Richard Norton Smith is a renowned historian, a former director of five presidential libraries, & author whose latest work - Ordinary Man - chronicles the life and career of Gerald Ford. In this conversation, we talk the insurgent rise of Ford as he takes on the local GOP machine, his ascent through the House GOP of the 50s and 60s, the fortuitous events that led him to become Vice President and then President upon Nixon's resignation, his very narrow loss in 1976, & why the Ford Presidency and his enduring impact on America is much more consequential than often realized.