yes, I won that one. And I'm working on
another. If I can get a woman on the Supreme
Court Bench, then I think that I'll really be --
have accomplished a great deal.
SAFER:
Getting back to my original question which was
the more power a politician gets, the more
of a mouse his wife becomes. And among the
things you have spoken out about are abortion,
which is kind of a taboo subject for the wife of
the President. It's one of the ---
MR3. FORD:
(INDISTINCT) ------------------------- Ask a question you have to be
honest, exactly how you feel. And I feel
very strongly that it was the best thing in
the world when the Supreme Court voted to
legalize abortion, and in my words, bring it
out of the backwoods and put it in the hospitals
where it belonged. I thought it was a great,
great decision.
SAFER:
You've also talked about the young people living
together before they're married.
MRS. FORD:
Well, they are, aren't they?
SAFER:
Indeed, they are. Well, what if Susan Ford came
to you and said, "Mother, I'm having an affair. II
R
FORD
AIBRARY
9
MRS. FORD:
Well, I wouldn't be surprised. I think she's
a perfectly normal human being like all young
girls, if she wanted to continue and I would
certainly counsel and advise her on the subject,
and I'd want to know pretty much about the
young man that she was planning to have the
affair with; whether it was a worthwhile encounter
or whether it was going to be one of those -----
She's pretty young to start affairs.
SAFER:
But, nevertheless, old enough ----
MRS. FORD:
Oh, yes, she's a big girl.
SAFER:
I mean would it surprise you, though, given the
way the -- the way you brought these kids up,
and the President brought them up, would it
surprise you if that happened?
MRS. FORD:
No, I think there's a complete freedom among
the young people now. And in some cases, I'm
not so sure that, perhaps, there would be less
divorce.
SAFER:
Have you worried about your children, about your
children --- I don't know, going wrong, about
drugs?
BEHALD P FORD
10
MRS. FORD:
No, I really haven't, because we've always
discussed it and I would have detected it.
And immediately, I would have done something
about it. We brought, them up with a certain
moral value that where their friends might
be taking drugs now, I'm not saying that they
haven't tried it, because I'm sure they've all
probably tried marijuana. The last time I
said that I got the devil from one of them
because he said, "How do you know I've tried
marijuana? I've never touched it before."
And I said, "I don't know. I just supposed that
you probably had." But it's not habit, it's
nothing that we've had to have
SAFER:
Do you think that Betty Bloomer would have been
the kind of girl who would have at least
experimented with marijuana when you were
growing up?
MRS. FORD:
Oh, I'm sure I probably would when I was growing
up at that age, I probably would have been
interested to see what the effect ... I never
would have gone into it as a habit or anything
like that. It's the type of thing' that the
Othern
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young people have to experience, like your first
beer or your first cigarette, something like
that.
11
SAFER:
You know, you've spoken out on a number of
things, the fact that you've sought psychiatric
help. You've spoken on drugs, on abortion, all
kinds of things that used to be considered
taboo, I guess really were taboo for ----
MRS. FORD:
But also didn't -- the fact that I had the
cancer operation and the publicity of that
saved a lot of people's lives.
SAFER:
Indeed, was that a conscious thing when you
decided to -------------------------
MRS. FORD:
Definitely. I felt that if I had it, many
other women have it, because I had no idea
of it whatsoever and it came about as a complete
surprise. One day, like that, and the next day
I was in the hospital. And I thought that there
are women all over the country like me. And if
I don't make this public, then their lives will
be gone, they're in jeopardy. And I think it did
a great deal for women as far as the cancer
problem is concerned. It isn't difficult
if you face up to it. And you can find a power
that's strong enough, that will carry you
rund
through those things. And this is the power
that I have found, has carried me through a lot
of things.
12
SAFER:
Power being what? A religious feeling?
MRS. FORD:
Yes, it's a religious feeling, a belief in God.
And knowing that there is God and depending on
Him.
SAFER:
Do you pray? Does the President pray?
MRS. FORD:
Definitely, both of us. The President has his
special prayers that he says at night, I know,
before he goes to sleep. And I have mine.
SAFER:
Then we turned to a subject we've all been
concerned about Betty Ford's health.
And I think that a lot of people would like to
hear it from you, how are you?
MRS. FORD:
Really and truly, I never have felt better.
I feel absolutely marvelous. My weight is
down and I like to be lean and trim. The doctors
reports have all been absolutely clear. There's
not been one iota of question in all of the
tests that they have run on me every three months.
There hasn't been any sign, whatsoever, of a
cancerous reoccurence at this point.
Stunin
turio
13
Now, this doesn't mean that I'm going on
forever. Because some people go three years,
some people go four years, but I feel great.
And I'm convinced in!my own mind, that I'm
completely cured.
SAFER:
And how about your back, that pinched nerve
that you did have to take some ------
MRS. FORD:
Well that still does give me trouble, but I've
had that ten or eleven years and I don't expect,
you know, everybody can't be perfect. You
all have to suffer a little to appreciate
life.
LIDERA Bennic 73
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August 21, 1975
Dear,
Thank you for
about my appearance on the "Sixty Minutes"
interview. The concern which inspired you to share your views is appre-
ciated.
I wish it were possible for us to sit down together and talk, one to
another. A talk that would probably find us on the same side in our
approach to what is right for our children.
I consider myself a responsible parent. I know I am a loving one. We
have raised our four children in a home that believes in and practices
the enduring values of morality and personal integrity. As every mother
and father knows, these are not easy times to be a parent. Our convictions
are continually being questioned and tested by the fads and fancies of the
moment.
I believe our values to be eternal and I believe them to be the values of
my children. But we have come to this sharing of outlook through communi-
cation, not coercion. I want my children to know that their concerns,
their doubts, their difficulties -- whatever they may be, can be discussed
with the two people in this world who care the most their mother and
father. On "Sixty Minutes," the emotion of my words spoke to the need for
this communication -- rather than the specific issues we discussed.
It is difficult to adequately express one's personal convictions in a 15-
minute interview. I believe our children's lives will say more than words
about their dedication to honor, to integrity, to humanity and to God.
You and I I -- -- they and I -- have no quarrel.
Sincerely,
Betty Ford
-
FUND
CBS MEMORANDUM
FROM: Suzanne St. Pierre
TO: DON HEWITT and MORLEY SAFER
DATE: July 2, 1975
Betty Bloomer Ford, as she appears today, is a strong, alive
and intelligent woman. She is open and candid and has a
sense of balance and humor about herself and her husband even
though he is President of the United States. This is blended
with obvious fondness and affection towards him.
She is an unusual First Lady. Not since Eleanor Roosevelt has
there been one who has spoken with such candor on political
issues. She has expressed her opinion about several controversial
subjects - the Equal Rights Amendment (the White House mail ran
heavily against her), abortion, marijuana, social mores, her
relationship with her husband, her views on psychiatry and her own
emotional condition. And no one can remember when a President's
wife has given a full-fledged White House press conference such as
the one Mrs. Ford gave last September.
She is also a traditional woman - in many ways the wife of a famous man.
She has raised her children to be a credit to herself and her husband -
who is still in love with her after all these years. One friend called
that not only smart, but practically brilliant. A religious woman, she
reads a scriptual passage every day.
She and her family are described again and again as normal, but in such
a way that "normal" sounds exotic. Perhaps she is no different from
a lot of good, strong, courageous American women - that she represents
the best of us - and that is what cheers us most - that we know there
are a lot of Betty Fords in America that help to keep us together and
give us strength as individuals, as families, as communities and as a
nation.
Reading about Betty Ford is very touching and inspiring - not for sad
reasons - but because she is a courageous woman who has not only sur-
vived the role of First Lady, but thrived on it. She has controlled
that role rather than it controlling her. One of our first glimpses of
her strength and openness was at the time of her breast operation. By
a
FORD
GERALD
LIBHARY
DON HEWITT and MORLEY SAFER
July 2, 1975
Page 2
her behavior she took away the embarrassment and secrecy from what
until then many had regarded as almost a shameful social disease.
Possibly she used to be more retiring and self-effacing and not as
quick to be candid about controversial subjects. One senses this
from some of the earlier publicity on her. It did not define her as
easily or with such uniformity as the articles today do. Possibly
that impression was because of her manner of speaking which is
slow, hesitating and deliberate. Possibly we just didn't know her
and were wrong in our judgment. And possibly she has changed - blossomed-
felt more at ease to find herself and be herself. Betty Ford surprised us.
SSHP
B
FORD
GERALD
LIBHARY