gerry ford called reagan HIGHLY over rated, much like himself.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/488406p-411247c.html

"It makes me very irritated when Reagan's people pound their chests and say that because we had this big military buildup, the Kremlin collapsed," Ford told The Grand Rapids Press.

Ford contended his own negotiation of the Helsinki Accords on human rights did more to win the Cold War than Reagan's buildup.

Ford, who died Dec. 26 at age 93, considered John F. Kennedy overrated and Bill Clinton average. He admired George H.W. Bush's handling of the Persian Gulf War and had mixed opinions of Carter, who defeated Ford in 1976.

In 1981, he said: "I think Jimmy Carter would be very close to Warren G. Harding."But two years later, he praised Carter's performance on the Panama Canal treaty, China and the Middle East.

Ford was the best, according to Ford.

But Ford was nothing special either. Reagan got a monster aircraft carrier named after him. They're building another one right now to name after Ford.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x3039361

It might have gone a long way into letting people know his true feelings instead of just being a 30-year poster boy for ineptitude. Think of the respect he could have garnered if he had been more interested in letting his true feelings be known instead of protecting what little credibility he had left.

'Ford contended his own negotiation of the Helsinki Accords on human rights did more to win the Cold War than Reagan's buildup.'

I agree completely on that.

But if I was asked which president deserves most credit for the ending of the Cold War, I would say Gorbachev.

It would have collapsed anyway under it's own weight. Just a case of extremely good timing==and deft PR in the Reagan camp.

Ford's first, negative, assessment of Carter's presidency without also stating that he obviously changed his mind over the years.

That guy was pretty damn heroic and he made a very generous contribution to all humanity. I think he is a great man and an example to all world leaders on "the right stuff"

-85% Jimmy