Gerald R. Ford was the most accidental of American presidents, but when he unexpectedly appeared at the crossroads of history, he seemed to have been placed there by a deliberate act of providence. In one important respect, Ford was different from most of his predecessors and all of his successors: He did not seek the presidency... Ford became the 38th president because of the shortcomings of others and because he had earned the trust of both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. When the corrupt Spiro T. Agnew was forced to resign as vice president, it was Ford's congressional colleagues who virtually forced President Richard M. Nixon to accept him as Agnew's successor. And when the embattled Nixon was finally engulfed by the Watergate scandal and forced to resign himself, it was the unimposing 'gentleman from Michigan' who inherited the leadership of a deeply troubled nation.

Politics·Leadership·History·Character