Gerald R. Ford 1913-2006

[tw]

Originally Posted by Hippikos

Ford did better than several Presidents elected. For instance appointing nominees for the Surpreme Court.

The one thing he did was not do any major screw ups. When it came to being a leader (ie Mayaguez), Ford did extremely poorly. But in his two years, Ford did one thing we so desperately needed - stop all the hate that was so rampant by 'big dic' thinkers who even wildly and wackily supported Nixon as he repeated corrupted the democratic process.

To appreciate how bad thing became, when the Supreme Court voted 9-0 against President Nixon, they had to consider one serious possibility: that Nixon would order the Army to occupy the Supreme Court building. Yes, Washington back then became that wild - democracy was that much as risk. In that time, many lesser people in Washington stood up to save this democracy. It was that bad. And Ford did put an end to it.

It was no idle threat that Woodward and Bernstein should watch their backs. Things became so wacko that Chief of Staff Haig (or Sec of Defense - forgot which) told the military to ignore any orders from the black box without his personal approval. The sanity of Nixon was that much in question. Yes, we were that unstable. And we also went the closest to WWIII when Washington became that wacko due to Nixon. Ford put an end to all that.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by tw

Many who were so opposed to his Nixon pardon and pardoning of conscientious objectors in Canada have, in hindsight, acknowledged both were necessary.

But not all.

[yesman065]

“Decency, intellectual honesty, and sound judgment are characteristics possessed by our finest lawyers. Gerald Ford was such a lawyer,” Stevens said, in a statement released by the Supreme Court. “He was a wise president who had the courage to make unpopular decisions that would serve the country’s best interests in the long run. Time has proved that his decision to pardon Richard Nixon was such a decision. We mourn his passing but remember his All-American career with admiration, affection and total respect.” – Jess Bravin

[Beestie]

On a less serious note, Gerald Ford was a pretty good Center for the University of Michigan football team - he started as a senior for the 1934 edition of the Wolverines. Too bad he didn't make it to see Michigan play in their bowl game this year.