Word: honeymooning
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Reading the national newspapers and news magazines in the week since Gerald Ford became president has been like glancing at a notice in big black letters: CLOSED FOR HONEYMOON. At this crucial point of political transformation in Washington, we eagerly look to journalists to continue the superb reporting that has characterized the Watergate era. Instead, we are assaulted by a swarm of sugary platitudes that would lead us to believe that Shirley Temple has just been installed as our 38th president. Rather than reading about Gerald Ford's congressional record on civil rights, his position on welfare, his views...
...honeymoon between a newly-installed president and the press is traditional, and reporters have referred to it openly (and jokingly) in their stories of the past week. A trial period for a new man in office is only fair, of course--he must be allowed time to prove himself. Thus, in a now-famous 1968 cartoon for The Washington Post, Herblock captioned an empty barbershop chair, "Everyone who enters this shop receives a clean shave," signaling the suspension of a long-held grudge against incoming President Richard Nixon...
Congressmen and senators responded to Nixon's resignation last night with great relief and with the prediction that Gerald R. Ford as the new president will have a long "honeymoon" with Congress...
...falling apart. The country was nodding off. "The committee is drowning in a sea of material," complained one ranking Republican Congressman who was ready to vote for impeachment. The Democratic leaders in the House pressured Rodino to get on with it. "Peter," said one top-ranking Democrat, "the honeymoon is over...
...unfavorable chemistry notwithstanding, the press gave Nixon generally fair coverage in his 1968 campaign, and considerable admiration during his first term. Even the cartoonist Herblock, long one of Nixon's cruelest antagonists, observed the traditional honeymoon accorded new Presidents by giving the man a decent shave. Nixon hardly reciprocated. He installed an arrogant press secretary who treated the press shabbily. He dispatched Spiro Agnew and other sappers to harass the enemy. Aides like Clay Whitehead and Charles Colson sought to stifle network commentary as unfair...