Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning

by Liz Cheney

As I was writing this book, I found—pasted onto the pages of one of my Grandmother Cheney’s scrapbooks—President Ford’s concession statement from November 1976. Ford lost the presidential election that year to Jimmy Carter. The final tally in the Electoral College was 297 to 240. During the closing days of that campaign, President Ford had lost his voice. The morning after the election, when he placed the call to Jimmy Carter to concede the race, Ford handed the phone to his 35-year-old chief of staff, Dick Cheney, to read the concession statement to President-elect Carter. In the statement my father read, President Ford congratulated Carter on his victory, then looked to the future: As one who has been honored to serve the people of this great land—both in Congress and as President—I believe that we must now put the divisions of the campaign behind us and unite the country once again in a common pursuit of peace and prosperity. Despite the policy differences between the two men, President Ford assured Carter that he would have Ford’s “complete and wholehearted support” as he took the oath of office. Ford also pledged that he and all members of his administration would do everything they could to ensure Carter began his term “as smoothly and effectively as possible.” Gerald Ford’s statement ended, “May God bless you and your family as you undertake your new responsibilities.” One leader ceding power to the next, gracious in defeat, pledging unity for the good of the nation...