Respect for the Office
The Vietnam War officially ended on April 30, 1975, after President Ford ordered the evacuation of all U.S. personnel from the country.
Mike Mansfield later reflected: "We'll be paying for that war financially into the middle of the next century...A tragic mistake. We had no business there." (Interview with Mike Mansfield, 1989, OH 458-001)
Senator Mike Mansfield with the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford, 1976. Mss 065, Photo Number: 95.0041.
Despite his objections to the war, Mansfield treated each president and their administration with respect. The Washington Post noted in his obituary, “Despite his strong disagreements with White House policy, Mansfield took pains to maintain civil relations with the presidents during his years as majority leader.”
In an interview with his biographer Don Oberdorfer, Mansfield discussed the distinction between the institution of the presidency and the president. "...no matter what I said about the president, I think I made it very clear, without any exceptions, that I was against the war...I wasn't against the institution, that's what it amounted to, and it's the institutions that count. Presidents come and go, and members of the House and Senate come and go, but it's the institutions that really are important. That's what I didn't want to weaken." (Intervew with Mike Mansfield, October 20, 1999, OH 391-011)