The Ford potential
It is as clear to his political enemies as to his friends that President Ford has a remarkable opportunity to remain in office until 1980, and he has given clear indications of his wish to do so. Moreover, in the opening days of his administration his words of healing, and his cautious actions of government, have given every indication both of a potential capacity for survival and an adroitness in assuring it. The momentous task he faces is, of course, that of the battle against inflation, and here he has begun best of all. For the magic words, "a balanced budget," the meaning of which every President since Eisenhower forgot, in deference alas to the trendies of economic and social thinking, are to be heard again in Washington, and from the President's own lips. For those who believe that the prime cause of inflation is the imbalance between government expenditure and government income their reemergence is heartening indeed. We are only now beginning to understand the success and the health of the Eisenhower years, when economic policy was based, to a greater extent than ever since, on adherence to that oldest of the Republican Party's economic principles. If President Ford is indeed able to convince Congress and the nation that the balancing of the budget is the only method of conquering inflation, he will well deserve an extension of his unexpected term.
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