HUMOR AND THE PRESIDENCY

From the Chief Executive many thought the most amusing in decades, a brief, light look at humor and its relation to the Presidency. In his introduction, Ford pal Edward Williams describes a sense of humor as ""indispensable to democracy. . .the ingredient lacking in all the dictatorships."" Ford follows with an examination of humor and the White House. Noting the importance of the President's relationship with the media, he stresses the need to create a warm, responsive bond with the audience. Humor accomplishes this by presenting the ""head of the free world"" in a comfortable light. (In the words of one political advisor, ""When the President is relaxed, the country is relaxed."") Ford draws on the sometimes biting opinions of political satirists, press agents, and cartoonists. Samples of teasing caricatures are shared, as well as presidential anecdotes--with JFK often in the spotlight. Acknowledging that the humorous barbs frequently hurt, especially when involving White House family members and, in particular, Ford's own renowned clumsiness, Ford still defends humor as crucial to any administration. Good-natured fluff.