Gerald Ford's America

The four-part series Gerald Ford's America scrutinizes the "first one hundred days" of the Ford presidency. In WIN (the title refers to the slogan "Whip Inflation Now"), the TVTV crew follows Ford on a goodwill tour of his old constituency in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Having promised to end the "national nightmare" of Vietnam and Watergate, Ford took office only to face inflation and a looming recession. Ironically contrasting political rhetoric with the reality of working and middle-class America, TVTV juxtaposes a main point of Ford's platform — that Americans should curb their spending habits — with a GOP fundraiser in which wealthy patrons bid extravagantly for a football once held by Ford.