GERALD FORD DEAD

BC-CA--APNewsAlert,0014
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former first lady Betty Ford says President
Gerald Ford has died

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-12-26-06 2348EST

Hell NO!

TODAY'S DEMOCRACY NOW!:

* President Gerald Ford Dies at 93; Supported Indonesian Invasion of East
Timor that Killed 1/3 of Population*

Former President Gerald Ford died last night at the age of 93. We begin our
coverage of Ford¹s time in office with a look at his support for the
Indonesian invasion of East Timor that killed one-third of the Timorese
population. We¹re joined by Brad Simpson of the National Security Archives
and journalist Alan Nairn.

Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/27/1638254

He was a decent man!

He put the team of Cheney and Rumsfeld on the map, vetoed the GI Bill and generally did little else. All hats off to Gerry.




U.S. President Gerald R. Ford talks with his Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld (L)
and Rumsfeld's assistant Richard Cheney (R) in the Oval Office of the White House

George Washington had slaves

John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Act

James K. Polk started an illegal war

Abraham Lincoln suspended Habeus Corpus

Ulysses Grant surrounded himslef with corrupt cronies

Rutherford B. Hayes entered office having not actually been elected

Teddy Roosevelt endorsed Eugenics

Woodrow Wilson was a racist and got us into a foreign war

FDR interred innocent Japanese citizens and ignored black civil rights to placate southern congressman and Senators

And on and on and on



Every President has done things which we disaaprove of now...doesn't mean that many if not all of these men were great and the country was better off having them in the positions they were in...

Gerald Ford was a decent man... helped the country get through the post watergate period...

I would not have voted for him, but his intentions were correct...so therefore I can mourn his passing.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4591

He hated Veterans

Since the Vietnam-era GI bill first went into effect in 1966, the total of veterans' benefit increases enacted through 1972 have substantially exceeded the rise in cost of living. Not including the provisions of this bill, the basic monthly education allowance has increased by a $120 per month or 120 percent since 1966. This compares with an actual rise of 55 percent in the Consumer Price Index.

In addition to the 23 percent benefit increase, this bill extends entitlement for GI bill benefits from 36 to 45 months for undergraduates. I believe the present entitlement of four academic years is sufficient time to permit a veteran to obtain his baccalaureate degree and to enable him to adjust to civilian life.

Doesn't mean it's wrong for the posters to say that they didn't like the man, but that perspective is valuable.

People will excuse anything for those in power, to be frank, it disgusts me.

Another nutcase who thinks that the Warren Commission was covering up "the real truth"...

Give it up, if anyone besides Lee Harvey Oswald did it, they went to their graves getting away with it, and their original reasons for doing so have long melted into history. Why not spend your energy working on how Princess Di was murdered by Queen Elizabeth?

That at the time, they were viewed as:

Rumsfeld--An attractive young congressman seen as a centrist

Cheney—Though conservative, very much a pragmatist.


These people have evolved into what they are. They didn’t suddenly burst upon the political scene in 1974 as the people they are today. They have shaped their party and the political scene, but the party, the scene, their cohorts, and current events have shaped them.


RFK was once pro-Vietnam war and intensely anti-welfare. People evolve over time, for better or worse.

As a member of the Warren Commission, Mr. Ford never missed a day...unlike other members. He also thought the presentation by lead attorney of the Commission, Arlen Specter, current Chief of the Senate Judiciary Committee, establishing the "magic bullet theory" as promoted by LTC Pierre Finck of the US Army Pathology Department at Bethesda, who was involved in the autopsy of JFK, was just the item needed to have the Commission vote unanimously that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin and therefore NO CONSPIRACY existed in the assassination of JFK.

Way back then we hear the refrain familiar today that the Warren Commission, like the pardon of Richard Nixon, ALLOWED TO COUNTRY TO HEAL AND MOVE ON to other matters, like the overthrow of Allende, etc.

Question: Who the hell is the COUNTRY if not me and millions of other Democratic Under grounders who don't think the Warren Commission got it right nor did Jerry get it right when he pardoned Nixon?

Next thing you hear, Bush 41 will not be charged with War Crimes for Preemptive Attacks on sovereign nations in violation of the Nuremberg Rules, which we hanged those found guilty of crimes against peace and humanity.

And that includes Cheney, Rummy, and Wolfy hiding in the World Bank Vault.

himself.

And it was a tough choice for me, since Jimmy Carter was my candidate before he even got the nomination. But I didn't know much about parties, and all, when casting my first vote, and I believed that he was a decent man and that's the reason he got my vote. I voted for Carter in 1980, and for Democrats ever since. I probably wouldn't vote for Ford, if I had it to do over, knowing what I know now, but I don't regret it. And Gerald Ford became close personal friends with Jimmy Carter and worked with the Carter Center. :-)

May he Rest In Peace.

aA

RIP

Rest in peace, Mr. President.

.

rest in peace.

...RIP President Ford. :(

Even though he was never elected, his presidency was at least legitimate, unlike the residency of *. Gerald Ford was a football hero and not a bad guy. Wonder how long till we get a comment from Chevy Chase?

Godspeed, Mr. President.

I have to find my copy of the Firesign Theatre's "Fighting Clowns" for my radio show next week. Ought to play "We Need A Football President" for him.

which I always found rather amusing.

NT!

would've been a disaster.

In retrospect. At the time, I was livid about the pardoning of Nixxon (not just for trying to steal all the rights, but also for almost getting my father killed at the time), but the pardoning enabled the country to (slowly) get on with it and actually have a presidential campaign season in 1976.

:hi:

I, too, was furious that Nixon was going to "get away with it," but on the whole, I think the pardon was the best thing for the country.

explain....

How exactly does upholding the Constitution and not allowing criminals to get away with their crimes PREVENT disaster, instead of allowing those same criminals back into power LIKE HAPPENED AFTER FORD PARDONED NIXON?

Iran-Contra ring a bell? Probably not; the ignorance is getting so thick it's probably cutting off the oxygen.

It was not the right decision at the time.

The country could have withstood it.

We ARE stronger than the whore media tells us.

Just like THIS time.

We cannot let the criminals go unpunished this time around...

but you can keep on repeating that empty cliche as long as you like...

I didn't like it at the time, either, but I think history has come down on Gerald Ford's side. The country needed to move on. The pardon helped it to do that. It would have served no good purpose to drag out Watergate (which, in restrospect, seems pretty small potatoes compared to the shit that's gone down since) for another four, six, or however-many years. What would have been served by continuing to make Richard Nixon front-and-center of national debate, what with Vietnam grinding to a tragic halt and a polarized nation making a difficult social transition from the '60s to the '70s?

And, while I'm here, to all those dragging skeletons out of the closet: Who can really go to their grave blameless about anything? There have been better presidents, certainly, but there have been a hell of a lot worse. Ford's unassuming, quiet presence was exactly what we needed after six and a half years of Nixon. He stepped up to a thankless task, and handled it with grace and tact.

The man was perhaps the epitome of decency.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

Stunning to hear the pardoner and enabler of criminals lauded as "a decent man".

Hell's bells, he was a Republican wasn't he? He suspended habeus corpus didn't he? It can be argued that he provoked the South into firing on Fort Sumter. He sent hundreds of thousands of men to their deaths. I could go on.

Yet, he's lionized as our greatest president. He's the Great Emancipator. He's sainted throughout the world -- statues and other memorials in countries where he never trod.

By your measures, Lincoln was a fraud. He wasn't about preserving the Union. He was all about protecting the special interests of the rich white Northern industrialists.

Get over yourself. All the presidents had feet of clay. Ford was no exception. You're talking about a scandal where there was actually thought of a military coup to remove Nixon. The country was trying to extract itself from Vietnam. Nixon's crimes were well known by the time of his resignation. How much more was there to be gained by trying Nixon -- except to further tear this country apart?

Nobody liked the pardon, but it allowed the country to get back to focus on other major issues -- extracting troops from Vietnam, dealing with a struggling economy, maintaining detente with the Soviets, etc. Ford didn't have all the answers, to be sure. But he tried -- same as Carter tried before being undone by the hostage crisis in Iran.

Just because a man did what he thought was in the best interests of the country doesn't make him less than decent. Would that the current president behaved as decently.

<<<Attitudes like your are why this country is so fucked-up.<<<

I realize I'm a few days late in replying, but I find it quite interesting that most scholars and experts interviewed on the significance of the pardon more or less agree with my observations (or, more accurately, I agree with theirs). If you want to continue to grind a 32-year-old ax against Gerald Ford, be my guest.

And gee, I had no idea that I was part of why this nation is fucked up. And it's funny, too, that I have probably read hundreds of opinions right here on DU that I could say the same about. So go ahead and be as profane as you want.

But you're right. Had we thrown Dick into jail after he had left office in disgrace, Iran-Contra, etc. never would have happened. I just learn something new here every day.

God I am sick and tired of this FALSE belief.

WE ARE A STRONG COUNTRY! WE CAN AND WILL "TAKE IT"!

If we don't try and PUNISH all the current WAR CRIMINALS this time around, we are lost as a country.

Count on it...

Besides, if a trial is a vehicle to get at the truth, it was unnecessary because we already knew the truth. The tapes told the story.

And for some men, there are a lot worse punishments than prison. For Nixon, the disgrace and the legacy that he was forced from office was punishment.

Also, I though we were supposed to be above using the criminal justice system as a means for retribution.

As I noted in another thread, we're down to three ex-Presidents. Whether or not we agree with their politics, a piece of American history passes with them when they go. Combined with the loss on an individual level, that makes for quite a sad event. RIP.

At least he now can meet up with my grandfather. My mom and grandma are going to be so upset. My mom tells me that he and my grandfather worked to get the Handicap Act passed here in Michigan. It's a long story.

I wonder if I can Google the Handicap Act of Michigan. I do know that Ford sponsored that bill and help get it passed.

And I was just talking about the relation between my granddad and Ford tonight to this woman at a pagan store.

Blue

I thought he did the best he could under extremely difficult circumstances, and I loved how outspoken his wife Betty was.

Whatever "good" he may have done in his time in office can't possibly compensate for that.

My condolences to his family, but singing Kumbaya for his memory doesn't ring true for me.

The nation would have been tied up for years with that trial, and it would have caused a lot of unnecessary bloodletting.

Nixon lived the rest of his life under a cloud, and will carry a black spot on him throughout history. That is enough. Going for more would have been vindictiveness.

It's troublesome for me. Say what you want to, but if W appoints Condi after Cheney's "medical issues" force him to step down, won't we be looking at history repeating itself if Bush should step down and she pardons him? Surely you wouldn't want that to happen. But that's what the Ford pardon was like.

set a precedent by issuing a pardon BEFORE any convictions ? thumbed his nose at america and said ...."hey - crime pays"

that even if he is "pardoned" by Condi, he will be hauled before the World Court at the Hague.

By the time Nixon resigned, it was a friggin non-stop soap opera. The USA is still reeling from Vietnam and the last thing the country needed was an extended impeachment trial on top of the war.

People all around were fed up with Watergate. I have mixed feelings about the pardon, but in the long term glad it ended the soap opera. Nixon did not come out "clean" and his co-conspirators had no future either, mostly living in obscurity.

of Ford's apppointment it looked like Nixon could weather the storm--there was no smoking gun. Agnew had gone down on curruption and had to be replaced. It's the President's responsibility to make that appointment.

It was Ford's descretion whether to do a pardon (and there certainly had been no prearrangment). It was the right decision IMO. Nixon's legacy will echo down through history.....there can be no greater punishment than that

because he thought it would be in the best interests of the nation to heal and move on. I may disagree with his point of view but I respect his reasoning and logic and I think he was only trying to do what he thought was best.

He did appoint John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court -someone who has consistently promoted honesty, integrity and fairness in his rulings and sided with us in *vs. Gore

and that's not always what's in the best interests of the people

... and he was talking about his appointment of Stevens being rooted more in the fact that Ford felt confident in Stevens' judicial quality, even though he knew they disagreed on some issues. That's obviously not verbatim, but I thought that it was extremely admirable of him to take this approach.

history will punish Nixon and be the judge.

Jesus, attitudes like yours scare the hell out of me.

and is part of the rule of law.

Whether you agree with the pardon is a different issue, but it is definitely constitutional.

Nixon's pardon is going to look fairly tame when Chimpy pardons everyone connected with Abu Ghraib and Haditha on his way out.

Shame to see so many DUers AGREEING with the pardon, though - as if letting criminals escape justice is laudable!

The rule of law is not being upheld with regards to b*s*, and it wasn't with regards to Reagan, Bush I or in a number of cases Clinton.

going for more could have led to investigations of all the criminal activities of his republican administration.nixon's "october surpise" deal with the south vietnamese in '68,nixon's ties to teamsters and cosa nostra,cia drug-running,coup in chile,etc. hell even kissinger might have ended up in prison.we call for all these investigations now but not having them back then made reagan,bush and bush possible.

The GOP wouldn't have stood still for that kind of investigation. Nixon's resignation -- with the eventual pardon as understood ahead of time -- was a compromise that got rid of Nixon but saved face for the GOP. Had the Dems gone for more, the GOP wouldn't have given in. They weren't completely powerless.

Ford couldn't have foreseen Raygun and Iran-Contra, etc., and how the precedent of his pardoning Nixon would affect that whole mess.

somehow ended up in "not guilty" verdicts all around? I think a secondary effect of the pardon is that even though the degree of the punishments were never meted out, the fact that they were guilty was implied in the pardon.

I think the risk of somehow weaseling out of any convictions combined with the long, drawn-out bloodletting were not a reasonable risk.

I know it may have ruined a lot of younger careers Nixon hired rummy/rummy hired cheney. Aspens are connected.

he was an old old man, and it's impossible for me to feel anything other than sadness for his family.

He's a human being. He never started any wars. You know?

But that's just me.

The politically easy move would have been for Ford to let Nixon twist in the wind, but it would have been bad for the country. People forget about the cold war, the recent gas crisis, all the domestic problems. So, I think Ford weighed the implications of a trial, where the standards of finding guilt was much higher than impeachment..i.e...What if the tapes had been inadmissable as evidence?....What if Nixon ended up getting off? etc.

It had the potential to turn into a circus. Ford knew he was signing his own political death warrant, but put the country first. I have to admire him for that. Plus...he seemed like a decent guy with a good family...and I admire that too.

and the pardon of nixon was about so much more than just nixon. just imagine what a criminal investigation of nixon could have led to.there was a national groundswell for reform in this country and ford nipped it all in the bud. his pardon didn't just suggest certain people are above the law in this country, it institutionalized it .

that, essentially putting the needs of the nation over his own political fortunes.

Here's the official criteria:



"The Profile in Courage Award honors modern-day elected officials who stand up for the public interest, even when it is not in their own interest to do so. The award celebrates individuals who choose principles over partisanship – who do what is right, rather than what is expedient.

Ordinarily, the award will be made to living Americans who are or were elected officials.
Individuals at all levels of government—federal, state and local—are eligible for the award.
Emphasis will be placed on contemporary acts of political courage.
On occasion, in rare and special circumstances, awards have been made to foreign officials."

(http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Criteria+and+Eligibility.htm)

If it's good enough for Teddy & Caroline, it's OK by me.

Thanks for being a breath of air in a difficult time for the country. You will be remembered - "Our ... nightmare is over."

Have Chevy Chase speak at the memorial service.

I think Ford would actually have liked that. He had a sense of humor, especially about himself.

And a most welcome break in what otherwise will be a week's worth of draining, funereal coverage.

I wonder if barbara bush will arrive in a blinding white "notice me!" outfit (complete with stockings) to hog the spotlight as she did when reagan was lying in state. That was SO INCREDIBLY tacky.

.... and then fall into the podium, knocking it over.



"LIVE, from the Capitol rotunda ..... "





Ed to add: No disrespect to GRF's memory intended. Just recalling Chevy Chase's schtick.

Ford loved Chevy's ribbing of him. They became good friends after they both lost their jobs in the same year. :)

He lived a long and interesting life. :patriot:

and a fair man. Rest in peace, sir.

and whores all become respectable if they live long enough."

The trouble with Ford's pardon thesis is the idea that the "people" would be better served by getting Watergate behind them. How self-serving. The people would have been imminently better off if all the facts had been aired publicly in a court of law. That system is what makes our nation strong, strong enough to withstand the trial of a two-bit crook like Nixon.

Of course, official obfuscation in the Nixon pardon wasn't the first time in his career that Ford felt the country should "move on" without the facts. As none of the network obits have mentioned, he was the lead congressional delegate to the Warren Commission and as such was able to brush a roomful of questions about the JFK assassination under the carpet. Then, a few short years later, he's rewarded with a presidency that he never had to campaign for and win. Hmmmm......

as far as his chances in the '76 election were concerned. I don't see how this was so self-serving. It's always seemed to me to be selfless. He felt it was the right thing to do.

He was a good and decent man. :(

RIP

Being a Democrat, I didn't approve of some of his politics, but at least I can respect the man. Today's Republicans are far removed from President Ford.

Godspeed, Mr. President.

(AP) LOS ANGELES 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 said. He was 93.

Details on his death Tuesday were not immediately available.

Ford had been fitted in August at the Mayo Clinic with an implantable cardiac pacemaker to regulate his heartbeat after he had been admitted to a Colorado Clini days earlier for tests.

In January 2006, he was hospitalized for 12 days in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for pneumonia. Then in July, Ford spent a few days in Colorado's Vail Valley Medical Center because of shortness of breath.

Ford became the nation's oldest living former president after the death of Ronald Reagan in 2004.

http://cbs4.com/topstories/topstories_story_227195601.html

and condolences to Betty and the Ford family.

The only decent Republican president.

like she doesn't have a mean bone in her body.

She was a very moderate Republican from everything I read about her.

And my God, her treatment center has changed so many lives.

Hell, it's saved so many lives.

Don't forget, he employed these two major league assholes

... a couple of months ago. I know who those two VILE, CONSCIENCELESS individuals are ... one attached himself to the other in the 70's, and then employed that other when he came to power (hope I haven't given it away).

One just resigned, and the other Neo-Con warmonger is headed out the door (I believe), so that they can put the 2008 Rethuglican candidate in place before the election.

He was a decent man although I never forgave him for pardoning Richard Nixon.

For a Republican he was a good guy. I'm sure we'll have big doings in Michigan in regard to this.

Julie

You were okay.
RIP

You were a decent President and a decent man.

Vaya con Dios, sir.

GOP schill, I know, but at least he was a competent President compared to the Chimp. (A low hurdle to clear, I know...)

All my thoughts and good wishes go to Mr. Ford's family and friends at this time.

Plus, I had to admit -- 93 years old! That ain't bad!

within the last few weeks. Did anyone else hear that?

:hi:

He surpassed Reagan as longest living president!

And he had his wits about him...:-)

on edit: I don't have my wits about me, LOL. Welcome to DU! We're very glad to have you with us...:toast:

You were a class act –an honourable, decent, warm, personable compassionate person whose integrity and honesty always shone through. I know that, even though there were some issues that we would have disagreed on, you always had the best interests of the American nation and its people at heart and you always had the desire to make America and the world a better place. You came into power under difficult circumstances and yet you handled those circumstances in a way that was both admirable and inspirational

Thank you for your service to the American nation and the world. Your legacy will live on and endure and I hope we see more American Presidents with your integrity, your compassion and your warmth. The world was a better place for having had you in it. Your efforts to work for peace in the Middle East, to heal the nation after Watergate and your appointment of John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court among other things will be valued and appreciated for generations to come

My sincere and most profound condolences, sympathies, thoughts and prayers are extended to the wife, children and family and friends of President Ford. You were fortunate to have known and loved such a wonderful man. You are in my thoughts and prayers

I guarantee when Jimmy & Bill finally move on, there won't be this kind of cross party respect for him on the immediate announcement of their deaths. DU'ers are so much more classy than the typical repub. I'll laugh when w goes, but for men like Ford, they get our respects, intelligent and kind, even if they don't share are common viewpoint, we can at least lay claim to saying they had a genuine interest in trying to serve America as hard as possible.

rest in peace.

(ps - :hi: cboy4!)

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

very respectful, as well they should.

He was an old, old man whose suffered recently.

I'm happy to see humanity has returned, after some very sad weeks of viciousness.

As for Jimmy and Bill, it will be ugly on the other side when they eventually pass.

I know not everyone is real happy with Carter's recent outspokenness in his new book about Israel and the wall, but I think he's a living saint with everything he does for humanity.

And hello my friend ;) :pals:

... a classy bunch of folks we have on this board today. Ford was about the last of the old-time civil Republicans.

R.I.P. to one of the last living Republicans I almost felt sorry for... and maybe, sometimes even sort of half-liked... and certainly never had any reservations about referring to as "The President."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2982626&mesg_id=2982626

May there be peace for the families of Ford's many victims.

by the Iroquois, as he destroyed many of their villages.

Should we have cursed his memory as well? Should we have besmirched him when he passed?

Directly or not, no world leader has bloodless hands.

F-IN tweety Chris Matthews, just said that President Carter did not have good manners???

What the hell is he talking about???

...my niece got a book about the U.S. Presidents as a gift, and I said "Ya know, Gerald Ford is the oldest living president.

He died the next day. :-(

I actually feel guilty, I shouldn't have said anything.

RIP, Mr. President.

Clever. :evilgrin:

May you find eternal rest.

He was the only Republican Presidential candidate I ever voted for. He was a good man.

now it's Georgie.


www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

Ten years ago, Dana Carvey, portraying Ted Koppel, was asked to tape a pre-recorded announcement that Ford was dead. The producer in the sketch told "Koppel" to try different variations of the announcement ("eaten by wolves," etc).

Then the producer told him to insert the word "senseless" into the announcement, so "Koppel" screwed up and said, "Gerald Ford, dead today at the senseless age of 83."

:-(

:patriot:

:toast:

yes, they're snarling at each other.

a young rumsferatu showing his fangs, ford and... filename says carlucci, but the text said it was cheney, I can't decide which is right...

But this isn't the time.

:spank:

12/25 James Brown
12/26 FPOTUS Gerald Ford
12/27 ?

I don't think that you can connect these dots to predict the third, but another celebrity going to give up the ghost. I wonder who? Any takers?

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As is his wife, she of the outspoken tendencies that he refused to try and stifle. Last of the old-time conservatives, marvelous sense of humor, good man in general. The pardon was disgusting, but politically he was obliged.

I do find it great that we here at DU can lament the passing of someone whose conservative views oppose ours. It certainly wouldn't happen on that "other" site.

RIP, President Ford, and condolences to Betty and family.

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:eyes:

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that covered up JFK's murder

but I'm not going to dance on his, or anyone else's grave.

RIP

It brought our Nation back together. Now, what would?????

Pardoning Nixon allowed the fascists to retain and further their control of the national security state apparatus. That one single act led to the very horrors we are dealing with today and may be used as a precedent for pardoning the Bush gang should we ever get that close. Gerald Ford was no friend to people of conscience and he most certainly did not "heal" this nation. Rather he was an enabler for things far worse than had come before.

back under the carpet when we had begun and had a good shot, of cleaning out the the mess. The pain and work of a nation to clean it's self was delayed by not finishing a job that was half done. I wonder what would have happened if we had been allowed to finish? Would we be where we are today or would these thugs have gotten a message from the people that we will not tolerate their corruption and greed? Just asking? I lived through that time and feel that Ford was a paradox. He's gone now and I wish peace to his family.

Don't believe me check Out this Shit

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4591

To the House of Representatives:

I am returning today without my approval H.R. 12628, a bill which would provide what I consider an excessive increase and liberalization of veterans' education and training benefits.

Instead, I urge the Congress to send me a veterans' education bill along the lines that I have proposed. By doing so, we can avoid adding another half billion dollar load to the already overburdened taxpayer. Failure to do so will mean that the Congress will in the aggregate--Federal pay deferral, Railroad Retirement and Veterans Education--add over one and a half billion dollars to the Federal deficit in 1975.

This bill which I am returning to the Congress provides benefits that are greater than those granted to World War II and Korea veterans. It would cost the taxpayers half a billion dollars more in fiscal year 1975 than is appropriate in view of the country's current economic circumstances.

The decision not to sign this bill has not been an easy one. But it is necessary if all of us are to operate with essential budgetary restraint. The Nation must reduce Federal spending if we are to stop the inflation spiral. \\

GERALD R. FORD
The White House,
November 26, 1974.



I remember when he did this

He was rehabilitated over time

He is still a Mother Fucker to many like me

For his wife, I admire her courage in admitting her problems and striving to overcome them and help others.

As to the man who did that much damage under the guise of "Mr. Good Guy," well, good riddance to bad rubbish.

I have never forgotten what kind of an asshole he was

VETOING THE GI BILL

:toast:

full circle with you know who. If Nixon gets no pardon then this nation never has to suffer a Republican leader again.

Gerald Ford was a decent human being.

One of the last truly decent Republicans.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

a kind decent man.

He had a long and full life...

RIP Mr. President. I always thought you were not to blame for what was forced on you.

Condolences to Betty Ford -- a brave and forthright woman.

Hekate

n/t

He was a good man, flawed but good

Judging by the responses here, I'd say we have a whole chorus.

Way to go people.

Let this thread be filled with respectful msgs. There are plenty of opportunities to trash him elsewhere.

First one, too, for that matter...the word I keep coming back to is "decent".

I wasn't even born yet when you were President, but I had a lot of respect for you. You were a decent, honorable man, at least as much as that's possible in politics. I wish you hadn't pardoned Nixon, but at least you didn't send our soldiers off to die for a lie. You tried to move beyond that and it's too bad those who've come after you in your party went back to their old ways.

Oh yes, and I hope your funeral gets way more coverage than that bastard Ronald Reagan. You deserve the acclaim HE got.

I think what can be said was that he's the last respectable Republican to hold office (I'm not saying that, I'm just saying it can be said. Or something . . ). At least he recognized the corruption of the previous administration. Some of his ideas fell flat, he wasn't really good at foreign policy, and he did pardon Nixon. The whole WIN thing was a bit silly, albeit good-hearted.

But hey, at least he didn't slaughter American soldiers and Iraqi women and children for a lie.

So, all condolences to his wife Betty and . . . yeah. RIP.

on the AM shows how he "saved the country" I think I will puke.

Wish I knew where my WIN (Whip Inflation Now) button is.

to his wife, family & others that truly loved him.

No one, and certainly no politician, is perfect. Although he made mistakes and decisions that are still debated I have always felt that his intentions were overall good and that he did what he honestly felt was the right thing to do at the time with what he knew at that time.

And that's actually saying a great deal.

Greatest fault: Cheney and Rumsfeld. No way can we attribute their sins to Gerald Ford, but his greatest mistake was not the pardon, but putting them in positions of power. Gerald Ford would be run out of the GOP on a rail today; shows how far they have fallen. I remember him well, and often disagreed with him, but never worried about the country's future when he was president. The contrast with W. will be good stuff in the next week. With many people off work, they will have time to watch the coverage and consider that contrast.

He was also a father, husband, grandfather and great grandfather. My prayers go to his family.

My heart is with Betty and your family right now.

... good riddance.

I would post exactly what you just posted. "beth."

and for that I am grateful.

He did it in a quiet and dignified way considering the situation in which he was serving.

I guess that's one of the best things anyone could be remembered for doing.

RIP... Gerald Ford.

You lived a long and interesting life...

I was outraged at the Nixon pardon, but I still think--unlike the cabal we have now--his heart was in the right place and he did what he thought best for the country at the time.

RIP, President Ford. His humor and warmth were just what this country needed after Nixon.

But I believe that he did what he thought was right and spared this country a lot of anguish. I don't feel the same way about Bush*, whose sins, IMHO, are much more egregious than Nixon's...:-(

The first thing I thought of is him tripping into the gates of heaven.


Sorry. Even sorrier I didn't draw a cartoon of it.

Anyone know if he opted for a State Funeral? If so, it'll be a busy week in Washington next week, with the new Congress coming in and all.

from about 5:30 Saturday evening until next Tuesday morning.

At 7:00 p.m. Saturday, there will be a prayer service in the Rotunda.

On Tuesday, January 2nd, former President Ford's casket will be removed from the Rotunda and taken by motorcade to the National Cathedral for a 10:30 a.m. funeral service. After the service, the casket will be transported to Andrews Air Force Base, and flown to his Presidential Library in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The funeral and burial in a tomb near the Ford Presidential Library will be next Wednesday morning.

Shakespeare was dead wrong. The evil men do does NOT live after them, - not in this day and age. The evil, it seems, is often 'interred with their bones.' So shall it be with Gerald Ford.

With the death of Gerald Ford, the secrets he covered up go to the grave as well. He didn't pardon Richard Nixon to heal a nation. Wake up, gullible America - he pardoned Richard Nixon so that the truth of the JFK assassination would not be revealed in any future investigation.

Jesse's Blog today at http:/tvnewslies refuses to support the myth of Ford's altruism. The link at the bottom of the blog is to a Prison Planet video about the GHWBush connection to the JFK assassination you should NOT miss:

http://tvnewslies.org/blog/?p=530

George Harrison and Gerald Ford
Another Beatle, another shoot. This time it's George, guest of President Ford in 1974. Jack Ford, the president's son, second from right, invited Harrison and Ravi Shankar (right) to the White House for lunch.
Photo: AP

arts.guardian.co.uk/gallery/0,,1241182,00.html

There are now none left...

May he rest in peace.

My condolences to his family...

Your party would probably be considered "liberal" by today's neoconservative standards in the current RethugliKKKan party's manifestos.

I wonder if a highly partisan, multi-year trial of Nixon would have delayed our exit from Vietnam. Could Ford, like the Chimp, have said "One last push!"; increasing troop levels and senselessly upping the casualty count?

Pure speculation, of course.

Gerald Ford, like Denny Hastert, was a talentless nobody who was appointed into history
so he could be a puppet for smarter, more ambitious sons of bitches than himself.

"I doubt you'll hear this on TV because it's their job to lie, but when Ford was going thru the
confirmation process to be Nixon-the-crook's VP, they asked him if he'd pardon the crook.
Ford lied like a Bush when he replied, "I don't think the country would stand for that."

And as soon as he got into office he pardoned the dirty crook "for all crimes," which means
murder, rape, torture, invasions - all the things Bush the dumber is guilty of today.


Reminder:
If the Democrats had a single brain cell between them, (Should I bother to finish this sentence?)
they'd warn Bush right now NOT to pardon his gang of thugs until AFTER their public trials
where the truth can come out - but they won't.

They're going to allow Bush to pardon his team of murderer/rapists/torturers
and then claim shock, surprise and outrage after Bush buries the truth forever.
(Unless a certain someone takes my advice...)
How did I get in a party of stupid, spineless weenies?"

Once a righty, always a righty, uh thats me, Red1

Like most people, I vehemently disagreed with his decision to pardon Richard Nixon, but the man did what he felt was right at the time to heal the country after Watergate. He certainly was honest, true to his values, didn't harbor hatred against those he disagreed with, and was down-to-earth. The former President didn't put on airs, that's for sure.

He is probably the last of the true, old-time, rock-ribbed Republicans.

Desite the MYTH, Ford was not an honorable man