Gerald R. Ford 1913-2006

Farewell, Gerald R. Ford. You will be missed.



Unlike so many others, he never wanted to be President, but did a good job with the situation he was handed. I've always thought that had he not suffered by association with Nixon as every Republican did, he would have been re-elected in 1976. Those of us who are old enough to remember the problems of his successor's term wish that he had been. The Mayaguez incident lasted a grand total of 4 days, not 444, and his willingness to take action in the face of Khmer Rouge aggression ameliorated some of the stronger negatives from the fall of South Vietnam.



Of course, his most "controversial" decision was his pardon of Richard Nixon. I was 13 at the time, and even then I thought it a no-brainer. Looking back, I now understand that the "controversial" thing about it was "depriving" the press, which leaned heavily left even then, of several more years of beating the Republicans with "Nixon!" as the case made its way through the courts.



Tigerhawk has more worth reading.



I was comparatively young when he left public life, yet the one thing I remember most about him was that he was never barbed or hurtful in his politics, making his points by persuasion and logic, never by belittling his opponent. For that reason, despite 66 vetoes in two years (12 over-ridden - the Democrats had a truly massive majority thanks to Watergate fallout), he truly was a healer. Nobody ever considered calling Gerald Ford "Hitler." To do so to the President who made his own breakfast would have been ludicrous. There are certainly worse things to be remembered for than his, "You can disagree without being disagreeable."



Perhaps not one of the greats. But definitely one of the good. Would that we had more leaders of his type.