A teensy bit more about Gerald Ford
Dec. 28th, 2006 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pyesetzWhen Nixon erased his own recording tapes before submitting them to the court, that was a "cover-up". When Ford pardoned Nixon, that was not a "cover-up". To call it one is to bleed the word of all its meaning. As I said (precociously) at the time, innocent people don't get pardons. When Nixon accepted Ford's pardon he was in effect admitting that he was guilty of something, but since the specific crimes were not stated, each citizen was free to think of Nixon as guilty of whatever that person thought he was guilty of. It was this freedom to project guilt that made the pardon "cathartic" for the nation, as Ford intended.
Yes, Ford did some bad things: Cheney. Rumsfeld. East Timor. But he was also the first president to admit that the USA had lost a war, something Bush is too cowardly to ever do. Ford recognized that inflation is fundamentally a psychological problem of inappropriate expectations -- unfortunately his "WIN" buttons were unbelievably lame and didn't solve the psychological problem, but the thought turns out to have been good. Considering that Ford was a Republican and was *chosen* by Nixon, whose name will now live in infamy as the exemplar of "crook", Ford was probably the best president we could possibly have gotten at the time.
Several bloggers seem to be of the opinion that next year's hearings will lead to Cheney's resignation under threat of indictment, causing Bush to nominate a new Vice President that Congress (being Democratic) will refuse to approve. Then when Bush himself resigns under indictment, approximately Christmas 2007, Nancy Pelosi will inherit the top job. History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.
Yes, Ford did some bad things: Cheney. Rumsfeld. East Timor. But he was also the first president to admit that the USA had lost a war, something Bush is too cowardly to ever do. Ford recognized that inflation is fundamentally a psychological problem of inappropriate expectations -- unfortunately his "WIN" buttons were unbelievably lame and didn't solve the psychological problem, but the thought turns out to have been good. Considering that Ford was a Republican and was *chosen* by Nixon, whose name will now live in infamy as the exemplar of "crook", Ford was probably the best president we could possibly have gotten at the time.
Several bloggers seem to be of the opinion that next year's hearings will lead to Cheney's resignation under threat of indictment, causing Bush to nominate a new Vice President that Congress (being Democratic) will refuse to approve. Then when Bush himself resigns under indictment, approximately Christmas 2007, Nancy Pelosi will inherit the top job. History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.
