, Columnist
Gerald Ford Vowed to Whip Inflation; It Whipped Him Instead
As a freshman senator, Joe Biden was in Washington to witness a notorious example of what not to do as a president leading during inflationary times.
Ford tried to enlist former Beatle George Harrison and leading keyboardist Billy Preston in his anti-inflation campaign.
Photographer: David Hume Kennerly/Hulton ArchiveThis article is for subscribers only.
After a year’s worth of debate, inflation is positively here, and so are growing calls for Joe Biden to counter it with his presidential powers.
So far, he’s mostly resisting them, preferring to reassure Americans that the worst is about to pass. That might be because of what he saw as a freshman senator during a particularly punishing stretch of President Gerald Ford’s short tenure.