Former US President Gerald Ford considered Bill Clinton a sick sex addict, who needed immediate treatment. A new book based on interviews given by Ford to journalist Thomas DeFrank reveals that the late President thought that while Hillary Clinton 'wore pants', Bill could not keep his zip closed.

"He's sick - he's got an addiction. He needs treatment," Ford told DeFrank in 1999, post Clinton's infamous sex scandals with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Ford gave several interviews to the Washington Bureau Chief of the Daily News, before his death in December 2006, on condition that De Frank would publish it only after his death.

The Fords, who met the Clintons in 1993, also stood by their claim of offering help to Bill. "You know, there's treatment for that kind of addiction," http://www.smh.com.au/ quoted Ford's wife Betty, as saying to DeFrank.

"A lot of men have gone through the treatment with a lot of success. But he won't do it, because he's in denial," she added. Gerald Ford said that at the height of the Lewinsky affair, he offered his help to him, if he agreed to admit that he was lying, which Clinton refused to agree to.

Ford was stunned by Clinton's lack of remorse and said, "It's a character flaw." Though Ford described Hillary as an iron-willed lady, he was unsure that America was ready for a "lady president" before his death.