Carter, Ford Urge Bush to Be Accessible

Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford said Wednesday that President-elect George Bush should be--and probably will be--much more accessible to the news media than President Reagan, and in a variety of ways.

They agreed that Bush currently enjoys good press. But Carter, referring to a label some critics have applied to Reagan’s seeming ability to avoid blame for bad news, added a warning for Bush, who takes office Friday:

“I don’t think he can count on the continuation of the eight years of the Teflon presidency. There may be some Velcro mixed in.”

That drew a laugh from the standing-room-only audience attending their discussion of the press and the presidency, held by the Gannett Center for Media Studies at Columbia University here.

With public-TV anchorman Robert MacNeil posing questions, the two former Presidents--relaxed and occasionally kidding each other and themselves--agreed that Bush, to help get his views and proposals to the public, should:

--Hold frequent, regular news conferences, with Ford proposing that he do so “every two or three weeks.”

--Hold small, informal gatherings with key print and network journalists to give them background on major issues and explain what he hopes to accomplish. Some of these could be held on an off-the-record basis, Ford said.

Bush, who many White House reporters think will be far more accessible than Reagan, should make his dealings with the press “a top priority” when he takes office, Carter said. Ford indicated agreement.

For Bush to succeed with his foreign and domestic proposals, Ford said, he needs the support of the public and the Congress--and to that end, Bush, between now and next week, “has to build, through the press, the momentum for whatever he’s going to propose.”

Ironically, Carter, in praising the incoming President and taking jabs at what he called Reagan’s avoid-the-press style, said he thought more press conferences and greater contact with the press by Bush probably wouldn’t help the new President.

“I think that President Reagan’s ability to stay aloof of the press or anything that was unpopular has paid extremely rich dividends for him in the image with which he’s presented to the American people,” said Carter, a Democrat defeated for reelection by the GOP’s Reagan in 1980.

“I think Bush is going to be one of those Presidents like Harry Truman--people who say, ‘The buck stops here,’ ” he added, suggesting that this approach would expose Bush more often to fire from critics.

On the other hand, he said, “I think President Reagan has been able to avoid that kind of responsibility in the public image because of his basic aloofness.”

Ford disagreed. Bush and Reagan have different styles, different personalities, he said, and if Bush “has good answers, he can do well in frequent press conferences. . . . If he has lousy programs or his answers to the challenges are not adequate, then he’ll have a tough time.”

According to a Gannett Center study, Reagan has held the fewest press conferences as President--50--since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Would Bush do better to be less available, as was Reagan?

“No,” Carter said. “That’s part of the presidency.” Ford agreed. If Bush ducks or tries to avoid the press, he said, “then I think he’s going to be far, far worse off” than if he faced them.