Gerald Ford, US President from 1974 to 1976, has died aged 93, his widow Betty has announced. Ford became America's leader in the exceptional circumstances after Richard Nixon's resignation and his presidency was always overshadowed by Nixon. He chose 'A return to honesty' as the theme of his presidency although his decision to pardon his predecessor for the Watergate scandal was very controversial. He was an otherwise unexceptional leader and he contributed to the economic consensus that brought America low during the 1970s.
President Bush has issued the following statement:
"Laura and I are greatly saddened by the passing of former President Gerald R. Ford. President Ford was a great American who gave many years of dedicated service to our country. On August 9, 1974, after a long career in the House of Representatives and service as Vice President, he assumed the Presidency in an hour of national turmoil and division. With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the Presidency. The American people will always admire Gerald Ford's devotion to duty, his personal character, and the honorable conduct of his administration. We mourn the loss of such a leader, and our 38th President will always have a special place in our Nation's memory. On behalf of all Americans, Laura and I offer our deepest sympathies to Betty Ford and all of President Ford's family. Our thoughts and prayers will be with them in the hours and days ahead."
Ford did contribute one of my very favourite quotations to the conservative movement:
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."
Gerald Ford might have been President for a short time but not sure about unexceptional - in pardoning Nixon, offering pardon to Vietnam draft dodgers, withdrawing from Vietnam he brought an era to a close - and with SALT & Helsinki we saw the beginning of the geo-politics of the 70' & 80's.
Then he brought into office a few now well known figures - George Bush Snr as head of CIA, Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defence & Cheney as Chief of Staff. We are living in a world that Ford's choices played a large part in creating, for good or ill.
Posted by: Ted | December 27, 2006 at 12:09
It was Nixon who brought George Bush (Ambassador to the UN) and Donald Rumsfeld(Assistant to the President and Cabinet member) into government, Ted.
SALT can also be more fairly attributed to the Nixon administration, as it was their response to the demise of the US ABM system.
In a sense modern geo-politics owes more to first term Nixon than to anyone else. Before SALT and detente, Nixon's administration seemed to epitomise the belief that military might could be used to meet foreign policy objectives.
Posted by: James Hellyer | December 27, 2006 at 12:51
In a sense modern geo-politics owes more to first term Nixon than to anyone else.
So true. And it was Nixon who opened the door to China after Brezhnev asked the USA to join the USSR in a pre-emptive nuclear strike on China after the Yusuri River incidents.
Posted by: TomTom | December 27, 2006 at 13:07