what did gerald ford do?
President of the United States
entailment
 Ford 's private criticism of the Vietnam War became public following a speech from the floor of the House , in which he questioned whether the White House had a clear plan to bring the war to a successful conclusion . The speech angered President Johnson , who accused Ford of playing " too much football without a helmet " . 

entailment
 One of Ford 's greatest challenges was dealing with the continued Vietnam War . American offensive operations against North Vietnam had ended with the Paris Peace Accords , signed on January 27 , 1973 . The accords declared a cease fire across both North and South Vietnam , and required the release of American prisoners of war . The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and , like the Geneva Conference of 1954 , called for national elections in the North and South . The Paris Peace Accords stipulated a sixty @-@ day period for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces . 

entailment
 Despite surgery for a brain aneurysm in June 1972 , Ford attended the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami Beach , Florida . He supported Edmund Muskie for president , but later greeted nominee George McGovern when he visited Kentucky . The convention was the beginning of Ford 's role in national politics . Offended by the McGovern campaign 's treatment of Democratic finance chairman Robert Schwarz Strauss , he helped Strauss get elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee following McGovern 's defeat . As a result of his involvement in Strauss ' election , Ford was elected chair of the Democratic Governors ' Conference from 1973 to 1974 . He also served as vice @-@ chair of the Conference 's Natural Resources and Environmental Management Committee . 

contradiction
 A series of voiceovers called STRIKE Files outline the origins of STRIKE . One such file has General Earle detailing the organization 's mandate to US President Bill Clinton after his inauguration in January 1993 . In the tape , Clinton is unaware that STRIKE prevented a civil war in Mexico in 1982 which could have turned the country into a secret Warsaw Pact member @-@ state . 

entailment
 Upon assuming office , Ford inherited Nixon 's Cabinet . During Ford 's brief administration , all members were replaced except Secretary of State Kissinger and Secretary of the Treasury William E. Simon . Ford 's dramatic reorganization of his Cabinet in the fall of 1975 has been referred to by political commentators as the " Halloween Massacre " . One of Ford 's appointees , William Coleman , as Secretary of Transportation , was the second black man to serve in a presidential cabinet ( after Robert C. Weaver ) and the first appointed in a Republican administration . 
