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The original documents are located in Box 6, folder "8/10/75 - CBS "60 Minutes"
Interview" of the Sheila Weidenfeld Files 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. Gerald R. Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON Pre-hartial
60- Min, - sex
Jack- mar
Marilyn Stapleton
Congress. Goodling FORD
225-0768
is LIBRARY GERALD
New.
Rm. 1713-
Seven 8-9-10 Intervent 205
60 pp.+ Jack Int.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
TO: White House Staff
FROM: Sheila Rabb Weidenfeld
Mrs. Ford will be featured in her first extensive,
exclusive television interview on "60 MINUTES," this
Sunday, August 10 at 9:30-10:30 P.M. on the CBS
Television Network.
The show will be aired on KMGH-TV on Channel 5
at 9:00 P.M. in Vail, Colorado.
- 524 WEST
57STREET
NEW YORK, BS
N.Y.10019
NEWS
CONVERSATION WITH BETTY FORD ON "60 MINUTES"
SUNDAY, AUGUST 10
First Ladies come and go, and all of them leave their mark on the
White House in some manner. But seldom, if ever, has the White House had
a First Lady as candid and as willing to speak her own mind as Betty Ford.
Mrs. Ford will be featured in her first extensive, exclusive television
interview on "60 MINUTES," this Sunday, August 10 (9:30-10:30 PM, ET) on
the CBS Television Network.
The interview, conducted by CBS News Correspondent Morley Safer in
the casual atmosphere of the White House third floor solarium, took place
just prior to the Ford's departure for their European tour.
"It's almost a rule of political life that the higher a man gets in
&
politics the less outspoken his wife becomes. She becomes a mouse," said
Safer. "It seems that it's been just the opposite with Betty Ford."
LIBRARY
Mrs. Ford, not a lady to be easily intimidated, and a person who handled
the rapid transition from quite suburban housewife to the not-so-private life
of First Lady, replied: "You can ask me any question. I'm perfectly willing
to answer and give you my ideas. And I'm sure my husband won't mind at all."
And then she proceeded to talk about her formula for a happy marriage, how
she would react if she learned that her daughter was having an affair, her
thoughts on marijuana, what psychiatric help did for her, her views on women's
THIS is RECYCLED PAPE
2. .
rights, and her current project as far as influencing the President is con-
cerned.
Later Safer reflected on their conversation. "This First Lady is not
afraid to speak out," he said, "even on the most controversial of issues.
She handles it all with thoughtfulness and a sense of purpose -- but even
more refreshing -- with a sense of humor."
Don Hewitt is the executive producer of "60 MINUTES."
***
NEW YORK, BS
524WEST
57 STREET
N.Y. 10019
HOLD FOR RELEASE
NEWS
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
FORD
BERRED
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, CBS News Information
Services, 524 West 57th Street, NYC., N.Y. 10019, 212 765-4321.
THIS is RECYCLED PAPI
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 years you' ve been
through it in Washington?
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.
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.
SAFER:
The psychiatrist did.
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.
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:
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
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?
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
NEW YORK BS
524 WEST
57 STREET
N.Y. 10019
HOLD FOR RELEASE
NEWS
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
2.
FORD
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, CBS News Information
Services, 524 West 57th Street, NYC., N.Y. 10019, 212 765-4321.
THIS is RECYCLED PAPE
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 years you' ve been
through it in Washington?
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.
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.
SAFER:
The psychiatrist did.
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.
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
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
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?
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.
LIBRARY
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.
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.' If
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
I
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?
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.
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.