President Gerald Ford, dead aged 93

Bride of a Bull · #1 12-27-2006, 03:06 AM

With the deaths of Charlie Drake (olde style British comic) and James Brown over Christmas, the "things always come in threes" qualifier is the death of the only US President appointed rather than elected.

He presided over a wounded and faltering America (Viet Nam & Watergate) and tried to set in place policies that he hoped would "heal the wounds."

Some say he was not elected the only time he stood as the Republican Party candidate because he had pardoned Richard Nixon. We shall never know for sure.

But, for the most notably clumsy President on record, also RIP, Prez Ford.

terminalfrost · #2 12-27-2006, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bride of a Bull

But, for the most notably clumsy President on record, also RIP, Prez Ford.

It alwyas amazes me that he had the 'clumsy' moniker - he was a star athlete in college (football and track), and chose Yale law school over the NFL.

I always liked Ford's mild-mannered personality - he was never stuck on himself...seemed like a genuine guy (which is very rare in American politics...)

RIP, Mr. Ford!

midnight_rider · #3 12-27-2006, 05:00 PM

I don't guess I was around in his time, but from what I read he was a good guy....

DeathTöngue · #4 12-27-2006, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bride of a Bull

But, for the most notably clumsy President on record, also RIP, Prez Ford.

Hm. I think thanks for that should go to Chevy Chase, if you recall the opening monologues from Saturday Night Live for those two years.

I've always felt that Ford was a massively underrated president, mostly for the reasons you state - but I wish I had him to look back upon rather than that
bumbling nitwit who took the 1976 election. He nearly won, anyway.

"The state of the Union is not good." What other President has ever had the guts to say that?

GeraldTheMouse · #5 12-28-2006, 02:00 AM

Also partial amnesty for (something along the lines of) 220,000 draft dodgers. Heal the nation indeed!

Simon · #6 12-28-2006, 06:27 AM

Quote:

I also noted in the May post that on September 21, 1999, Sander Thoenes, a former colleague of mine at The Moscow Times, was murdered in East Timor, almost certainly by Indonesian military forces, while covering the last throes of Jakarta's fury before East Timor won its independence – another fact to be recorded with the high and mighty deeds of Gerald R. Ford.

[For more on how the enduring legacy of Gerald R. Ford in Indonesia has been erased from history, see this post from Dennis Perrin: Airbrushing the Dead.]

It's unlikely that we will hear very much about these aspects of Gerald R. Ford's enduring legacy in the innumerable encomiums that will fill the corporate media in the coming days. There the focus will undoubtedly be on the way Ford "healed the nation" by thwarting the course of justice and keeping the most depraved operators of the Nixon gang in power. But as a public service, we thought it only fitting to recall these triumphs of the 38th President of the United States.

Full Story

cheers,

GeraldTheMouse · #7 12-28-2006, 04:12 PM

I'm divided on that 'healing the nation' thing. I agree that a Nixon trial would have fairly halted all US news operations indefinitely (think the Lewinski scandal & impeachment times 45,000), and it was nice for the nation to 'get past' its 'long national nightmare,' but come on-- Nixon was guilty of perjury, several counts of conspiracy, misuse of government funds, tax fraud, violations of federal banking and security laws, et al., and he spent his latter years in luxury, with not a hint of acknowledgement of his crimes-- he never even thanked Ford for the pardon. Is this a precedent to set, one that 'heals the nation'?

Young_Poet · #8 12-29-2006, 01:02 PM

Ya can't heal a nation with a band-aid...RIP Mr. Ford

Not Now John · #9 01-02-2007, 02:08 PM

While I am sure that Ford was a spectacular human being, he was not a great president. I agree with Gerald, the reasons he listed though are not the whole story. The pardon also kept a potentially innocent man from exonerating himself, left with a cloud of doubt over his head for all the remaining deeds he did for the country.

Mark Dwyer · #10 01-02-2007, 09:17 PM

For once in my life i agree with Gerald the Mouse. Nixon was a rat and Ford let him go which was wrong. But Ford never really wanted to be president he just happened to be next in line. As far as I could see Ford was not a bad president or a bad person.RIP President Ford.

GeraldTheMouse · #11 01-03-2007, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Now John

While I am sure that Ford was a spectacular human being, he was not a great president. I agree with Gerald, the reasons he listed though are not the whole story. The pardon also kept a potentially innocent man from exonerating himself, left with a cloud of doubt over his head for all the remaining deeds he did for the country.

Yeah, Nixon actually did some pretty great things before he revealed himself to be absolute slime. It's a little amusing to see historians attempt to negotiate this whenever they're doing those little 'Rate the Presidents' wankfests.

tony romo · #12 01-04-2007, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeraldTheMouse

Yeah, Nixon actually did some pretty great things before he revealed himself to be absolute slime. It's a little amusing to see historians attempt to negotiate this whenever they're doing those little 'Rate the Presidents' wankfests.

Nixon's re-election slogan:

Don't change dicks in the middle of a screw
Vote for Nixon in 72'

President Gerald Ford, dead aged 93

Just babbling...