NRO noted the death of former first lady — and jealously protective wife — Betty Ford yesterday. I found a funny story about the Fords while researching my book, Intellectuals and the American Presidency. When the attractive Mexican-American singer Vikki Carr visited the Ford White House, she asked the president, "What is your favorite Mexican dish?" Ford, who infamously did not even know how to eat a tamale, told Carr, "You are." Mrs. Ford heard the exchange, and according to former White House military aide Stephen Bauer, said, "That woman will never get into the White House again." I couldn't quite fit the story in the text of my book, but I did manage to put it in the footnotes.
Betty Ford, Lioness
by Tevi Troy •
Cross-posted from National Review Online: The Corner
https://tevitroy.org/2011/07/betty-ford-lioness
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