Nessen recalls night of Ford's loss to Carter, Vietnam, Saturday Night Live

Ron Nessen, President Gerald Ford's White House press secretary and long-time NBC news correspondent, recalled the night of Ford's loss to former President Jimmy Carter during the Broadcast Committee's Oct. 1 monthly meeting.

Nessen recalled that he was in the Oval Office on election night 1980 watching the results on TV with Ford and other senior aides. As it became clear that Ford was going to lose his election bid to Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, the president announced he would go upstairs to the residence to watch the rest of the returns. As the president left the room, Nessen recalls he said, "Have a good night's sleep, Mr. President." Then he said he added in a much lower voice, "If you can."

Nessen believes Ford would have won the election were it not for the fact that Ford prospectively pardoned President Richard Nixon for Watergate crimes in an effort to save the nation the tumult that would have been caused by any prosecution of the former president.

Nessen revealed that his mother, who didn't even like the idea of his joining the Boy Scouts, would have really been upset if she could have seen him and his NBC crew bivouacked with a bunch of military men on a clearing in Vietnam, resting up until the daylight start of a patrol to seek out the enemy. Nessen was seriously wounded by grenade fragments during one of his multiple tours in Vietnam.

He reminisced about hosting "Saturday Night Live" (SNL)at the urging of Ford. The show's producers wanted Ford to appear, but the president's advisers frowned on the idea and offered up Nessen instead. Ford did record the iconic show opening shoutout - "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night." At the time SNL star Chevy Chase was popularizing his imitation of the president whom he portrayed as a stumbling oaf. "Nothing could be further from the truth," Nessen insisted. "He was an All-American football player."

The broadcast committee meets monthly and is open to interested members of the Club. It is chaired by former Club President Mark Hamrick, [email protected].