Gerald Ford represented Michigan in the U.S. House for 25 years, rising to House Minority Leader, before becoming Vice President in 1973 and President in August 1974 upon Richard Nixon’s resignation — the only person to have served as both Vice President and President without being elected to either office. His first address to Congress, delivered three days into his presidency amid severe inflation, is where this line enters the historical record in its now-famous form. Ford was a transmitter, not the author: by his own account he picked the saying up early in his political career, and it was already in print before he ever used it.