This video titled former President Gerald Ford"s Lecture at Elon College was held in the Alumni Memorial Gym in 1986. The video and audio included: Gerald Ford walking into the Alumni Memorial Gym; Dr. J. Earl Danieley was the first one standing to applaud Ford"s entrance (great shot); Shane Jones, President of the Elon College Student Government Association (SGA) spoke at the podium first with a welcome to former President Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., (38th President of the United States); Ford"s original name Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; the lecture was sponsored by the SGA (Student Government Association) and the Elon"s Liberal Arts Forum; President J. Fred Young introduction of a special guest" Governor James Grubbs (Jim) Martin (Ford stated, he believed this was Elon"s largest crowd for a liberal forum lecture. Who said the liberal arts are dead. Most of the Elon Board of Trustees was in attendance, as well as a very large number of special guests of Elon College. We are honored to have three members of the North Carolina Assembly " Representative Bertha Merrill (B) Holt, Representative Samuel Rector Hunt, III, and Representative James (Fred) Bowman. Two of the three guests are Elon College graduates. Our local delegates have always been supportive of Elon College. We also have on our campus, Governor James Grubbs (Jim) Martin). Martin introduced the former President Gerald Ford. In addition, Martin paid tribute to Thaddeus Armie (Thad) Eure, who was in his 50th year in serving in North Carolina politics. Twice in the United States history a president has been called up to bind the wounds of our nation. In both of these situations, the responsibility was upon the same Republican party. The first was Abraham Lincoln (16th President of the United States) and the second was Ford. Both men had vision, courage, and greatness. Had these men not held these qualities, our nation might be different in 1986. The first event was re-uniting a people just after the Civil War. Lincoln rose to heal the nation. The second event took place in the 1970s which tore the nation apart with "Watergate." President Nixon was being driven from the presidency. The new president, Ford, restored the confidence of our nation. President Ford began to address the problems that faced our nation. During Ford"s first year in office, unemployment was reduced by some 2 percentage points. Employment rose by 2 million workers. Inflation was eased. A new peace treaty was negotiated between Israel and its Arab neighbors. New policies were made with the Soviet Union and China. America once again became united and resolved. As Vice President, Ford helped to support our nation. As president, Ford helped to heal our nation. Ford began his lecture which included: Ford congratulated the new Governor Martin and congratulated the North Carolina people for selecting the Republican ticket. Ford expressed a great attribute to Martin"s introduction of Ford. Ford stated, you never know what kind of introduction you are going to receive when speaking at a lecture. Ford said, he needed the moral buster. He discussed how Betty Ford was more popular than him. Ford talked about his son, Jack Ford, in politics in San Diego, California. His other son, Steve Ford, was a star in a soup opera called " The Young and the Restless. Ford stated that he had the privilege of meeting with some 50 Elon College students. Then he, Ford, attended a reception with Board of Trustees. He stated he thought he would receive international and political questions at the reception; instead, he received questions on how Ford"s golf game was doing (Wide shot with Alumni Memorial Gym). Ford said that he has played gold with a dear friend, Bob Hope. Ford believed Hope was truly an outstanding American in our country in 1986 for all of his entertainment service to our military. Ford said that he had a problem in which Hope has stated " Ford can make the golf game a combat sport and that Ford can play four golf courses, at the same time. Hope called Ford, the hit man for the PGA (Professional Golfers' Association) Ford discussed the jokes between himself and Hope. He continued to applaud Elon College and 135 colleges/universities. From this grass roots exposure of students " our country will be well served by this generation. Ford spoke to trustees about their generosity and the importance of giving to a private institution. Ford"s observations during the lecture were discussed into two parts: major domestic problems and major international problems. He discussed his views on how long candidates" campaigns lasted in the Unites States because of making promises during a campaign. The consequences of a long presidential campaign are burn-out of the potential president and voters get bored the November elections. How do we correct the situation? Ford believed, limit on how people can financially contribute to presidential campaigns. Make it a criminal offense to give or receive presidential campaign funds before January of the presidential election year. Money is the mother"s milk of politics, said Ford. Ford talked about the domestic policy that the United States Government was badly mismanaged with our Federal Fiscal Affairs. In 1986, the national debt was 2 trillion dollars. The annual interest paid on the national debt in 1986 was 175 billion dollars. That was cash paid out in interest out of a total budget for that fiscal year of 9 hundred billion dollars. What Ford objected to was that Congress advocated its responsibilities to make independent judgments on appropriation situations. This is why we elected House and Senate Congressional members. The video recording ended without Ford"s lecture completed. The Ford Lecture continued on Ford_Gerald_Lecture_Question_Answers_1986_002 video file.