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    "id": "1554446",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Third Debate: Suggestions - Miscellaneous",
    "description": "This file includes a memo from Vice President Rockefeller concerning the debates.",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1554446",
    "collections": [
        "White House Special Files Unit Files",
        "Ford - Carter Debates Files"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Campaign debates",
        "Presidential campaign, 1976",
        "Vice-Presidents"
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        "logicalDate": "1976-10-31",
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        "year": 1976
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 3, folder \"Third Debate: Suggestions -\nMiscellaneous\" of the White House Special Files Unit Files at the Gerald R. Ford\nPresidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nAn informed source at the Washington Post told me that Mr. Maynard may\nask the President about:\n1. The plight of Soviet Jews. Why have they been ignored?\n2. What specifics the President would offer towards plugging tax loopholes?\n3. Would the President consider using governtment created jobs to help\nalleviate unemployment, or consider a CCC type program; if not, why not?\n4. How does the President explain the lack of decorum (Earl Butz,\nCongress\nGeneral Brown) among those who surround him and what does he think\nof Sec. Kissinger talking behind his back?\nResearch for Maynard included Mayaguez data, \"Blind Ambition,\" (John Dean's\nbook) and Jerry TerHorsts book on Ford.\nGENAL FORD CIBRARY\nDigitized from Box 3 of the White House Special Files Unit Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nINFORMATION\nOctober 18, 1976\nMEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT\nFROM:\nVice Presidential Jun Request\nJIM CANNON\nFORD\nSUBJECT:\nThe Vice President asked me to send to you these\nsuggestions for your third debate.\nnote\nOriginal sent to your\nWashington office.\nMEMORANDUM\nLive The Pros\nTO:\nHonorable Nelson A. Rockefeller\nfor\nFROM:\nDean Alfange\nDATE: October 12, 1976\nIs there no one around who can write a few inspirational\nphrases for the President to use in the next debate? Here is how\nI would sum it up - right at the close:\nTIMING: It's the President's last time around in the\ndebate. He turns toward Carter, looks at him eye to eye, a pointed\ngesture and a pause. He then begins, his gaze still focused on\nCarter\nMr. Carter, it's time you level with the people. You have\nplaced yourself, courageously, on every side of every issue. You\nwould have us reduce our military strength and yet get tougher with\nthe Soviet Union. You VOW a balanced budget; yet the platform you\nendorse would make shambles of the budget, multiply inflation,\nundermine the value of savings and of pensions and thrust the cost\nof living skyward.\nWho are you trying to fool, Mr. Carter? You pose as the\nchampion of organized labor, but in plush surroundings you tell the\ncaptains of industry they need not worry. One day you stand for\nethnic purity, the next for ethnic diversity.\nThis is no time for double-talk, Mr. Carter. We are\nelecting a President, not a magician. (Here another gesture\nfirmly pointed toward Carter). You have just ten days left, sir,\nto tell the American people what you truly believe, not about\nlove, sex or religion, but the issues -- issues that affect the\nlives of our people and the security of the United States.\n(At this point the President turns away from Carter and\nlooks straight into the camera)\nMy fellow citizens, I have taken a clear cut stand on\nevery issue. I do not care if what I say is unpopular so long\nas my conscience tells me it is right, that it is good for America\nand for the cause of peace. The great Presidents of this country\nhave never been popular, but they have always been right.\nLet me tell you what I believe. I believe this Republic\nis the hope of all mankind - the free and those struggling to be\nfree from totalitarian domination. I believe this Republic can\nremain the moral leader of the world so long as liberty and love\nof country shall dwell as tenants in our hearts.\nAs President I will never allow America to sink in the\nmorass of socialistic paternalism. I believe in the challenges\nof opportunity. I prefer the thrill of fulfillment to the stale\ncalm of utopia. I reject the guaranteed existence - from cradle\nto the grave. That would make all of us the wards of government,\nhumbled and dulled by having the state look after us.\n-2-\nI pray that the American people will never trade freedom\nfor beneficence nor their dignity for a handout. Freedom is the\nmost precious word in the English language, but it is strangely\nmissing from the vocabulary of the Democrat Party.\nMy fellow Americans, it is our heritage to stand erect,\nproud and unafraid, to think and act for ourselves, enjoy the\nbenefits of our labor and - when the day's work is done - to thank\nGod and say: this I have accomplished for myself, my family, my\ncountry and the less fortunate of this nation and the world. This\nis the meaning of America.\nLet the President memorize this, or something like it,\nthen get someone who knows public speaking to coach him on how\nbest to say it.\nSome of the phrases I have used in the text were written\nby me in a piece called \"My Creed\", which was published sometime\nago, but the President may use them as his own.\n-3-\nThe Final Debate\n1. In the final debate, Carter should be disarmed with short, pithy,\nanswers like the following:\nA. If Carter Mentions Nixon or Watergate.\nI'm not here to debate the worth of President Nixon. His\npolicies were basically sound. As for his moral decisions\nwith Watergate - he has had to pay whatever price was\ndemanded - resignation from office.\nB. The Pardon of Nixon - Admittedly a Debatable Subject.\nThe nation was in trouble - I made a decision. I did what\nI felt was right. You have accused me of no leadership.\nYou don't want leadership. You just want something to bark\nabout. I have dealt forthrightly with issues. You won't\nface an issue before election, you are on both sides of\nevery issue depending on which crowd you are facing. How\ncan people expect any honest dealings with issues from you\nafter you are elected?\nC. The Ship Incident.\nWe had a background of a ship off the coast of North Korea\nbeing hijacked. Lack of action lost the ship and humiliated\nthe whole crew. Yes we had a word from the communists. You\ncan't trust their words. So I acted immediately and got the\nship and the men back. I wanted no repetition of the other\nincident. I exhibited the leadership that you accuse me of\nnot having. What would you have done? I suppose you would\nhave grinned at them. And they would have grinned right back\nas they ignored your pleas. They would have outgrinned you.\nOur men would still be in their hands.\n2. Last Debate - What I meant to say. Admit an error of clarity\nof expression. We do not acknowledge the right of any country\nto control those countries.\n3. Somewhere state - I admit you are a hard person to debate because\nof two things.\nA. You are on both sides of most questions.\nB. You have no concrete program or plans. All you have is vague\ndreams with no substance. You are going to the people, but\nyour whole program is government which alienates the people,\ncompassion, etc. All you do is talk with no substance.\n4. Foreign Problems.\nThey all came into existence under Democrat Presidents. The\nnightmare division of Germany. The take over of Eastern Europe.\nThe no win policy of wars in the Far East and partition of Korea.\nThe mess in Vietnam - all occurred during the regime of a Democrat\nPresident and Democrat Congress. We are just beginning to make\nsome sense out of foreign policy - cite some of the accomplishments.\n5. Every time you make a point like the above - then say -\n\"Let's get back to what we can pin down that you stand for -\nyour platform\". Then read points from his platform and show\nhe is headed for special interest groups and socialism. Nail\nhim all through the debate with his own platform and make him\ndefend it. Thus - get him on the defensive. If he doesn't\nanswer - then bring it up again the next time you speak.\nThis is the one thing you can make him defend or he will look\nlike a fool if he doesn't defend it.\nTHE PRESIDENT HAS SEPT\nTALKING POINTS FOR RALLY PRECEDING DEPARTURE\nOctober 22, 1976\n-- Might make reference to \"The day of the big game\ndawned brisk and clear\" line that begins many\nsports stories.\n-- The remaining days in this election are vitally\nimportant, just as baseball games are won in the\nlast inning and football games in the last quarter.\n-- We have achieved the biggest political comeback in\nAmerican history -- from a deficit of 30 points to an\nelection that is now virtually even.\n-- We are on the verge of the biggest political upset\nin American history. Momentum is with us. The\ntide is running in our favor. We must now go all\nout in these final ten days of the campaign.\n-- This is an important election. The future of our\neconomic system\nof our social system\nthe future\nof world peace may well depend on the outcome.\n-- America is at the turning point. Do we go forward\nwith a progressive, creative society, dedicated to\nfreedom and human rights? Or fall back into a\nregimented, conformist society, dominated by big\ngovernment?\n-- We have not and we will not promise more than we\ncan deliver -- but we will deliver all that we promise.\n-- Let us commit ourselves today, and in the days\nimmediately ahead, so that when we meet, in years\nto come, we can confidently say: America is a better\nplace for our having been here.\nLIBRARY"
}