Lack of Power: the Ford Tapes Summary

The voice-activated taping system that brings down Pres. Richard M. Nixon, continues to operate, unbeknownst to his successor, Gerald R. Ford. The tapes, preserved in his son's garage, show: Ford's steward, Javier Sanchez, trying to convince him that he is now president (10 Aug. 1974); Al Haig giving up his Cross pen to get Ford to sign Nixon's pardon (15 Sept. 1979); Ford struggling for some ten hours to open a Coke bottle while Cambodians hold the USS Mayagüez captive (12 May 1975); Ford hanging up on Soviet Premier Brezhnev because he discovers the tape recorder and is entranced (21 Jul. 1975); Ford choking on his hat during a strategy meeting for the 1976 election (1 Oct. 1976); and Sanchez discovering Ford watching television the day after Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as his successor.

Lack of Power: the Ford Tapes Analysis

The third...