Former House Minority Leader Gerald Ford dies

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werbert
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27 Dec 2006, 12:21 am

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/ ... d_Ford.php

Au revoir.


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headphase
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27 Dec 2006, 12:26 am

He was also the President, you know, or you just trying to be cute? :wink:



Tim_Tex
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27 Dec 2006, 1:23 am

I hope the governor of Kentucky doesn't almost crash into this funeral, like he did at Reagan's.

Tim


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Gamester
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27 Dec 2006, 3:02 am

Ford is dead?

wow.

I didn't even know he was still alive. now that he's dead.



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27 Dec 2006, 1:49 pm

Werbert, your joke was unfortunate, and ill-timed.

Gerald Ford was hardly Richard Nixon's first choice to be Vice President. That choice would have gone to John Connelly, former Democrat and former governor of Texas, however the United States Senate knew well that Nixon would have been attempted to anoint his own successor therefor the choice went to Ford, who everybody knew as a hardworking, honest, and respectable guy. Ford would have been likely elected in a landslide if not for two things:

1. His decision to pardon former resigned President Richard M. Nixon
2. The GOP primary challenge of California governor Ronald Reagan, which he barely won.

From today, it is hard to speak of the scorn brought upon President Ford for pardoning Richard Nixon. He roundly condemned (including by some of those within his own party), many accused him of making a "secret deal" for the Presidency, his own press secretary resigned, and his approval rating sank from Bill Clinton-ish heights to the levels of the President that had just resigned.

Ironically, today many historians and newsman who condemned the decision them have come around to understanding precisely why Ford had to do it. The idea of a country going through a trial of a former president of the United States, and a sitting President having to spend much of his time initiated with business of this affair, in Ford's opinion, would be cripple a country that was already in an economic recession, and in the middle of the Cold War. That Ford was willing to trade his own popularity for the good of the country, if anything, was a huge positive for his short administration.

The Reagan GOP challenge would change the Republican party forever, and end of changing the world. It also ended it likely costing Ford his election by convincing some voter's he was "soft" on defense and driving them into Carter's camp. Ultimately, Ford was down by a huge margin going into the '76 campaign and pulled about even by election day (partially due to the fact that Carter was an inept campaigner). But he blundered in the last debate when he declared that Europe was free from Soviet domination (likely meaning it in a metaphoric sense). This ended his momentum and handed Carter the election.

Still, Gerald Ford was an open, honest, and kind man. He was also passionate, as shown by his desperate willingness to testify before congress to ask for help for South Vietnam floundered without any US support. He, unlike Presidents Clinton, and especially Carter, kept with the traditional of not publicly rebuking sitting Presidents on the conduct.

He performed his duty to his country with dignity and grace, and he will be missed.

[UPDATE: I feel kinda bad about my comment re: Werbert's comment. He makes silly comments all the time. Perhaps I overreacted. No offense intended anyway.)



Tim_Tex
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27 Dec 2006, 6:39 pm

jimservo wrote:
Werbert, your joke was unfortunate, and ill-timed.

Gerald Ford was hardly Richard Nixon's first choice to be Vice President. That choice would have gone to John Connelly, former Democrat and former governor of Texas, however the United States Senate knew well that Nixon would have been attempted to anoint his own successor therefor the choice went to Ford, who everybody knew as a hardworking, honest, and respectable guy. Ford would have been likely elected in a landslide if not for two things:

1. His decision to pardon former resigned President Richard M. Nixon
2. The GOP primary challenge of California governor Ronald Reagan, which he barely won.

From today, it is hard to speak of the scorn brought upon President Ford for pardoning Richard Nixon. He roundly condemned (including by some of those within his own party), many accused him of making a "secret deal" for the Presidency, his own press secretary resigned, and his approval rating sank from Bill Clinton-ish heights to the levels of the President that had just resigned.

Ironically, today many historians and newsman who condemned the decision them have come around to understanding precisely why Ford had to do it. The idea of a country going through a trial of a former president of the United States, and a sitting President having to spend much of his time initiated with business of this affair, in Ford's opinion, would be cripple a country that was already in an economic recession, and in the middle of the Cold War. That Ford was willing to trade his own popularity for the good of the country, if anything, was a huge positive for his short administration.

The Reagan GOP challenge would change the Republican party forever, and end of changing the world. It also ended it likely costing Ford his election by convincing some voter's he was "soft" on defense and driving them into Carter's camp. Ultimately, Ford was down by a huge margin going into the '76 campaign and pulled about even by election day (partially due to the fact that Carter was an inept campaigner). But he blundered in the last debate when he declared that Europe was free from Soviet domination (likely meaning it in a metaphoric sense). This ended his momentum and handed Carter the election.

Still, Gerald Ford was an open, honest, and kind man. He was also passionate, as shown by his desperate willingness to testify before congress to ask for help for South Vietnam floundered without any US support. He, unlike Presidents Clinton, and especially Carter, kept with the traditional of not publicly rebuking sitting Presidents on the conduct.

He performed his duty to his country with dignity and grace, and he will be missed.

[UPDATE: I feel kinda bad about my comment re: Werbert's comment. He makes silly comments all the time. Perhaps I overreacted. No offense intended anyway.)


Until about a couple of years ago, I did not know that Donald Rumsfeld (the Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush from 2001 until about a couple of weeks ago) was also Defense secretary under Ford.

Tim


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jimservo
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27 Dec 2006, 7:07 pm

He had been deputy chief of staff under Nixon and then was bumped up to Defense Secretary. He was actually the youngest Defense Secretary in American history. When appointed in 2001 he became the oldest.

Some other connections:

Dick Cheney was chief of staff to President Ford, and served as campaign manager for his 1976 run for President.

George H. W. Bush was appointed to be chief liaison to China (we did not yet have full ambassador as we did not recognize the PRC), and after that was appointed Director of the (weakened after the Church hearings) CIA.

Associate Justice John Paul Stevens is the oldest serving justice on the Supreme Court. He is a member of the "left" wing of the court and was appointed by Ford in 1975.