THE PRESIDENCY by HUGH SIDEY: Keeping Ford in Fighting Trim

On one normal day last week, Gerald Ford got up at 5:50 a.m. and went to bed at 10:45 p.m. What went on in between was almost unspeakable. There were twelve separate scheduled events, mainly meetings and appearances. Ford greeted or talked to more than 100 people, made two formal speeches outside the White House. He placed a dozen telephone calls beyond the premises, received at least as many, conducted literally countless confabs on the inner-office lines. Three meals were eaten, ablutions performed, family members counseled, six newspapers perused, four TV newscasts sampled, scores of memorandums absorbed. He did pushups, smoked, joked, shook hands in unrecorded but generous portions.

The Ford energy, one of the nation’s vital resources, is quite amazing.

Theodore Roosevelt, renowned for his vigor, sometimes used to finish his presidential work by noon and go off romping with the kids in the afternoon. He was underemployed. Calvin Coolidge slept twelve hours a night. There are those who claim that even that much sleep was not enough to get him going. Lyndon Johnson kept moving by insisting on an afternoon nap “with my britches off’ and a cold wake-up shower with nozzle pressure of 80 lbs. per sq. in. Richard Nixon withdrew from the world for days to marshal his strength. Ford just keeps going on.

One reason is that he is diligent about his morning exercises. Right out of bed he spins off two miles on the exercise bicycle in his room. There follow 20 to 40 knee-lifts for each leg. The President sits on a low bench, straps weights of 20 or more pounds to each foot, then straightens his legs, building up those knee muscles injured in football. He does 25 or so push-ups and as many situps. Sweating and breathing heavily at the end of 20 minutes, he is ready for a shower.

When he goes to Camp David, he expands his regimen. Last time he was there, he swam 2,100 ft. each day in three 700-ft. (14 laps) installments in the outdoor heated pool. Ford likes setting specific goals. These limits both push him a little farther than he might go sometimes and let him quit before he might other times. He churned up and down in the otherwise snowy landscape. He walked a good deal at Camp David and gave the snowmobiles a couple of quick turns through the forest.

The Ford weight is constantly monitored. Before his Camp David weekend, he weighed 195, the old football trim. He gained 2 lbs. over the weekend, apparently from the Sunday morning breakfast of waffles, strawberries and sour cream. He lost the 2 lbs. last week on salads and cottage cheese.

On the move, Ford has a rare ability to grab brief bits of total sleep. Last week in Topeka he cat-napped in his hotel, woke up after 20 minutes as if he had been given a shot of adrenaline. He does that on Air Force One with remarkable recuperative results. Once, traveling in a limousine to a student meeting, Ford suddenly told an aide, “I think I’ll take a little nap.” He settled back and went sound asleep, so sound that the aide had to wake him when he got to his destination. Ford then gave a speech and shook 300 hands.

Variety in view and routine is a relaxant. Ford now has an informal office just beyond the Oval Office. Unlike Nixon, this President frequently takes off his coat and works in shirtsleeves. His pipe is handy and in constant use. White House Physician William Lukash believes such little things reduce tedium and tension. Ford likes movies at night but sometimes flakes out. He fell asleep during a screening of The Sugarland Express but stayed the distance for Chinatown. There is an effort to introduce soothing potions of humor in the daily rituals. When Hollywood’s gorgeous Candice Bergen was in the Oval Office taking pictures, a serious avocation of hers, alongside David Hume Kennerly, Ford’s cameraman, the President went dutifully through his routine as the shutters clicked. After the two had gone, Kennerly was summoned back to Ford’s desk. There stood a somber Ford with Aides Don Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney. “We have taken a vote,” pronounced Ford. “We have decided to replace you with Candy Bergen as White House photographer.” The laughter filled the Oval Office and Jerry Ford was ready for more work.