Remembering Gerald R. Ford


President Gerald Ford will be greatly missed. Though today I'm a strong Democrat, I've always admired President Ford. In fact, my first presidential vote was cast as an 18 year old in 1976. Ford lost that year to Jimmy Carter, but despite my political sea change, I'm not sorry I voted for Ford.


At a time when a political crisis threatened to bring down the presidency, when for the first time ever a sitting President resigned, he stepped in and brought the nation together. He was the right person for the job for the precise reason that he had never sought and never intended to seek the Presidency. In fact, as I've heard it, his greatest ambition was to become Speaker of the House (that would have required a change in party control, which wouldn't happen until 1994). His pardon of Nixon likely destroyed his re-election hopes, but it was the right thing to do (and history has shown that his courageous act was the right thing to do).


Ford was an old-style Republican. He was of course pro-business and all, but his was a limited but efficient government vision. It was interesting to read about his pride at his one Supreme Court nomination -- John Paul Stevens -- one of the court's most liberal members.


In an age of polarization and political incivility, the political scene could learn something from the graciousness and the humility of President Ford. Would that the next President had some of his defining characteristics!!!
Let us therefore with grateful hearts remember a man of faith, vision, compassion and grace.

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