President Ford RIP

[JimBob]

That he chose the easy way out and pardoned Nixon shows a complete lack of conviction, and that he was very much a "fill in" President.

Why? Nixon was disgraced and out of the Presidency. Rather than have it drawn out in front of the nation Ford made it history and moved the nation forward. If you want to see how an arduous Presidential trial goes look at Clinton's. That did nothing to help the nation.

[Divinus Arma]

I find it ammusing by how little anyone here actually cares about this, but yet how saturated the news media is with this.

Way too much pomp for one man. Very few men deserve such a dog and pony show, and being President alone does not, in my lowly opinion, merit such grandeur.

I would rather see this for each man killed defending his nation. And every crippled troop should be honored similarly.

Crapola 100%.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Way too much pomp for one man. Very few men deserve such a dog and pony show, and being President alone does not, in my lowly opinion, merit such grandeur.

I would rather see this for each man killed defending his nation. And every crippled troop should be honored similarly.

Perhaps it is a bit much, but I fail to see the harm in celebrating the efforts of a decent man -- even as I agree with you that there are many others whose efforts have earned some celebration.

[rory_20_uk]

I find it amusing by how little anyone here actually cares about this, but yet how saturated the news media is with this.

Way too much pomp for one man. Very few men deserve such a dog and pony show, and being President alone does not, in my lowly opinion, merit such grandeur.

I would rather see this for each man killed defending his nation. And every crippled troop should be honoured similarly.

Crapola 100%.

I heartily agree.

[Major Robert Dump]

Ford was okay.

but the fact that Nixon enjoyed full citizneship rights until his death (ie the right to vote) disturbs me. As does the fact that the pardon enabled a naiive dimwit (carter) to be elected, who then pardoned draft dodgers under the same pretense as Fords pardon (to heal the nation).

I'll pay respect to the dead commander n chief, but all this crap about him healing the nation is a load of dog poo. Hindsight is 20/20, and Nixon should have been hung out to dry. Just another politician looking out for another pol as far as i'm concerned.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I find it ammusing by how little anyone here actually cares about this, but yet how saturated the news media is with this.

Way too much pomp for one man. Very few men deserve such a dog and pony show, and being President alone does not, in my lowly opinion, merit such grandeur.

I would rather see this for each man killed defending his nation. And every crippled troop should be honored similarly.

Crapola 100%.

Yes, but it is not just the man you bury, you also bury the president of the United States. The man Gerald Ford farts and craps just like everybody else. The president Gerald Ford does not.

As a president he represents and embodies the state, the democratic will of the people. It is therefore that he should recieve a state funeral, not because his life is in any way more valuable than that of any other citizen.

A state should have rituals, some pomp and grandeur. They serve a purpose. It strengthens the continuity of the state and the unity of the nation. I thought it was all very tastefully done, a sign of a mature democracy, in the sense that America's state rituals are a great blend of respect and anti-authoritarianism. There was a complete absense of any personal worship yet a great respect for the office.

I saw him lie in state at the rotunda on television. A bit militaristic for my liking, but very tastfully done. Very protestant in its restraint. Beautiful.

[Divinus Arma]

Yes, but it is not just the man you bury, you also bury the president of the United States. The man Gerald Ford farts and craps just like everybody else. The president Gerald Ford does not.

As a president he represents and embodies the state, the democratic will of the people. It is therefore that he should recieve a state funeral, not because his life is in any way more valuable than that of any other citizen.

A state should have rituals, some pomp and grandeur. They serve a purpose. It strengthens the continuity of the state and the unity of the nation. I thought it was all very tastefully done, a sign of a mature democracy, in the sense that America's state rituals are a great blend of respect and anti-authoritarianism. There was a complete absense of any personal worship yet a great respect for the office.

I saw him lie in state at the rotunda on television. A bit militaristic for my liking, but very tastfully done. Very protestant in its restraint. Beautiful.

I agree with you only when that President is still in office at the time of his death. The office, as you point out, has been passed on to another. And although the man retains many honors as a product of the former title, the state he represents no longer.

[yesdachi]

I agree with you only when that President is still in office at the time of his death. The office, as you point out, has been passed on to another. And although the man retains many honors as a product of the former title, the state he represents no longer.

So the “once a Marine always a Marine” attitude doesn’t apply to Presidents?


I do agree that there has been way too much of this in the news, makes me think the world must have stopped as there is nothing else on CNN.

[KukriKhan]

Mr. Ford billed himself:

"a moderate in domestic affairs, a conservative in fiscal affairs, and a dyed-in-the-wool internationalist in foreign affairs."

(from his official bio

He, through Kissinger, financed a Kurd uprising against Saddam; then when Iran's Shah changed his mind about the affair, Ford followed suit and abandoned the Kurds, leaving them swinging in the air.

He nodded assent for Indonesia to occupy East Timor, resulting in bloodshed and lives lost, on a scale uncounted to this day.

And The Mayaguez Incident, costing 18 Marines and 23 Airmen their lives in a botched White House-controlled so-called 'rescue' attempt, launched several hours after the hostage crew had been released.

Finally, the pardon. When it became clear to Nixon that his time was up, his Chief of Staff (Al Haig) drew up a short list of possible appointees under the twenty-fifth amendment. Some of those guys adamantly refused to consider pardoning Tricky Dick. Information is still emerging about the exact content of communications between Haig & Ford, but it is reported that Haig sent a memo to Ford, after meeting him personally, outlining how a pardon would work, and its constitutionality. Ford didn't say 'No', got the job, and pardoned Nixon. A murky affair at best, a quid-pro-quo at worst.

In retrospect, the pardon may have helped the country, then just months away from popular uprising (in my opinion) - ushering in an era of introspection and forgiveness instead. But it also robbed us citizens of knowing the whole story of what went wrong in Nixon's tenure, so that we could fix it with preventive measures for future prez's.

On the other hand, no other evidence has emerged that Ford was anything other than a well-intentioned guy, trying to do the right thing with weasels all about him, and a heavily Demo congress against him. His job was to not blow up the place, until new elections happened, and he did that.

C+, average, with a plus for good intentions.

Rest In Peace.