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Former President Gerald Ford, who entered the Oval Office after Richard Nixon's resignation, died this evening at age 93 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. His wife Betty gave a statement saying:
My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age. His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country.Ford was the oldest surviving president, but had suffered some health problems this past year - pneumonia and heart heart treatments. President Bush released a statement about Ford's death, noting, "With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the Presidency."
Ford was neither elected to the Presidency or Vice Presidency; Nixon chose him to replace Spiro Agnew in 1973 (here's the Time cover story) and then became president on August 9, 1974 after Nixon left office. He told America, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over," after becoming President, but Americans were upset when he gave Nixon a full presidential pardon. His presidency also oversaw the fall of Saigon and a recession (buttons saying Whip Inflation Now were distributed as a grassroots attempt to beat inflation).
Of course, Ford had a tumultuous relationship with New York during his presidency. When the city went bankrupt in 1975, Ford refused to give NYC federal aid, and the Daily News ran its famous headline: FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD. (Of course, Mayor Abe Beame did get federal aid in 1976 - about $2.6 billion worth - but Beame had to eliminate free tuition at CUNY among other things.)Ford was also a Congressman, representing Grand Rapids, Michigan, for 24 years (1949-1973) and was minority leader for the last 8 years. And while many Saturday Night Live skits portrayed him as being clumsy, he was part of the University of Michigan's undefeated seasons in 1932 and 1933.
Here is Ford's biography from the White House (also President Bush's happy birthday wishes to Ford from July) and one from Wikipedia. Ford's Presidential Library is in Ann Arbor, Michigan while his Presidential Museum is in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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According to the AP Obit as it appeared in The WaPo, while Ford was on the UMich teams that won back-to-back Big 10 Championships, he didn't get to start on the team until 1934 when he was voted MVP of a squad that lost 7 of 8.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an0iMbtCOiw
You know you want to watch it!
Betcha that Manson chick who tried to off Ford is feeling wistful tonight....
RIP
Why did you pardon Nixon..?!
Why did you pardon Nixon..?!
I knew it would just be matter of time before someone whined about this. Maybe it was so the country wouldn't have to see an ex-President hauled off to jail? So the country could put the whole mess behind it and move on? Pick up a history book. Even the Kennedy Library honored Ford.
I think his pardon (Can you pardon someone not convicted?) was the smartest thing to do. As "sigh" mentioned, the country needed to move on.
Hey sigh..
If you need anymore proof of why Nixon should have been thrown in jail, you should pick up a history book.
And you probably think Bush didn't lie to the American people, the world, and is doing a great job as well...
Article I. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice
Richard M. Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede, and obstruct the investigation of such lawful entry; to cover up, conceal and protect those responsible; and to conceal the existence and scope of other unlawful covert activities
Article II....Richard M. Nixon...has repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the constitutional rights of citizens, impairing the due and proper administration of justice and the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies of the executive branch and the purpose of these agencies
Article III. Richard M. Nixon, contrary to his oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States...had failed without lawful cause or excuse to produce papers and things as directed by duly authorized subpoenas issued by the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on April 11, 1974, May 15, 1974, May 30, 1974, and June 24, 1974, and willfully disobeying such subpoenas...IN refusing to produce these papers and things, Richard M. Nixon, substituting his judgments as to what materials were necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, thereby assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives.
Those old SNL skits about Ford being a bumbler were excrutiatingly bad. There was no parody involved, it was just Chevy Chase, not remotely looking or acting like Ford, repeatedly falling down in some bizzaro slapstick.
Another lame duck ex president rides into the sunset
Charges against Trickie Dickie:
making false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States;
withholding relevant and material evidence or information from lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States;
approving, condoning, acquiescing in, and counselling witnesses with respect to the giving of false or misleading statements to lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States and false or misleading testimony in duly instituted judicial and congressional proceedings;
interfering or endeavouring to interfere with the conduct of investigations by the Department of Justice of the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the office of Watergate Special Prosecution Force, and Congressional Committees;
approving, condoning, and acquiescing in, the surreptitious payment of substantial sums of money for the purpose of obtaining the silence or influencing the testimony of witnesses, potential witnesses or individuals who participated in such unlawful entry and other illegal activities;
endeavouring to misuse the Central Intelligence Agency, an agency of the United States;
disseminating information received from officers of the Department of Justice of the United States to subjects of investigations conducted by lawfully authorized investigative officers and employees of the United States, for the purpose of aiding and assisting such subjects in their attempts to avoid criminal liability;
making or causing to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States into believing that a thorough and complete investigation had been conducted with respect to allegations of misconduct on the part of personnel of the executive branch of the United States and personnel of the Committee for the Re-election of the President, and that there was no involvement of such personnel in such misconduct: or
endeavouring to cause prospective defendants, and individuals duly tried and convicted, to expect favoured treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals for their silence or false testimony.
In all of this, Richard M. Nixon has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.
If you need anymore proof of why Nixon should have been thrown in jail, you should pick up a history book.
And you probably think Bush didn't lie to the American people, the world, and is doing a great job as well...
I can't even begin to list the rules of debate you are violating here. Strawman comes to mind. Nixon and Bush have NOTHING in common other than they ran for office under the same party. Nixon (and Ford) would be the most liberal members of the GOP if they were alive today. Bush launched a war. Nixon covered up what was essentially a misdemeanor B&E. When you feel like comparing apples to apples get back to me.
Ford had been quoted as saying he knew he was going to hell because he pardoned Nixon. But in the spirit of "our long national nightmare is over" he maybe thought it best to just be done with it all?
Ford to self: DROP DEAD!
I agree with you, sigh, that the pardon was the right thing to do at the time -- people forget how torn apart the nation was at the time, primarily over Vietnam and also a few other things. As much as I hate Bush, I don't know that the analogy is comparable here. I do have to say though that the Watergate break-in was much more than a simple misdemeanor breaking and entering... on that point, you're definitely wrong.
What about the SNL skit from about 98-99 with Dana Carvey doing Tom Brokaw right before his vacation, and his producer telling to him to pre-record elaborate ways that Ford has died, so that NBC can get the scoop while he is on vacation?
(including getting eaten by wolverines, and France being blown up in a nuclear fire-ball).
I'm hearing the NY Post conisdered the following headline..."CITY TO FORD: WE WIN"
Mark, when I called it a B&E I was trying to make the point that the comparison to Bush was absurd. And furthermore the question isn't whether Nixon deserved to go to jail, the question was whether he should have been pardoned. J obviously doesn't get the distinction or doesn't care. He or she will jump at any chance to dump on Bush regardless of the topic of discussion. In fact, J already assumed I'm a Bush supporter even though there is zero evidence in my writings here to support that claim.
I'm not sure that jumping at any chance to dump on Bush is a bad thing. =+)
Seriously, though, I see your point.
"Nixon and Bush have NOTHING in common other than they ran for office under the same party."
While we're all suggesting history book reading material, I suggest that "sigh redux" picks up his/her own and mentions (in order to avoid confusion), that Ford was never elected to the Executive Branch of the government (though he did spend 24 years as an elected offical in Congress before being appointed VP after Agnew left office).
Historybook, do you actually think that I don't know that? and what does that have to do with anything discussed here? way to change the subject.
If Clinton went to jail, Gore would have pardoned him.
All this talk of Bush makes me wonder what Ford thought about Iraq. It was on his watch that one bloody, useless, seemingly endless conflict ended. I would imagine he wasn't happy to see another begin.
Chevy Chase is never and has never been funny Joe.
He was what killed the script on SNL.
In other words, Gerald Ford is the Homer Simpson of Politics. RIP
Ford begat Rumsfeld, Bush I, and Cheney, and look at us now. Ain't we lucky? I write this from Michigan, my home state, where Ford was a Representative. Can't wait to get back to NYC on Sunday.