Posted on 12/28/2006 7:57:50 AM PST by SmithL
HIS NAME was dirt after he pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974, but President Gerald R. Ford did it anyway. His approval rating plummeted from 71 percent to 36 percent in less than a year. The unconditional pardon may well have cost Ford his bid to win the White House in 1976, but it is a reason Americans may look at Ford with gratitude and respect in 2006.
Consider Ford's example as a lesson in how actions that might seem all wrong in the heat of the moment, can look so right in retrospect.
Nixon chose Ford to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew, who was forced to resign when he pleaded no contest to charges of tax evasion. After Watergate caught up with Nixon, forcing him to resign, Ford became president. Perhaps it is because Ford was America's only president to come into office without being elected to national office that he made such a decision as unpopular as pardoning Nixon. There were no focus groups or internal pollsters weighing in on if and how Ford should issue a pardon. Ford's timing -- he issued the "full, free and absolute pardon" of Nixon on Sept. 8, 1974 -- was abysmal. In his rush to act before an indictment, Ford did not wait until after the November 1974 election. There was more than one meaning to Ford's moniker of "the accidental president."
As Nixon himself would have put it, mistakes were made. Before Nixon resigned, his chief of staff Alexander Haig reportedly approached Ford with a deal -- a Nixon resignation in exchange for a promise of a presidential pardon. After some dancing, Ford refused the offer -- only to sugarcoat the nature of the exchange when he testified before the House in October 1974. Also, Ford pardoned Nixon after...
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
"HIS NAME was dirt after he pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974, but President Gerald R. Ford did it anyway. His approval rating plummeted from 71 percent to 36 percent in less than a year"
Acknowledging that what the "majority" want at the time is generally wrong?
In 1974 I was so busy having babies and trying to put 2 cents together that I barely remember politics. My husband had returned from Nam in 1971 and he couldn't find steady employment until the summer of 76 when GM was hiring ONLY vets.
So I'm ashamed of the fact that I don't remember much of that time. My dad told me that President Nixon did nothing wrong except protect his friends. Dad said he was just a very loyal friend.
So was my dad totally wrong? History lesson needed.
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FORD =
Tells BOB WOODWARD that BUSH's going into Iraq was not justified
FORD =
While House Minority Leader refused to support the continuation of U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, which took the pressure off the Communists to stop invading the South =
The eventual Fall of Saigon and...
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp (Communist SLAVE LABOR Camp)
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
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Ford was a fine man, but his politics are completely outdated. He was part of a generation of Republicans that were dominated by New Deal Dems. Thus, his natural "moderation", refusal to embrace consistent truly conservative positions and recent evidence of his aversion to the WOT.
I do remember something of that time. The shame of that era was how HORRIBLY this country treated its veterans who served in Vietnam. YOU were having children, trying to make ends meet and welcoming home a vet husband. You are the LAST person who should feel any shame over that era.
My dad told me that President Nixon did nothing wrong except protect his friends. Dad said he was just a very loyal friend.
That's what my father always thought also. What finished Nixon was the disclosure that he ordered the CIA to block the FBI investigation of Watergate six days after the break-in. That was indefensible, and when that came out he was forced to resign or he could well have been convicted in the Senate.
Interesting that the opinion of the pardon changed when it was realized tht slick willie ws in jeopardy. Then Ford's pardon of Nixon became more palatable.
The media vultures were relentless is their effort to drive Nixon from office. They succeeded.
Please remove me from your ping list.....
thanks for the consideration
One of my favorite parts of "The Constitution Subversion Wars" was when the Democrats' "Independent Counsel Gambit" finally blew up in their faces with Bill "The Laws Don't Apply To Me" Clinton.
I was in the exact same life as you ....my husband was a Viet Vet..and I was having babies..the only thing I worried about was doctor's appointments and birthday parties.
Therefore, I am pretty much reading all about Ford/Nixon, but not stating an opinion about that time.
That said, good to see you back in full. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you a wonderful New Year...
BTTT
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Wow. THANK YOU for the ping.
Great take...like I posted a minute ago...I was a Mommy and was not even paying attention to politics...and barely remember Nixon resigning...
Thanks for pinging me!
Thanks for the ping and your take on the Nixon pardon. I don't think I ever thought about the 2 different systems such as the house and senate versus the court system. It does put things into perspective.
I also want to comment on another post you made recently regarding Ray Bliss. It was very interesting as I was unaware but vaguely remember the name.
Reading these posts makes me think that not everyone agreed with the media way back then. I know my father didn't and he blamed Walter Cronkite for making everything worse. I turned Woodward off last night and refused to watch it. He is a sleasebag.
Very Interesting. My father was one who thought Nixon was one of our greatest presidents, far greater than JFK. I thought Ford was a great man and above the fray when he pardoned Nixon. May he RIP.
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