When Ford pardoned Nixon (before he was legally charged with any crimes) he secured his place in history as one of the most corrupt presidents America has ever known. He was surpassed by Richard Nixon, the man who gave him the presidency. We should not honor Ford. We should spit on his grave. And Congress at the time allowed it all to happen in the interests of "healing the country." Bullshit! Congress was too cowardly to take action. Those pigs should die in dishonor as well. Bush et al are just a recap of yesteryear.

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To the Masters and Gate keepers:

We know about Ford's connections to the Illuminati, CFR, Bilderbergs, and all his cover-ups to hide the truth from the people.
Not all of us out here are stupid/ignorant about your 'Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars'. www.lawfulpath.com

We know about how you stole our country and made us your slaves. Don't forget every empire has fallen in history and yours will too. This applies to you assh**es in Congress too. We know about our country's Bankruptcy of 1933 and how you surrendered our children and grandchildren to these evil Banker families.
www.afn.org www.articbeacon.com
'Mite'

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Ford was no NeoCon and did not govern like one. The filter people unconsciously (or not) apply to their memory still amazes me.

Ford came to office on very short notice and could not make the kind of decisions regarding appointments that any elected President could during a transition. Additionally, so many of the Nixon appointees had tarnished reps that he needed to bring in outsiders, so he went where someone who had served in the House of Representatives would- people he knew from his time in the House.

Choosing Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld also didn't dismantle anything in the party leadership- very important if you are attempting to govern with an opposing party legislature right after an ugly scandal. Put simply- it was a pragmatic call based upon people he knew that he could place without diluting his support in Washington. So much for that.

Jerry Ford ruled like the moderate he was and like someone who knew he had not been elected. He was one of the last of the traditional Republicans to hold National Office. So much was wrong and was broken the day he assumed office, it is amazing how well things were by the end of his brief tenure.

Something rarely mentioned these days was his then very controversial decision to grant amnesty to those who fled the US Draft during the Vietnam War. It didn't get him any brownie points and probably cost him more than a few votes in the very states that Carter carried in 1976. I would contend it probably cost him as many votes as his pardon of Nixon, and the 1976 election was very close.

His decision on New York City was not to 'Drop Dead' as the headline screamed- he simply waited to make sure that the city did all the proper things first before risking US taxpayer money to help NYC in the form of loan guarantees. There is nothing callous or irresponsible about fiduciary responsibility with public funds. That proper decision also cost him votes in NYC.

He proposed a 10 year investment in technology to help wean America from foreign oil and got only meager support on the Hill, something we can all regret today. President Carter pushed a similar agenda and didn't get very far either- also something to regret. Still- the meager funds that were appropriated seeded a lot of critical early R&D for the Solar and Wind technologies we have today.

Finally, a lot of pressure was put on him by conservative Democrats and Republicans to slow down or disengage from the diplomatic openings Nixon pioneered with China and the Soviet Union. Ford wisely continued that relationship which has paid great dividends and greatly reduced tensions between the Communist countries and the US.

Was he perfect- no. Was he highly effective- no. Was he the right guy for the job- yes. What we needed was a pragmatic centrist that was not a party hack and commanded the respect of the Democrats that controlled Capitol Hill. A steady hand in some very unsteady times. That is what he was and he served us well.

Rest in Peace- Mr President.

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As far as I'm concerned, Ford's legacy is that of interfering with justice by pardoning Nixon rather than allowing democratic process to deal with him as provided by the Constitution. Thus commenced the dangerous precedent of not requiring accountability of the highest official in the land.


If accountability is not required of the person in the position of the presidency, then it should not be required of anyone. The President is expected to set an example of the highest principles in our nation.


If the President is allowed to get away with "high crimes and misdemeanors," treason, mass murder, violation of international treaties, deceiving the public into sending their children to die in foreign wars and more, then why should anyone else be expected to abide by the law? The law and the Constitution which he has sworn to uphold have been rendered meaningless.

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I have read this peice and I have have read the comments that follow. I am the first person in line for condemnation of the likes of Rumsfeld, Cheney, and the Bush Clan, but this is both disgusting and disrepectful. I lived through the era of Vietnam, Nixon, Watergate, and all that has followed. The last person on this Earth who would have wanted the kind of government we have today or a Presidency that is a dictatorship was Gerald Ford. This was a man who instantly found himself in that position of power that the likes of Bush seek with a blood vengence.

Many of the people who have responded to this peice and the person who wrote it would have us believe that Gerald Ford was one step short of Satan, but the fact is that he was a President who was trying to save the Presidency for those who would follow; save this nation from a witch hunt that would have distracted us from the important tasks that we would face as we geared down from scandal and war; and bring peace between hawks and doves. He understood the importance of balance, but he could not possibly of known what would transpire nearly 30 years later as his appointees took the power he had denied them.

There is an old expression, You keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. While you have all villified Ford for his appointments, perhaps you should consider that Ford was a man of experience and he understood people well. The man he placed on the Supreme Court is not a Bush player and he has acted as a check on power. Ford knew he would. Ford also knew how Rumsfeld and Cheney would act from his experience with them in other positions, so he put them in positions where they would advise, but could not act without his permission. Even Bush Sr. could not act without direct orders, and not once during those brief years were any of these monsters allowed to reign unchecked.

So as you all quickly jump to condemn the dead, perhaps you ought to talk to those who lived through the brief term of Gerald Ford or at the very least, pay attention to history. Nixon's crime was cover-up and he was pardoned by a man trying to heal a nation quickly. Do you think that Nancy Pelosi by taking impeachment off the table for a monster who has taken away our personal rights is any different? Bush's crimes, and those of Cheney and Rumsfeld are far worse than Richard Nixon's, but they will probably get a free ride from Pelosi. So as you pass judgement on Gerald Ford, do not forget Pelosi, Reid, and the rest of Congress.

The dead are now in the hands of history, and we would do well to remember that Mr. Ford had family and friends who knew him far better than we who are hurting at the loss. Compassion is not a uniquely American trait, but perhaps it is one that could be well applied in these days so close to their loss. There is plenty of time to condemn in the years ahead as we continue to watch our nation descend into the madness of the Bush dictatorship. But as we condemn, remember we are the ones who created the society that created the Bushes, Rumsfelds, and Cheneys. Mr. Ford's place in history is set by the events of his time, and now the man should be allowed the dignity of those who have served this nation by being, however briefly, placed in a place that only a few in history have ever had to serve.

Mr. Ford, you have my respect as a father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and husband. You have my prayers for your soul and your family has my sympathy. And, contrary to most of these postings, you have the quiet respect of those of us who remember and understand what you tried to achieve as the leader of the nation. You served your constituency and your country well. May God have mercy on your soul, since apparently those who have posted here do not have the ability to grant the mercy they would so quickly claim for others.

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I've been puzzled by all the praise of Ford the past few days, but I guess it's not nice to pee n someone's grave. I didn't see him as a bad man, just a dumb one who was too often on the wrong side of the fense. They keep claiming that he saved us from falling apart as a nation at that time; I think he just happened to be an honest president, after Nixon and Johnson...he didn't have to do anything more. I still can't figure out why so many say that pardoning Nixon was the right thing to do. (It's a little like not impeaching Bush and Cheney!)

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I will never forgive Ford for pardoning Nixon, never! But I understand his reasoning. It's that elitist thing, you know, it's ok for the kid down the block to go to prison for having a little pot in his car, that's ok for the plebes but not for folks us (meaning those who have means).

Ford was a nice man. But he did some bad things. Maybe because he just wasn't all that smart. Maybe because he couldn't see further than his own good intentions. God save us from not very smart people with good intentions and power!

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There's an old joke that goes something like: Drop Dead ... Strong letter to follow. In addition to the cultivation of the careers of such authoritarians as Rummy and Cheney, the gullible Ford lent his name and reputation (Eagle Scout and all), to the excreable cover-up of the JFK assasination called the Warren Commission Report. A credible case has been made that JFK was killed by the New Orleans branch of the Mob, to remove the source of power from RFK, who was vigorously pursuing Mob cases. The mainstream commercial press continues to ignore some of the key corruption issues still prevailing: an FBI that no longer pursues the mob, the institutionalization of the drug trade (with a few headline cases to lull the public into believing the government cares about addressing the issue properly), and the nexus between the mob, drugs, untraceable money, the arms trade, and politics. The book by Michael Levine, A Big White Lie, shows that in Bolivia, the highest dealers received special protection, and when the DEA almost had a case ready for prosecution, it got shelved. Looking at Fords record, I'm sure there were plenty of cases shelved and overlooked, too. Part of the problem, I'm afraid.

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I beleive Ford in many ways was a decent man but very much deceived by those surrouinding him. As to the Nixon pardon, I believe good arguments can be made on both sides of the issue.

The biggest problem is Ford's appointment of CFRer/TCer Nelson Rocefeller as VP when he could have chosen someone who represented the people. Cheney, Bush Senior and Rumsfeld are also CFRers as were many of Ford's other appointments. In fact, IF my memory serves me right, Ford belonged to the CFR.

The CFR is a leading proponent of one world government and unilateral free trade both of which are destroying our Constitutional Republic.

I didn't vote for Ford in 1976 or for Carter. I had to write in a name or NOT vote at all.

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And I am tired of hearing him sanctified by merely living so long and breathing while in office. ANYONE who pardoned Nixon who, at the very least, should have gone to prison for AT LEAST a couple of months, ONLY set the stage for bastards like Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Bush to come along and figure there would be no repercussions for their war crimes in office, EITHER.

"HEALED THE NATION?" Lincoln is rolling over in his grave at that assessment. My ass, Ford took one look at the cancer inside of Amerika, held his nose and stiched up the wound just as fast as humanly possible, and then pronounced the terminal victim "cured."

Moron. Definitely tied Bush in the smarts department, and that's sad, because Bush fried HIS brains on drugs and alcohol.

Must have been all those football head butts that did it to Ford, or maybe he really was just that stupid after all. Certainly all the reporters sanctifying his Presidency right now qualify in the stupid category. I do realize they have a problem finding ANYTHING positive at all to say about his "Presidency", but for God's sake, just tell the truth. "Nothing at all notable, and the pardon of Nixon did irreparable harm setting the stage for much more horrific Republican war crimes against humanity later."

Eulogy finished. Thanks for the invitation.

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I see a lot of highly opinionated responses to this equally opinionated article. Just wondering: how many of the people here, so sure of their opinion of Mr. Ford, were even alive in 1974?

I did not know the guy. That is my opinion. At the time, I was too young to pay attention to White House scandals (although old enough to notice a rather rude replacement of Aliende with Pinochet a year before). Almost every person I talked to about the Nixon scandal could not remember who was next. And no, not all those people were like Beavis and Butthead, many even have advanced degrees.

My point is, the guy was probably (note, "probably" - I don't pretend to know for sure) inconsequential. He came in as a result of a major mess and left 2 years later. Was he a lovable charachter I heard about yesterday on the radio? Maybe. Was he a clumsy stooge? Maybe. I don't know.

I have two questions for you, hard-core "progressives":

1) Would your tone be the same if Mr. Ford had done exactly same things but happened to be a Democrat?

2) About this whole Rumsfeld and Cheney hoopla: didn't Carter take reins 2 years later? Where did those two protegees go?

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President Ford to New York: Drop Dead

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Does anyone else think it's peculiar that, lately, whenever an African American musical legend dies, the Republicans trot out one of their former presidents, to die? It really steals the thunder from the really important news of the loss of that artist and their legacy.

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Another deadbeat ex prez croaks, so what, who gives a shit? Oh, I forgot he's another made up hero or visionary who is/was going to save us all and the world. They are all GREAT AMERICANS and just what the country needed at the time, and just like BUSH who came along at just the right time. Another Fairy Tale, when they already know who our next president will be, so you know what we can do with your vote!

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NOTHING, except make money! Inspiring...

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I was 19 in 1974 and a concientious objector when Ford unconditionally pardoned Nixon. From Webster's:

"To absolve from the consequences of a fault or the
punishment of crime; to free from penalty;"

I was unhappy with it then and remain unhappy with it 32 years later.

The problem is that we the people never had a chance to get the details of Nixon's considerable illegal activities and to hear the dissembling of a crook, his apologists and cohorts.

I can understand why Ford might've chosen to pardon before a trial in which crimes were revealed and penalties levied. But the immediate full pardon instead preserved the opaque, secretive nature of the Imperial Presidency, guaranteeing future leaders like George W. Bush. When a president feels the heat of a subpoena or impeachment, he can always resign and get the VP to "pardon" him. In the best interest of the country to "move on," of course.

Forgiveness is toothless without the facts, without contrition, without admission of guilt.

I believe apology for wrong-doing is important for all involved. It is actually enshrined in the Lord's Prayer itself. Did we ever get an apology from Nixon? No reconciliation is possible with no truth available. No trial, no truth. Perhaps he was innocent of crimes and misdemeanors!

We'll never know. But a terrible precedent was begun that hasn't yet ended.

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The French!

The Clixons!

The unilateral surrender!

Let lib fiefdumbs ring (right next to Saddam)!

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