No one did more to solidify Mr. Ford’s unfortunate, and perhaps unfair, standing as the nation’s First Klutz than Mr. Chase, the “Saturday Night Live” cast member who routinely portrayed the president committing all manner of trips, flails and lurches.

Mr. Ford’s cheerful reaction to the sendup included doing a cameo for “Saturday Night Live” from the Oval Office; sending his press secretary, Ron Nessen, on the show; and appearing with Mr. Chase at a political dinner. That type of reaction became a benchmark of what would come to be an essential presidential image-making skill: an ability to laugh at oneself.

The interpretation:

“He was just so incredibly decent and good-natured about the skit,” said Lorne Michaels, the longtime producer of “Saturday Night Live.” Mr. Ford sent a signal, Mr. Michaels said, that it was all right to be lighthearted about the presidency after the ordeal of the Watergate years.

“You couldn’t imagine Nixon signaling that this was O.K.,” Mr. Michaels said. In a sense, he added, Mr. Ford was telling the country that “we could all move on from this.”

“This” referred to Watergate, and Mr. Ford, who was acutely aware of the public mood, was adept at using humor as a balm.