Comments on: I miss Gerald Ford http://www.turningleft.net/2006/12/29/i-miss-gerald-ford/ On the Liberal Front Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:59:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: G http://www.turningleft.net/2006/12/29/i-miss-gerald-ford/#comment-15 G Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:28:42 +0000 http://turningleft.net/2006/12/29/i-miss-gerald-ford/#comment-15 Thank you for the clarification. You're right about the likely outcome had events been permitted to go to their logical conclusion. A prosecution of a former president no doubt would have been a more effective deterrent against the current abuses we see than the pardon was. Thank you for the clarification. You’re right about the likely outcome had events been permitted to go to their logical conclusion. A prosecution of a former president no doubt would have been a more effective deterrent against the current abuses we see than the pardon was.

]]> By: Ron Chusid http://www.turningleft.net/2006/12/29/i-miss-gerald-ford/#comment-14 Ron Chusid Fri, 29 Dec 2006 21:17:08 +0000 http://turningleft.net/2006/12/29/i-miss-gerald-ford/#comment-14 I'm afraid you misunderstood my post which you linked to at DemBloggers (with orignal post at Liberal Values: http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=814 I did not say that the pardon of Nixon in any way decreased the chances of impeaching Bush. As you did, I noted how freely the Republicans used impeachment . I didn't see impeachment as a sufficient deterrent since 1) Bush is unlikely to have believed that the Republicans would lose control of congress, and therefore impeachment was not likely, and 2) impeachment by itself is not sufficient when in today's polarized climate conviction would be unlikely even if the Republicans did lose their Senate majority, espeicially as the right wing noise machine would continue to back Bush's actions. As for the actual arguments I gave against the pardon, see the post, especially the 4th paragraph. I’m afraid you misunderstood my post which you linked to at DemBloggers (with orignal post at Liberal Values:

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=814

I did not say that the pardon of Nixon in any way decreased the chances of impeaching Bush. As you did, I noted how freely the Republicans used impeachment .

I didn’t see impeachment as a sufficient deterrent since 1) Bush is unlikely to have believed that the Republicans would lose control of congress, and therefore impeachment was not likely, and 2) impeachment by itself is not sufficient when in today’s polarized climate conviction would be unlikely even if the Republicans did lose their Senate majority, espeicially as the right wing noise machine would continue to back Bush’s actions.

As for the actual arguments I gave against the pardon, see the post, especially the 4th paragraph.

]]> By: lolits http://www.turningleft.net/2006/12/29/i-miss-gerald-ford/#comment-13 lolits Fri, 29 Dec 2006 14:42:58 +0000 http://turningleft.net/2006/12/29/i-miss-gerald-ford/#comment-13 My mom was one of those proper women from another generation who wasn't sure politics was an appropriate topic for dinner table discussion. All four of her apples fell a long distance from that tree, especially her daughters. In her later years, she loosened up a bit and I remember her comment about trying to decide whether to vote for incumbent president Ford or for an unknown peanut farmer from Georgia. She was leaning toward the unknown , but she said with real regret in her voice, "But the President is such a nice man." He was a good and decent man who lived by principle, not expediency. Thankfully the unknown peanut farmer was another principled President. Ford's pardon of Nixon cost him. I disagree that it was the right thing to do, but he thought it was and he was willing to take his chances. Integrity, conscience, courage! Not a bad way to be remembered. May he rest in peace! My mom was one of those proper women from another generation who wasn’t sure politics was an appropriate topic for dinner table discussion. All four of her apples fell a long distance from that tree, especially her daughters. In her later years, she loosened up a bit and I remember her comment about trying to decide whether to vote for incumbent president Ford or for an unknown peanut farmer from Georgia. She was leaning toward the unknown , but she said with real regret in her voice, “But the President is such a nice man.”

He was a good and decent man who lived by principle, not expediency. Thankfully the unknown peanut farmer was another principled President.

Ford’s pardon of Nixon cost him. I disagree that it was the right thing to do, but he thought it was and he was willing to take his chances. Integrity, conscience, courage! Not a bad way to be remembered. May he rest in peace!

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