Gerald Ford had been in the unenviable position of becoming the House Republicans' leader following the 1964 debacle, in which his troops were reduced to a minority of 140, as against 295 Democrats. Then again, as Mr. Buckley suggests, there was nowhere to go but up, and the GOP had rebounded nicely in 1966. Mr. Ford-as the nation would learn more extensively a few years later on-is not the liveliest speaker, but he does a good job of explaining what he and his colleagues mean by "constructive alternatives" to the Democrats' initiatives, and there are some good exchanges-e.g., on the minimum wage, and on Hubert Humphrey. WFB: "And [Humphrey] may have an interesting future." GF: "Well, not as interesting as he would like, but it is going to be interesting."