President FordThe country's 38th president has died. Gerald Ford was 93. Ford was initially seen as a caretaker for the presidency -- the bridge between a disgraced Richard Nixon and the next man elected to the White House, Jimmy Carter. But time cast a more favorable light on Ford's two-and-a-half years in office. He won praise as a man whose calm and straightforward demeanor helped steer the nation through some turbulent times.
Evo said:Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America's history, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/27/politics/main2299458.shtml
LBJ was elected in 1964, when he defeated Barry Goldwater. Famous commercial of an atomic bomb explosion was involved.nannoh said:Wasn't LBJ an unelected President?
I never met President Ford so I can't say much about him. Living to 93 is something else. The Prez is just now getting down with the Soul Master, James Brown, wherever they be at!
nannoh said:Wasn't LBJ an unelected President?
I never met President Ford so I can't say much about him. Living to 93 is something else. The Prez is just now getting down with the Soul Master, James Brown, wherever they be at!
But this would be just the thing that Ford wanted to avoid. And he stood by his conviction. So it took the people (and the majority of the Democratic party) over a decade to lose the emotional flotsam that was clogging their drai...err brains, and assess the decision objectively. But that's expected of people (and the majority of the Democratic party). Eventually, they did come to their senses and acknowledge the value of Ford's decision. I think that even in the people's minds, Ford now gains a great deal of respect for this. And I'm sure Ford would much rather have this genuine, albeit delayed recognition than the temporary appeasement of masses that the alternative would have led to.BobG said:I think it was a little soon to pardon Nixon. Maybe Ford would have gotten a better response if people had a glimpse of what lay ahead if Nixon were prosecuted after his resignation. The process would have gone on for years and soon as people realized what lay ahead, they would have been a lot more receptive to a pardon.
And how else would you explain the 2 presidential historians in the '96 Schlesinger Poll that gave Nixon a "near great" rating? (thanks, Jim, for the link). Oh, maybe there's a better explanation for that...I'm just being cynical.Those people might have been right. I felt that ten years later you weren't going to find many people defending Nixon. Twenty-four years later, you probably couldn't find anyone with any passion left about Watergate (except for Pat Buchanon, but he was part of the Nixon administration). Yet how else can you explain Clinton's impeachment?
Gokul43201 said:And how else would you explain the 2 presidential historians in the '96 Schlesinger Poll that gave Nixon a "near great" rating? (thanks, Jim, for the link). Oh, maybe there's a better explanation for that...I'm just being cynical.
That was Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson.nannoh said:Mr. Ford had an assassination attempt on him. Who or what was behind that?
We started a thread on Presidential Candidate 2008. Edward's is too clean cut - I'd like to see someone with long hair and a beard, and wearing denim jeans and a shirt with rolled-up sleeves run for president. :rofl:Did anyone else see Edward's awkward announcement about running for office? His jeans were way too clean and his shirt cuffs were rolled up like some kind of Paul Revere get up!
- Gerald Ford"In the firm belief that the American public deserves a better explanation than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena. I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs, and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment of the subject."
Astronuc said:I'd like to see someone with long hair and a beard, and wearing denim jeans and a shirt with rolled-up sleeves run for president. :rofl:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/w...&en=142138c3f9184735&ei=5094&partner=homepageIn a 2004 interview with Bob Woodward, reported Thursday night on The Washington Post’s Web site, Mr. Ford offered another, less lofty motive for the pardon: his friendship with Nixon, which lasted for two decades after the pardon and which letters show was closer than publicly understood.
“I had no hesitancy about granting the pardon,” Mr. Ford told Mr. Woodward, “because I felt that we had this relationship and that I didn’t want to see my real friend have the stigma.”
Second, Ford's personal dignity--his plain Midwestern rectitude, his old-style, pipe-smoking American normality, and his characterological absence of bile, spite and malice--helped the nation over and through the great tearing of the fabric that was Watergate. This is often referred to, and yet it is hard to communicate what a relief it was. Whether right or wrong, hopeless or wise, a normal man was in charge. This was a balm, a real gift to the country.
Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. His death is significant because he was the only person to serve as both Vice President and President without being elected to either position.
Gerald R. Ford passed away on December 26, 2006 at the age of 93 due to complications from pneumonia.
During his presidency, Gerald R. Ford helped to restore public trust in the government after the Watergate scandal. He also signed the Helsinki Accords, which aimed to improve relations between the United States and Soviet Union. Additionally, he oversaw the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam.
Gerald R. Ford became President after Richard Nixon resigned from the position in 1974. As Vice President, Ford automatically became President under the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Gerald R. Ford will be remembered as a President who helped to heal a divided nation during a tumultuous time in American history. He will also be remembered for his integrity and dedication to public service.