Grand Rapids, Michigan
It is fitting that the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum has a replica of the White House Cabinet Room. Gerald Ford, probably more than any other president in modern history, wanted to surround himself with the best and the brightest to fill out his cabinet. He sought talent and gave many people their first opportunity at a high-level government position. From his cabinet alone came a future president, George H. W. Bush, two future vice presidents, Bush and Dick Cheney, two future Treasury Secretaries, Paul O’Neil and John Snow, three future Defense Secretaries, Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Caspar Weinberger, a Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, two-time National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, and future U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills.
Ford was also willing to keep people from the Nixon Administration, most notably his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. He probably would have kept more, if not for the Halloween Massacre, a rare misstep where politics more influenced Ford than governance.
It is incredible to think that someone as confident as Gerald Ford would not care about egos. When I read the signs outside the room or watched the video featuring his former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Carla Hills, I was impressed by the camaraderie this group shared and the reverential respect they all had for Gerry Ford.
The best part of the exhibit is that anyone can enter the room and sit anywhere, where you can easily envision being part of the president’s cabinet. Gerald Ford taught a couple of great lessons about leadership with his actions. Surround yourself with good people, listen to them, offer encouragement and advice when necessary, but ultimately let them do their job.
