As Ford recalled, "We had had a tough spring -- the problems in Vietnam and the
economy. We got hit with a serious recession right after the first of the
year, and we took some tough actions and we were only beginning to see the
turnaround of the economic situation -- only the slightest beginnings. So the
month of May was not a good month, period, in the country, from our point of
view."Pueblo incident when I was in Congress, I immediately connected the
two. Obviously there were differences. One was an American military ship, the
other a merchant vessel. But it was an action by a Communist government, one
North Korean. . .and in this instance, Cambodian. . . .Without being critical
of the people who were in charge at the time of the Pueblo, I didn't
want to be negligent in letting the situation get out of hand. I feel it is
always better to be more aggressive than to be sitting back and finding that
things have gotten out of your control by your inaction. . . .My intuitive
reaction was that if we do the same as we did in the Pueblo, these
people could be held there for a year."who the Congress is. Obviously he can't consult
with 535 people, but nevertheless the Congress places great emphasis on
it."Mayaguez --
never."
Instead, Carter chose to dramatize the issue, vowing to avoid leaving
Washington until the hostages were freed. (In his memoirs he wrote, "My
postponing political activities would let the world know how seriously we
continued to view these disturbing circumstances."