June 18. 2007 10:26AM

'Getting the UFO story told'

In 1966, during a rash of intense UFO sightings in his Michigan home district that drew international scrutiny, then-House Minority Leader Gerald Ford went to the mat for his voters and tried to sponsor open hearings on Capitol Hill.

“I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs,” he stated, “and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment on this subject.”

The compromise that followed was a University of Colorado whitewash known as the Condon Report, a ruse that gave the Air Force sufficient cover to terminate its public data-collection operations in 1969. When Ford moved into the White House, he never rose to that level of inquiry again. There’s an interesting analysis at www.presidentialufo.com/ford.htm

But yes, there was a time, long ago, when a guy like Ford could actually employ UFOs for as a campaign tool. California’s John Greenewald, who posts declassified government documents (UFO and otherwise) at www.theblackvault.com, located Ford’s classic response to a concerned Milwaukee resident in 1966:

“As you know, we Republicans are outnumbered in the Congress by more than 2-to-1, therefore I cannot be as effective as I would like to be because we simply don’t have the numbers. Your support for Republican candidates at the polls would be appreciated because we are going to need backing if we are going to be successful in getting the UFO story told.”

If, before it unveiled the Gerald Ford stamp last week that goes on sale in August, the U.S. Postal Service had solicited design suggestions, mine would’ve been subtle.

I’d stick with the conventional portrait, but add a couple of flying saucers in the background. They’d be sporting bumper snickers that read: “For Congressional Hearings, Vote GOP.” The print would be so fine, you’d need a scanning electron microscope to deciper it. Philatelists would demand an investigation. Partisan bickering and accusations of dirty tricks would follow . .