Ford（American industrialist）made the mistake of trying toenter several fields with which he was not familiar.In 1918，forexample，he went into politics and tried to become a Unied StatesSenator.The Republican Party refused to accept him as a can-didate ，but then he turned to the Democratic Party ，which sup-ported him as a candidate.He was defeated，but，nevertheless，hesoon decided to try for the Presidency .Many people promised to vote for him，but then he changed his mind and decided notto become a candidate.Those who knew him best thought that theidea of“Ford for President”was not wise.His great friend Edisonsaid：“I would never vote for him for President，but as an inventorand businessman，I would vote for him—twice.”
福特曾经错误地试图涉足自己并不熟悉的一些领域。例如，1918年他曾经介入政治活动，打算作美国参议员。共和党拒绝接受他作参议员候选人，于是他转向民主党，该党支持他竞选。虽然他落选了，但他很快又决定竞选总统。许多人曾经答应投他的票，但后来他改变了主意，决定不作候选人。那些最了解他的人认为“福特当总统”的想法是不明智的。他的好友爱迪生曾经说过：“选他作总统我是不会投票的，但若是选他作发明家和商人，我愿意投他两次票。”