Ford also didn't flinch when the Federal Reserve's anti-inflation tightening plunged the U.S. into its worst economic downturn since the 1930s. (Sadly, the gains against inflation--the rate had fallen almost three-fourths by the time Ford left office--were lost, and then some, under President Jimmy Carter.) And, unlike the current White House occupant, President Ford readily used his veto pen on excessive spending bills and other legislation he thought harmful.

FORBES: These Numbers Don't Figure