Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Setota Hailemariam Send tips | Subscribe here| Email Alex | Email Max As JOE BIDEN struggles to contain the fallout over historic inflation and various foreign crises, he and his aides are reportedly fretting comparisons to another Democrat who faced similar trials during his first term in the White House. The JIMMY CARTER legacy may be haunting the White House, but Carter may not be the most apt comparison for what Biden is going through. The better analogy, some historians suggest, is GERALD FORD. Both men succeeded scandal-plagued presidents. Ford stepped in after RICHARD NIXON resigned, knowing he was about to be convicted in a Senate impeachment trial; Biden defeated DONALD TRUMP, who was impeached and acquitted twice. Both Ford and Biden oversaw chaotic withdrawals of U.S. troops from collapsing countries: Ford from Vietnam and Biden from Afghanistan. Both also grappled with messaging over soaring inflation. Ford’s “Whip Inflation Now” campaign, remembered mainly for the WIN lapel buttons he encouraged everyone to wear, flopped. Biden has had no luck containing gas prices as they skyrocket. He concedes that “inflation is the bane of our existence,” but his administration has struggled on how best to talk about it to voters — aside from blaming VLADIMIR PUTIN. Ford and Biden also share similar temperaments, in addition to a proclivity for gaffes. Ford is by far a stronger comparison to Biden than Carter, said DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, a presidential historian at Rice University who has written books on both Ford and Carter. “Their shared style is to be even-keeled, patriotic, and not divisive. They both saw themselves as calming influences on a volatile republic,” he said. They’re also both creatures of Washington, with long congressional careers — Ford in the House and Biden in the Senate — before jumping to the White House. Carter, by contrast, was a one-term governor from Georgia before being elected. “Carter knew nothing in Washington. Nothing. And Jerry Ford had lived in Virginia forever, in a regular ranch house, and knew everybody in Washington the way Biden knew everybody,” Brinkley said. The contemporary political dynamics have also colored the Ford and Biden presidencies in similar ways. Both men helmed their political parties in times of increasing internal division. The moderate Ford entered office as the Republican party began to move harder to the right, weakening his standing when he ran for a second term. “That conservative wing was challenging the moderates when it came to the direction of the party. We saw this in ’76 when Ronald Reagan, from the conservative wing, challenged Gerald Ford, and really took the [primary] race to the very end,” said SCOTT KAUFMAN, a presidential historian at Francis Marion University who also has authored Ford and Carter biographies. Biden faces similar struggles, as moderate Sens. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) and KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.) butt heads with party progressives and foil major Democratic legislative priorities. There are limits to the parallels between the two presidents, though. Biden was elected to office, Ford was not. Ford also pardoned Nixon, while Biden has amplified his warnings about Trump’s conduct. But historians say there are lessons Biden can learn from Ford’s failures, mainly the need to present a sharper vision to the public. “Whether you like Donald Trump or not, ‘Make America Great Again’ resonated with a large segment of the American people. It offered a simple vision,” said Kaufman. “Biden has to find a way to make that vision clear to the American people, and right now, I just don’t see much messaging coming from the White House.” Biden, like Ford, views himself as an “above-board player,” Brinkley said. But being willing to meet political opponents with an open heart doesn’t always portend electoral success. “It’s a very mean civil world out there right now and to want to be above the fray is a hard act,” he said. Biden’s inclination to stay above the fray was evident on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday, when the president said he wasn't interested in emulating the type of politics shown by his opponents. “Look, I often get asked, ‘Well, the Republicans don’t play it square. Why do you play it square?’ Well, guess what?” he said. “If we do the same thing they do, our democracy will literally be in jeopardy.” Biden’s tendency toward valuing civility above all else perhaps reflects a longing for a Washington that may no longer exist. It also could risk distancing himself from the heart of his own party, leaving him in the dark about where his fellow Democrats stand. “So he's kind of holding the fort down, instead of perhaps leading,” said Kaufman. TEXT US — Are you ALEX PASCAL, special assistant to the president for domestic policy? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous if you’d like. Or if you think we missed something in today’s edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal/Wickr Alex at 8183240098.
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