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Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/26/2006 11:22:41 PM

dcnovice

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122601257.html

This diehard Democrat has always liked and admired President Ford for the down-to-earth decency that he brought to the White House during one of the United States' most precarious moments. I think his pardoning Nixon, which lanced the Watergate boil, was an all-too-rare example of a leader's doing what he thought was right, despite the cost to himself.

And I respect the candor that he brought to the 1975 State of the Union address: "I must say to you that the state of the union is not good. Millions of Americans are out of work. Recession and inflation are eroding the money of millions more. Prices are too high and sales are too slow." Not many pols dare to speak to us so honestly.

May he rest in peace.

< Message edited by dcnovice -- 12/26/2006 11:25:43 PM >

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 3:56:09 AM

ShiftedJewel

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I really like Ford, I'm sorry he's gone.

Jewel

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 4:03:42 AM

KenDckey

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the loss of any commander is not a good thing. I think he came to his own after he left his presidency in his work with Habitat for Humanities. An outstanding example of an American.

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 4:32:13 PM

Level

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Rest in peace, Mr. President. From all accounts, he was a genuinely decent man.

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 4:45:03 PM

thompsonx

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I thought he was an asshole for pardoning that fucking criminal.
thompson

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 4:56:19 PM

ScooterTrash

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quote:

ORIGINAL: thompsonx

I thought he was an asshole for pardoning that fucking criminal.
thompson

Whatever (geeez)...if they actually deemed all presidents (or anyone most likely) criminals who did something illegal...they all would be criminals. Tricky Dick wasn't necessarily on my list of favorites, but he didn't do anything any more horrendous than the rest of them do, he was just implicated into it better. Pardoning him was likely the "right" thing to do at the time.
As for Gerald Ford specifically....he did well with what he was handed during a volatile time. He tended to trip and tumble occasionally, but you also knew he was human because of it. The honorable ones continue to do work to make the world a better place, even after they are out of office. I rate him high due to that.

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 5:02:09 PM

maybemaybenot

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Maybe it's my age, maybe it's just being a litle jaded.. but seeing Presidents like Ford and Reagan pass on saddens me a bit. I may not have agreed with them politically, but Reagan was a leader and Ford was a healer. I see no one on the horizon who has either of these qualities. Ford once commented on the current state of politics and <I am paraphrasing> he said he was saddened by how personal and mean spirited it has become. He spoke of Tip O'neal and he debating harshly on the Senate floor, and after the Senate was out of session, they would go have dinner and a beer. Despite their very opposing political ideology, they liked each other as people and understood that politics should not divide.

thompsonx:
I think Mr. Clinton is an asshole for giving up the Panama Canal and for giving the ability to make nuclear weapons to the Iranians. However, when he passes away, if I am alive, I will not feel the need to defame him. It may not be a loss to you or me personally, but it is a loss to their loved ones and their friends. Out of respect to the ones who did nothing other than love them, I empathize their loss.

mbmbn

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When tolerance is not reciprocated, tolerance becomes surrender.

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 5:07:07 PM

thompsonx

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quote:

ORIGINAL: ScooterTrash

quote:

ORIGINAL: thompsonx

I thought he was an asshole for pardoning that fucking criminal.
thompson

Whatever (geeez)...if they actually deemed all presidents (or anyone most likely) criminals who did something illegal...they all would be criminals. Tricky Dick wasn't necessarily on my list of favorites, but he didn't do anything any more horrendous than the rest of them do, he was just implicated into it better. Pardoning him was likely the "right" thing to do at the time.
As for Gerald Ford specifically....he did well with what he was handed during a volatile time. He tended to trip and tumble occasionally, but you also knew he was human because of it. The honorable ones continue to do work to make the world a better place, even after they are out of office. I rate him high due to that.

ScooterTrash:
There is a long and tedious thread on this board about illegal aliens and the ongoing theme about how what they do is illegal and the law is the law and any country that does not follow the law yadda yadda yadda....yet when the holder of the highest office in the country is guilty of breaking the laws he is pardoned for any and all crimes he may have commited or be accused of...seems more than just a bit hypocritical.
thompson

(in reply to ScooterTrash)

Post #: 8

RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 5:19:33 PM

maybemaybenot

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How do you feel about a President pardoning, public figures who have comitted 12 counts of sexual assault, child pornography, cocaine trafficing, bank fraud, obstruction of justice, stealing 1.2 million tax dollars in charitable donations and about 130 non public figures for crimes ranging from terrorist bombings to mail fraud?

mbmbn

_____________________________

Tolerance of evil is suicide.- NYC Firefighter

When tolerance is not reciprocated, tolerance becomes surrender.

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 5:58:37 PM

thompsonx

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quote:

ORIGINAL: maybemaybenot

Maybe it's my age, maybe it's just being a litle jaded.. but seeing Presidents like Ford and Reagan pass on saddens me a bit. I may not have agreed with them politically, but Reagan was a leader and Ford was a healer. I see no one on the horizon who has either of these qualities. Ford once commented on the current state of politics and <I am paraphrasing> he said he was saddened by how personal and mean spirited it has become. He spoke of Tip O'neal and he debating harshly on the Senate floor, and after the Senate was out of session, they would go have dinner and a beer. Despite their very opposing political ideology, they liked each other as people and understood that politics should not divide.

thompsonx:
I think Mr. Clinton is an asshole for giving up the Panama Canal and for giving the ability to make nuclear weapons to the Iranians. However, when he passes away, if I am alive, I will not feel the need to defame him. It may not be a loss to you or me personally, but it is a loss to their loved ones and their friends. Out of respect to the ones who did nothing other than love them, I empathize their loss.

mbmbn

I also think Clinton is an asshole and I will feel the same way after he dies.
You might want to read up on the history of the Panama canal. There is no part of Panama that the U.S. ever owned.
As for Clinton giving the ability to make nuclear weapons to Iran you might want to substanciate that for the rest of us.
I am not defaming Ford or Clinton they both have done a pretty good job of that themselves. I am only pointing my astonishing grasp of the obvious.
thompson

(in reply to maybemaybenot)

Post #: 10

RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 6:01:57 PM

mnottertail

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Just argggghhhhhhh!!!!!

Ron

< Message edited by mnottertail -- 12/27/2006 6:05:45 PM >

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 6:21:51 PM

maybemaybenot

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thompsonx:
I stand corrected, I was thinking of North Korea and withdrawl from the Nuclear NonProlif Treaty and subsequent actions.
As for the Panama Canal, it was the operations we gave up, not ownership. I made a general assumption that that part was understood. Even Hilary agrees with me on that one.

In any case, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I was simply pointing out, they all do some pretty questionable things.

mbmbn

< Message edited by maybemaybenot -- 12/27/2006 6:24:52 PM >

_____________________________

Tolerance of evil is suicide.- NYC Firefighter

When tolerance is not reciprocated, tolerance becomes surrender.

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 7:00:27 PM

dcnovice

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quote:

I think Mr. Clinton is an asshole for giving up the Panama Canal

I thought the Panama Canal treaties were during the Carter Administration.

(in reply to maybemaybenot)

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 7:12:05 PM

Lordandmaster

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Funny, I see it exactly the other way around. Nixon wouldn't have resigned if he didn't know Ford would pardon him. What was the "cost to himself" that Ford had to incur?

quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice

I think his pardoning Nixon, which lanced the Watergate boil, was an all-too-rare example of a leader's doing what he thought was right, despite the cost to himself.

(in reply to dcnovice)

Post #: 14

RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 7:20:00 PM

dcnovice

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lordandmaster

Funny, I see it exactly the other way around. Nixon wouldn't have resigned if he didn't know Ford would pardon him. What was the "cost to himself" that Ford had to incur?

quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice

I think his pardoning Nixon, which lanced the Watergate boil, was an all-too-rare example of a leader's doing what he thought was right, despite the cost to himself.

Bob Woodward has a piece in today's Post about how Ford did not believe he'd made a deal to pardon Nixon. I know I'm naive, but I tend to believe him. Of course, Nixon may still have surmised that Ford would pardon him.

What I meant by the "cost" to Ford was twofold. First, his popularity nose-dived after the pardon. Second, the pardon probably played a key role in his losing the White House in 1976.

< Message edited by dcnovice -- 12/27/2006 7:23:05 PM >

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 7:28:18 PM

Lordandmaster

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It's hard for me to feel too much sympathy since I don't believe Ford would have gotten into the White House in the first place if Nixon hadn't been damned sure he was going to be pardoned.

Shrug. I guess I'm just tired of the obituaries for all these gilded WASP gentlemen who held high elective office and didn't do very much except forge political factions and make themselves even wealthier than when they started.

quote:

ORIGINAL: dcnovice

Second, the pardon probably played a key role in his losing the White House in 1976.

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/27/2006 7:37:23 PM

dcnovice

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lordandmaster

I don't believe Ford would have gotten into the White House in the first place if Nixon hadn't been damned sure he was going to be pardoned.

You may be right about that.

quote:

Shrug. I guess I'm just tired of the obituaries for all these gilded WASP gentlemen who held high elective office and didn't do very much except forge political factions and make themselves even wealthier than when they started.

I felt more or less that way with all the hagiography (sp?) when Reagan died. With Ford, though, I think his low-key manner and candor did make a difference after the secretive, imperial Nixon regime. And I've always loved Betty!

(in reply to Lordandmaster)

Post #: 17

RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/28/2006 6:52:09 AM

farglebargle

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The piece of shit, Ford, pardoned Nixon.

Nixon pretty much went to war with The People of The United States, with Cointelpro, and some say that Nixon is responsible for the "Accidental" deaths of Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison.

After all, when Morrison was singing "Set the night on fire", he wasn't just talking about the bedroom.

And let's never forget that the War on Drugs is all Nixons fault. How many wasted lives lost in that war?

Our long national nightmare continues through the Iraq Quagmire, and precedent appears that Bush won't be held accountable for his crimes ( e.g: 18 USC 371 )...

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/28/2006 7:28:31 AM

thompsonx

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quote:

ORIGINAL: maybemaybenot

thompsonx:
I stand corrected, I was thinking of North Korea and withdrawl from the Nuclear NonProlif Treaty and subsequent actions.
As for the Panama Canal, it was the operations we gave up, not ownership. I made a general assumption that that part was understood. Even Hilary agrees with me on that one.

In any case, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I was simply pointing out, they all do some pretty questionable things.

mbmbn

mbmbn:
I can't say for certain if Hilary agrees with me that her husband is an asshole but I think she is an asshole also.
For a better understanding of the Panama canal you might want to read Ol'
Gimlet Eye by Lowell Thomas (the section that concerns how the marine corps interdicted the columbian army thus allowing the US to steal panama instead of paying for it) and The Path Between the Seas by David McCoullagh. Both are pretty quick reads and may help you to understand the relationship the US has with Panama.
thompson

(in reply to maybemaybenot)

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RE: Gerald R. Ford, R.I.P. - 12/28/2006 7:59:18 AM

Chaingang

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"Gerald Ford's Legacy: Cheney and Rumsfeld"
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=151567

"...Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush--that's the legacy of Gerald Ford."

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