The Watergate coinage was followed by a two-year linguistic silence: Gerald Ford's presidency was unique in this century for not producing a single memorable phrase. . . . Reflecting his caretaker presidency, Mr. Ford's language provided time for lexicographers to digest the tumult of the 1973-74 period and to prepare for a return to normal phrase production.
—William Safire, American journalist, Safire's New Political Dictionary, 1993