President Ford had a Homer Simpsonish quality as he never seemed at ease with the hand he was dealt. President Ford was dealt a bad hand a war in Vietnam, fellow travelers in the Senate obstructing the war effort and the trumped up Watergate scandal.
Any comparison of Richard Nixon's crimes and that of Bill Clinton reveals Clinton was far worse. Filegate alone was far more serious than Watergate and there is no evidence that Nixon took any money such as selling pardons via Hugh Rodham. Yet the media would do a 180 and cover up Clinton malfeasence. In the end Ford pardoned NIxon and it was the right thing to do.
Out of office President Ford got involved with Amway a major wrong. However, he is lucky in that Jimmy Carter and Bill Clintoon have engaged in odious behavior. One need not look any farther than Jimmy Peanut to see a disaster in the Whitehouse.
In many ways Ford had an everyman quality in that he appeared to have a next door neighbor quality. His falls and his bumbling were somehow endearing. Rest in Peace Mr President and you were a far better President than anyone ever gave you credit for.
Beamish in 08
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As the nation prepares for the funeral rites, President Ford is getting a lot of good press. This morning's lead headline in the WaPo reads "38th President Leaves A Legacy of Healing."
On the INS tests who was the 38th President is a popular question. Some of the answers are quite funny.
Pres. Ford was a good man and a gentleman. I have nothing but respect for him.
May G*D have mercy on his family and comfort them!
Good morning, G*D bless and Maranatha!
tmw
Ford pursued an appeasement policy of "detente" with the Soviet Union that pretty much killed his re-election hopes among conservatives. In 1976 it was obvious that the GOP was Ronald Reagan's party. Even Ford took up Reagan's slogan "peace through strength" but it was too little too late, and he didn't mean it. It's doubtful he was all that versed in geopolitics - Recall his debate with Jimmy Carter - "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford Administration." - Ford wasn't the sharpest pencil in the cup on international policy. This is the guy who gave weapons to Suharto in Indonesia to bring about the massacre of 150,000 people in East Timor.
Had Reagan won the GOP nomination in 1976, there would never have been the Carter presidency and the subsequent fall of 14 nations to Communism, and perhaps the Iranian Islamic revolution would have failed and maybe Saddam Hussein would have never come to power in Iraq.
The legacy of Ford is this:
He didn't want to be President, and it shows.
I do remember the Eastern Europe gaffe but that was part of Ford's charm. He had an endearing quality in that he appeared as everyman. Give me Ford's gafes over the sanctimonious Jimmy Peanut or the Narcicist from Arkansas.
Reagan had the fortune to follow the most incompetant President ever.
At the time of that debate, the Soviet Union had been militarily dominating Eastern Europe for close to 30 years. This isn't a gaffe made someone genuinely informed of geopolitics. In context, this debate was taking place just under a year after the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia were well on their way to adding 3 million corpses to leftism's 20th Century body count.
I'm sorry. It strains credulity to think of Ford as anything other than a man too small for his shoes.
Amen Beak! He wasn't a great President in my mind, but he was a good man with a good heart. May God Bless his family!
morning, beak - this is a lovely tribute.
what they did to this man at d.u. is quite another ugly thing - only they are capable of.
i wonder if any of us would be so cruel when someone like carter passes?
Ford was a liberal.
Comparing Nixon and Clinton and saying "ones crime was worse than the other" is like saying "hey at least i didn't rape her, i just killed the lousy woman!"
Nixon was a criminal, and should have faced charges, Ford did the right thing to move this country forward from the Corruption of the Nixon administration.
The rights bashing of Clinton, and constant denial of Nixon's criminal acts is just laughable, and shows what i always say, Wingers are always blind to the truth.
Lets see Filegate alone was far more serious than Watergate. None of Nixons critics ever asserted he abused his office for financial gain. Selling Pardons is a fact and Hugh Rodham was tied into many of these. Then there is the cattle futures that Hillary cleaned up on, right.
Nobody ever accused Nixon of rape or sexual harassment either. Clinton's crimes exceed Nixon's and any comparison between the two is an insult to Nixon.
a sexual indescretion that cost him his law license for five years.
Hillary has yet to sleep in the same bed as Billy boy due to his oval mouth incident with Monica. Bizarre how so many high-profile Clinton buddies "died" while he was in office. Ron Brown and Vince Foster just to name a few...accidents my foot.
Kuhnkat,
In your partial list of Clintonian crimes you forgot to mention wiretaps on any American citizen with ties to Princess Diana.
Ford was a liberal.
Well, yeah...
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