Not an albatross, by any means. Quite the opposite. It was a highly courageous act that was sorely needed at the time. It allowed the nation to lick its wounds and move on.
Ford was a good President. As a country, we would have been far better served had he been elected on his own instead of Mr. Peanut.
That and the fact that you’re not Jon Lovitz.
While I was not alive during his Presidency, I respect the man. RIP sir. I wish I could have shaken your hand.
– IG
I think the pardon of Nixon was a choice that was implied in the deal that got Ford, and later Rockerfeller so smoothly into office. I don’t think it rises to the level of “great acts” or sinks to the level of “albatross.” The nation was in the middle of some of its worst times, and the president really was a crook, and everyone knew it. The one thing we needed was someone who could sit in the chair, not try to use it for personal political gain, nor let others walk over him for not doing so. That is a much harder path to follow than most people think.
Gerald Ford was not a great president, but he served the nation well in very hard times, and did so for the benefit of the nation, not his party, or himself. We lucked out. Then we dropped the ball. We do that a lot.
Tris
An absolutely decent man who took the job responsibilities absolutely seriously, and had no fear of the consequences of doing the right thing. He won’t get a monument on the Mall, no, but he was the ideal man for the job when it was thrust upon him.
We need many more like him now, and I’m sure they’re out there, just doing other jobs or simply staying in inside jobs in public service rather than elective ones. But the post-Watergate media which got the notion that their job was to bring people down, and the Gingrich-era media that embraced partisanship and dismisses facts, are a strong deterrent to anyone considering a public service career anymore. I don’t see who could be Bush’s Ford today; does anyone else?
This may be too soon to post, but this link shows the Nightline outtakes for the announcement of President Ford’s death.
Sgt Schwartz
I’m sure I am not the only federal employee who is thinking that if they gave us a day off of work for Nixon and Reagan, they’d sure better give us one for Unca Jerr!
One term and out, boys and girls. But please have the decency to kack when it is warm enough for me to remember you on the golf course.
I know that already, as I explained in the rest of the other post, I’m coming from the idea that no administration works in a vacuum, the trial of Nixon would had showed then what kind of people he had as [del]henchmen[/del] assistants, and it would had left a trail that many current bastards would not had been able to hide.
Still, on the whole, I’m on record as saying Ford was a good president.
I’m sure you were aware that only Nixon was pardoned. But if his henchmen were crooks, there isn’t any reason that they couldn’t have still been prosecuted. In fact, couldn’t Nixon have been forced to testify against them, since he would have no need of the fifth amendment?
Any sign of the invading Zimbabwean forces yet?
It was 1:15am and I misread it as saying Ford was the oldest living ex-president. Sorry :o .
But AFAICR once the big fish gets a pardon essentially the investigation is finished. The political life of many that then did go to cause similar or worse harm was spared.
You are actually making me think Ford was then a good Ostrich and that his decision was even worse than I thought it was.
GD thread. Enjoy! 