Episode Detail: Compromise Choices - American President
Franklin Pierce, James A. Garfield, Warren G. Harding and Gerald Ford---four “compromise choices”---are profiled in Part 8 (of 10). Of them, Ford was the most successful; Garfield was off to a promising start, but he died after just six months in office (1881). As for Pierce, a pro-Southern Northerner (1853-57), “he just wasn't up to the job,” says narrator Hugh Sidey. And Harding (1921-23)? “God help me,” he said, “for I need it.” Sidey interviews Ford. Voice of Harding: Benjamin Bradlee. Voice of Pierce: Sargent Shriver. Voice of Garfield: Rev. Billy Graham.
