The passing of President Gerald Ford is a reminder that the Republican Party was once led by political moderates who have now been replaced by members of the radical right (read that as "neocons") and evangelicals. Ford, who had served as House Republican leader, vice president and president, understood that politics is the art of compromise. He had many friends on the opposite side of the political aisle who heartily supported his nomination to be Richard M. Nixon's vice president when Spiro Agnew was forced to step down in 1973 amid bribery allegations. That doesn't mean Ford was not a...