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 ...
I would love to delve into the additional reasons behind the reasons, but at this juncture, it would not be prudent.
It is amazing how some great men forced some sissy democrats to fix some serious mistakes that go back to the '50s. The fun is for all of us to figure out which democrats are actually doing the FIXING and not just making appearances for ego's sake.
BUMP
Your argument that a President can be impeached and removed from office, but cannot thereafter be tried in a criminal court, ignores the explicit language of the Constitution (Article I, section 3, clause 7):
"Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law."
Excellent!
And my take on Woodward's interview with Ford ----- Ford simply said that WMD's should not have been the primary reason to go into Iraq - suggesting there were other more logical reasons. However, the msm and Woodward are playing it with their usual slant.
Great article, CT. And thanks for the ping.
Good article. A trial would have made things worse. Ford could have imposed conditions, but whatever he did, he'd be accused of having let Nixon off. It was probably best to just let the matter go, rather than dragging it out for months and years to come.
Makes Nixon look like a saint compared to the modern-day Democrats.
Thanks for the ping. Glad to see you are doing well. Happy New Year.
Many thanks for the ping and your insight into the Nixon pardon.
Your analysis certainly makes a much better case for Ford's action than anything I have ever read before. Sure glad you are still putting up those "tator takes".
If Watergate had happened during the Clinton Presidency Craig Livingstone would have burned the tapes, Hillary would have denied hiring Craig and Bill would have bitten his lip and said how much he wanted the tapes preserved because they proved his innocence.
Thanks for that. I knew it was wrong the moment I read it as this was all debated during the Clinton years.
That said, it doesn't make sense that Nixon didn't destroy the tapes.
Thanks for the ping!
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Thanks for the ping and the excellent analysis.
You were the first one I thought of when I heard that President Ford had passed on. I remember how you always told us that, contrary to what the MSM said, he was a very bright man and an excellent athlete at Michigan.
Lord forgive me, but I do so despise the MSM.
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