The President Ford Thread.

[michaelskis]

Well unless you have been under a rock for the past 24 hours, President Ford will be laid to rest next week here in downtown Grand Rapids at the Ford Museum. I am sure it is not too much of a big deal, but living about a mile or so from all of the hoopla it is impossible not to notice it here.

He grew up in a house around the corner from where I live now, and the Fiancée and I are looking at buying a house down the street that is a multi-fam. Well I found out that it was Jerry and Betty’s first apartment when they were first married.

Here is a man that is so much a part of history, healed a nation, and come to find out that he was not even born with the name that he has now. Additionally, he had offers from both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to play pro-ball, but decided to go to Yale Law School and be a coach there instead.

What do you remember about this legendary “Good Guy” who helped turn the page on what could have been a national crisis? Do you think that it was wrong for him to pardon Nixon?

Rest in Peace Jerry, I will swing by to visit sometime.

[noottamevas]

I always found it interesting that he served as Vice President and President, but was elected to niether.

[mgk920]

I always found it interesting that he served as Vice President and President, but was elected to niether.

And he had aspirations towards neither office. His career goal was to be Speaker of the House.

Mike

[Zoning Goddess]

We got a day off from work for Reagan's funeral. Bet that doesn't happen this time.

[Richmond Jake]

Justice for some, pardons for the privileged few clearly guilty of high crimes. Sounds fair to me.

I’m old enough to remember coming home from school and watching some of the House Judiciary Committee hearings. Nixon nearly destroyed this country with his actions. I’m not convinced the pardon brought this country to the position of “healing.” A shameful period for the republic, with President Ford holding the throttle on the final approach.

[AubieTurtle]

I don't know why Ford pardoned Nixon. Certainly I'd like to believe that it was for the stated reason of allowing the country to move on past such a dark part of its history. I have to wonder though if Nixon had been forced to pay for his crimes, would we still have this culture of corruption in our government? Would our politicans be so willing to lie to our faces and ignore the laws that the rest of us are expect to follow if they knew there was a good chance that they would end up in PYITA prison? At the highest levels, I suspect there is an expectation that as long as they are following the wishes of those pulling the strings that they can do anything and get pardoned or otherwise have the government manipulated to avoid punishment (and even get rewarded with a high paying lobbyist or "think tank" job).

Maybe in the short term it helped us move on but I think that in the long run, it would have been better for our goverance for Nixon to have been held accountable, just as everyone should be held, including presidents.

[Planit]

Does anybody still have a "Whip Inflation Now" button? the Red button with white letters WIN was a must in the 70s.

He was a good man put in a difficult position - he did very well.

[Fat Cat]

I remember first meeting President Ford when he was a Congressman, and I was a young man, he belonged to a fraternal organization that I was a member of. He was a very kind man who took time to talk to me as if I was the only one in the room, and did not talk down to me because of my youth and inexperience. I met him later when I worked for a two star general and he had not changed. I was not ignored even though I was the junior person each time there was a meeting.
So I believe I "he thought he was doing the right thing" and I respect him for that.
I have met others of his status and can say the same for some of them.

[Dan]

He was the only president I met personally. Granted, I was ten years olf at the time, but still, it left a lasting impression on me. I always had a lot of respect for him. His "President for all of America" speech was ahead of its time. He provided a much-needed time of respite in Washngton, following a decade of chaos.

[Gedunker]

Justice for some, pardons for the privileged few clearly guilty of high crimes. Sounds fair to me.
<snip>
I’m not convinced the pardon brought this country to the position of “healing.” A shameful period for the republic, with President Ford holding the throttle on the final approach.

Given what we have seen over the past decade in the way of celebrity trials, the whole Monica Lewinsky debacle, even Saddam's trial, do you still think that Ford was wrong? I can't imagine what we would have gone through with Nixon being dragged from court to court, cameras and klieg lights would have been almost as ubiquitous as spinmeisters and talking heads. The country most certainly would have come to a grinding stop and been completely ungovernable. And what if Nixon had been ... gulp ... acquitted? Remember, OJ got off ...

As distasteful as it appeared, it was the right thing to do, IMO.

[Planificador Urbano]

WASHINGTON Dec 28, 2006 (AP)— Former President Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified, the Washington Post reported Wednesday night.

In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney Ford's White House chief of staff and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his secretary of defense.

[Suburb Repairman]

To insert some levity...

While on a visit to San Antonio he was offered a tamale. He ate the whole thing, including the husk (which you are not supposed to do) and ended up with his face looking like a mess. It was a noble attempt to blend with local culture, but he just didn't quite pull it off.

[otterpop]

There was an article in today's newspaper about Ford's stint as a seasonal ranger in Yellowstone. Part of his duties was riding guard on the truck that fed the bears (thankfully the rangers do not do that anymore). Ford was quoted as saying it was the best sumer job he ever had and coworkers were quoted saying good things about him.

He was a good man. He believed the best of people. Survived two assassination attempts in the space of four weeks, but it did not change him. He stayed a regular guy in unusual circumstances. He was decent and modest. He tried to do what was right. That is a good legacy.

[Miles Ignatius]

When Mr. Ford ascended to the Oval Office, the country was falling out of the Vietnam War in an unceremonious manner, the economy was sliding and there a universal cynicism about the role of government in our lives following the abuses of the Watergate era.

I thought Gerald Ford did a noble job in seeking to overcome those conditions although at the time I was troubled with the Nixon pardon.

Whoever follows G.W. will be well advised to take a page from the book of this good and decent man as he or she will likely be grappling with similar issues.

[AubieTurtle]

Whoever follows G.W. will be well advised to take a page from the book of this good and decent man as he or she will likely be grappling with similar issues.

Are you seriously suggesting that if it turns out that the current president committed crimes while in office that the next president pardon him? What would a president have to do to be held accountable for his actions? Get caught in bed with dead gay nun?

I saw on the news that the president is not going to attend Ford's state funeral but will attend later services. While I'm sure it has happen before, especially back in the days before easy transportation across the country, when was the last time a sitting president skipped the official state funeral for an ex-president?

[Miles Ignatius]

Are you seriously suggesting that if it turns out that the current president committed crimes while in office that the next president pardon him? What would a president have to do to be held accountable for his actions? Get caught in bed with dead gay nun?

A.T. - No, certainly not.

I was merely pointing out the next occupant of the office will face problems [arguably larger and more complex in scale] similar to what faced Mr. Ford in 1974.

I do expect the Congress will undertake reviews of Bush administration policy and actions in Iraq and where that leads is something we'll have to watch for.

[Bear Up North]

President Ford was a decent man, thrown into a tough position. Although I did not "hate" President Nixon, I was glad to see him resign. Ford was a breath of fresh air.

Spiro Agnew......he was the ultimate in a politican that you could hate. It was a pleasure to see Spiro caught in a crime and having to resign.....providing Ford with that first step.

The pardon didn't bother me as much as I expected. Like many others, we wanted to get back to normal political battles.

Ford's wife worked (back in the late 1940's) at a downtown Toledo department store. If this ole' brain is remembering correctly, "Magic" Johnson's wife also worked at that store, a few decades later.

BTW.....this would be a good time to once again view that great Watergate movie, "All The President's Men".

Bear

[JNA]

Only President that was an Eagle Scout.

As his motorcade stopped at the WW II Memorial, Eagle Scouts were there.

[Zoning Goddess]

Nope. We got a day off for Reagan's funeral but not for Ford's. Really, commissioners, they're both Republicans, what's the difference?? Maybe too close too the holidays?

(ZG being selfish and wishing tomorrow was a free day.....)

[Richmond Jake]

.... Maybe too close too the holidays?.....

Caught you...caught you!!!! Typo!!!!

[Bear Up North]

Caught you...caught you!!!! Typo!!!!

Careful, RJ.....she's grouchy from the kids and she might be playing with a lose cannon.

Bear Conrad