RIP President Ford.

Yes RIP

I guess his dying hope was that pardoning Nixon wouldn't be held against him at the Pearly Gates.

One of the very few genuinely nice guys ever to get to the White House. And the last of the great pipe smoking Presidents. I'm going to have a bowl in his honor tonight.

I liked Gerry Ford. Remember the Mayaguez? It was one of our ships that the Cambodians decided to commandeer, back in the '70s. Ford gave them something like 24 hours to return the ship and crew. When they failed to comply, we destroyed every airfield Cambodia had. They had virtually no air force left. They gave the crew back soon after.

You gotta love a Prez who doesn't take any crap from these little fifth rate countries.

He was a truly good man. We don't seem to have enough of them in politics these days.

Go with honor.

A great man dropped into an awkward position. Rest in peace.

RIP

Boy Scout, Naval Officer in WWII, assumed presidency in August 74, who
oversaw our complete withdrawal from Vietnam by April 75, and squeaked
through an assassination attempt. A man who made some hard decisions
and got some things done which never seemed to please a majority. RIP.

A great statesman and honorable man - he did what he thought best for the country and worked to bring the nation back together after Vietnam and Watergate.

squeaked through an assassination attempt

Click to expand...

Actually, there were 2 attempts; Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sarah Jane Moore - both occurred in 1975.

He got the most out of the hand he was dealt with grace and honor. I am proud to say I voted for him for President.

OT but we don't lose all that many folks who've been President.

I recall a round-table discussion on CSpan one time, about foreign policy affairs. Ford's knowledge notably outshown the Sunday morning pundits. He ever so gently and politely skewered such as Dan Rather and others of that ilk. IMO Ford was definitely under-rated...

Art

Sadly he will probably be remembered mostly as the guy who pardoned Nixon, or as a common political hack. He was both, but also a lot more. He had to know that pardoning Nixon would kill any chance of being elected president, yet he did it anyway. The spectacle of a president being dragged through the criminal justice system over minor actions similar in those of many previous presidents was something he apparently felt was not in the national interest, so he did what he felt was best for the nation, rather than what was good for himself. Not a lot of politicans would have chosen the best interests of the county over self interest.

Surely James Brown's death is more firearm related than the passing of USA's only non-elected President?

Wasn't he the guy that told NY to "go stuff it"?

I'm too young to really know President Ford. I just remember that he was the klutzy President who fell down the stairs.

But from what I did see of him growing up, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy.
He pardoned Nixon for crying out loud!

Outlived by Squeaky Fromme, now that must be a basis for some sort of conspiracy movie. Jodie Foster could play Squeaky and all the tinfoil hats would be shaking with the links to Reagan.

Ford was something we haven't been able to elect in what, 40 years?

An honest President.

A good man

not much use for politicians of any stripe here, but i must say that this appeared to be a decent and honorable man. i never from day one understood the nonsense complaining about the "pardon". Ford stepped up and did what the president should have done(as would have Truman); otherwise, the talking heads would have tied up the country through the next election with "what to do with Nixon" gibberish. i didn't have any use for Nixon either, but i did'nt have a need for jail and all that for him-you couldn't do worse to a guy like him anyway than to force him to step down from the top job and pack his bags and his family and get out of town(Nixon was a smart guy who appeared to be flawed by some kind of inferiority complex). Kissinger(another poseur for whom i have little use) did offer an interesting commentary. he pointed out that heroes follow an inner light regardless of personal gain, whereas stars follow the applause of the crowd(read: focus groups, polls, etc.). Ford was a hero, not a star. RIP.

huh....Im surprised this isnt locked yet for being "Not Gun Related"..

I voted for him and always regarded him as a decent and honorable man. IMO, the pardon of Nixon was best for the country.

I heard his comment on gun control last night on Larry
King. He thought reasonable gun control wasn't a problem
at all. He said it wouldn't stop all the problems, but would help.
CNN was showing an interview he had with Larry King last night
in respect to his passing. Still and all I hope he's at rest now.

He also signed a letter

with former Presidents Reagan and Bush supporting the Brady Act in 1993.

In general, an underrated leader. He was dealt a very tough hand and took the best choices available, in a decisive manner.

As a nation, we could use more of that.

"Thanks for you service, President Ford."

He was a good man in a tough situation.

Class act.