This led to the incredible situation where a First Lady openly disagreed with the President on a huge issue. As History notes , Republican leaders began referring to her as "No Lady" and even furiously demanded her "resignation" as First Lady. Gerald Ford became President of the United States in without ever having run for the office. Ford was a brilliant politician who'd risen to the position of Minority Leader of the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives but seemed stuck there.
The New York Times reports that in he even told Betty he would make one last campaign push to gain the majority and become Speaker of the House—and if he failed, he would retire. Then, as History reminds us , Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in the midst of a corruption scandal.
President Richard Nixon had to appoint a replacement that would be easily confirmed—and Jerry Ford was the obvious choice. Only a few months after becoming vice president, Ford found himself rising to the position of Commander in Chief when Nixon himself resigned to avoid impeachment. Gerald Ford served days as president, and his key achievement was restoring some sense of dignity to the office.
He finally ran for president in , but couldn't shed the Watergate baggage and lost to Jimmy Carter. As The New York Times notes , Ford had campaigned himself hoarse in the days before the election, so when the time came to admit defeat it fell to Betty to get up in front of the cameras and concede the election she and Jerry had worked so hard towards—smiling graciously the whole time.
Betty Ford was an icon for many—a champion of women's rights and an outspoken supporter of women's health. But what most people think of when they think of Betty Ford is her struggle with addiction and alcoholism. As noted by the National First Ladies' Library , Ford's family had a history of alcoholism—her father and brother were both very likely alcoholics, and alcoholism likely contributed to her father's death at the age of But for much of her early life Betty Ford's drinking wasn't terribly problematic, especially during a time in the 20 th century when heavy drinking was more socially acceptable than today and the concept of alcoholism as a disease hadn't yet become commonly understood.
But as biographer Jeffrey S. Ashley writes , everything changed when Ford pinched a nerve in her neck in The pain was excruciating, and never went away, and Ford dealt with it by taking a lot of prescription painkillers and drinking even more. As History notes , her drug abuse receded somewhat while she was First Lady—but then got worse when she left the White House.
It all culminated in a family intervention staged in Ford admitted she had a problem and agreed to enter a rehabilitation center. Her experience in recovery inspired her to speak out about addiction issues and to found the Betty Ford Center. People with addiction problems often justify their behaviors in a variety of ways, or outright deny they have a problem. History notes that Betty Ford's concerned family staged an intervention in and convinced her that her painkiller addiction needed to be treated.
But as The Detroit News reports , Ford hadn't yet reached full acceptance of her problem. Betty Ford was initially only willing to admit that she'd become addicted to pain pills, and refused to consider that she might have a drinking problem. The pain medications had been prescribed, so she was able to rationalize her addiction as something normal. An addiction to prescribed medications didn't have the same stigma that alcoholism still had in the s—alcoholics were sometimes perceived as morally weak, and drinking problems were still thought of as primarily willpower problems.
Ford had an epiphany while in treatment, however. She observed another patient denying that her obvious alcoholism had caused anyone any pain—and realized this was exactly what she was doing. At the age of 60, Betty Ford finally admitted she was an alcoholic as well as a drug addict, and finally sought help for her substance abuse problems.
For the first few decades of her life, Betty Ford was blessed with great health. A talented dancer, she had an athletic constitution and no major health crises until she was in her forties. Then things began to take a turn: Her biographer Jeffrey S. Ashley writes that in she suffered a pinched nerve that, exacerbated by arthritis, left her in terrible pain for the rest of her life.
In , according to Cancer Today , she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a radical mastectomy. And then History notes that in her family staged an intervention and she finally admitted to being addicted to prescription pills and an alcoholic. But her health battles weren't over. As The New York Times reports , less than 10 years later a blockage was detected in her right carotid artery, and she had to enter the hospital at the age of 69 to undergo quadruple bypass surgery.
Although the initial procedure went well and she returned home, The Los Angeles Times reports that she endured a series of complications over a five-month period that required four more surgeries to correct.
She went on to live another 24 years in relatively good health. The marriages of some politicians are more about appearances and connections than love and passion—but Betty and Gerald Ford were the exception. Jerry spent nearly three decades in Congress before becoming first Vice President and then President, and MLive reports that Betty routinely took their four children to visit him at work on the weekends, spending time reading while the children played. Monday on the evolution and treatment of mental health conditions and how they affect others.
In a telephone interview from the Washington, D. Ford started taking prescription drugs, originally to treat a pinched nerve. Betty Ford died in at age 93, having overcome her addictions and founding the Betty Ford Center in to help other addicts recover. Kalb shares a few things you may not know about the 38th first lady, which she learned during her research for the book. But Graham was strict, Kalb says, and chastised Ford, a socializer, for not giving her full attention to dancing.
His name was William Warren, and he asked Betty to her first school dance at age Warren was in the insurance business and liked to hang out with his pals more than with her. After five years of marriage, Ford filed for divorce.
She then married Gerald Ford in Grand Rapids in I just feel like I can make a big difference in their future so I want to continue to do as much as I can. Q: Was there ever a time when you and your mother were estranged because of her drinking? When she threw me out of the house and called me a monster and said I never want to see you again, I mean, that was really a very painful time.
I always talked to my mother probably three to four times a week. If we all could live like that, I think it would certainly be a better world. I love alcoholics because I like to be in control. I need to work my own program. Q: You alluded to this and I really want to make sure I get this right. It is for children who are basically from the age of 8 to 12 whose parents are either addicted or alcoholics or whatever.
We do it in Denver, we do it in Rancho Mirage, and we do it in Texas. They get off to college, they start using and start down that road, and who do they call? Q: This issue is obviously very personal. Continue to try to help them and love them. Love them and keep trying. Cindy Uken is a respected, award-winning journalist who is persistent in getting the details of a news story so readers will be better informed about political, healthcare and veteran news.
She is a veteran journalist who brings a fresh perspective to local online political news. As the CEO of Uken Report, she is driven by providing an alternative digital platform for the latest breaking online news throughout the Coachella Valley. About The Author. Cindy Uken Cindy Uken is a respected, award-winning journalist who is persistent in getting the details of a news story so readers will be better informed about political, healthcare and veteran news.
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