Lots of love fests on the internet & in the media today for President Ford & rightly so. He was a good person. He brought some honesty and integrity back to the office of the Presidency. He was in it for the country, not for himself. He expressed a kind of humility we have not seen in an American president since. Contrast:
“I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, so I ask you to confirm me with your prayers.”
vs.
“And it’s one of the wonderful — it’s like earning capital. You asked, do I feel free. Let me put it to you this way: I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style. That’s what happened in the — after the 2000 election, I earned some capital.”
That ought to get you feeling nostalgic.
But Atrios has a pretty important point. I can’t guess what Ford’s motivation for pardoning Nixon was – cravenness or bold hopefulness. I can’t even say for certain that it was the wrong thing to do. I can say it didn’t rise to the level of heroic, and as Atrios points out, it led to the rehabilitation of the images of so many corrupt Nixon insiders (not necessarily to the rehabilitation of their character), and left dirty hands in places of power even to the present day.
I don’t know if he is right – Atrios guesses that this was the precedent that let the Iran/Contra fiends off the hook. I really don’t know. But little irks me more than the fact that one of the American officials behind the rape and murder of innocent Catholic nuns in service of a coupe against an elected government in Nicaraugua – rather than being made a pariah as is deserved – is hosting a show on Fox News and shaping opinion in Red America today. Little irks me more that this man who sold our country out to the Iranians is making hay out of his situation rather than repaying his debt.
To let Nixon repay his debt – some people say it would have “divided” the country further. I don’t think so. There would have been dead-enders who would have defended Nixon to the end – just as there are dead-enders who will now do the same for Bush. The rest of us, I think, would feel that the presidency is strengthened when the office-holder is held to the standards of the office and to the same standards as every other citizen with regard to the law.
Anyway, right or wrong on that, rest in peace Gerry. May your party one day regain the stature you have shown.
Sowell got it right back in 1998. Pardoning Nixon the wrong thing to do. http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell100898.asp
Gerald Ford’s death seems to have given ample ammunition for BDS to be on display, once again.
Jokes aside (really, though, was the first inclination actually to take a shot at Bush?), though the public tends to be rather ignorant, we’re not stupid. Ford’s pardon probably (just a guess) helped lead him towards defeat in 1976 against Jimmy Carter (whom the people then threw out four years later when they had enough of him) and the citizens of Virginia decided that Ollie North wasn’t fit for public office, as well, so that’d be two (three?) cases of the public declaring that each of those men were not worthy to be elected. That should give us all faith in the system, as cluttered as it may be.
As far as North not paying his “debt”, you can thank the Democratic senate committee that gave him immunity for his testimony when they thought he was going to turn rat on Reagan & when they found out that they were dupes they tried to get someone to prosecute anyway & the conviction was later rightfully overturned because of the deal. I don’t think he shapes opinion…..I used to listen to his radio show a bit and after a while I learned that while he was immensely articulate and well suited for the medium, his predictions were grossly inaccurate. Apparently, many of his ‘sources’ in the political world are about as adept as your pal Duncan “we’re gonna win” Black, whom I bring up because you point to him in the post….I’m reminded of why I stopped reading him, as he’s usually so wrong that it’s a waste of time & thus I find other lefties to scan. Good gosh, now he’s psychoanalyzing the nation’s attitude about Iran-Contra and guessing that Watergate affected the public’s response? Crikey, was he too desperate for a legit post instead of the non-stop “open thread” entries piled on top of “________ is stupid”? Anyway, I digress, North seems to have righted his path & as a Christian (and human) we’re all supposed to give people a second chance but I’ve always fallen back on the words of Nancy Reagan when she was asked about North: “liar”.
Seems like a pleasant fellow to have dinner with and I’d trust him to watch my daughter while I went to get my car from the parking lot, but I wouldn’t believe him if he said that he were sitting on a political bombshell that the press might leak.
On a good note and nonpolitical side, no one can deny that he loves his country and the military and his “war stories” segment on Fox News gives our service men & women the spotlight that they richly deserved. That today’s school kids would watch that show & learn about our military’s efforts throughout our history and learn about actual battles instead of whether or not Britney Spears wore panties….
“The rest of us, I think, would feel that the presidency is strengthened when the office-holder is held to the standards of the office and to the same standards as every other citizen with regard to the law.”
Barbara Battalino could not be reached for comment (circa, 1998). Sorry, couldn’t resist. Have a merry New Year.