The 2012 Gerry Ford Test

Buster · 04-08-2012, 01:48 AM

[URL="http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields/the-2012-gerry-ford-test.html"]http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields/the-2012-gerry-ford-test.html[/URL]

[QUOTE]

It was rightly said of President Harry Truman that he liked being Harry Truman: He was comfortable being Harry Truman; he never thought about being anybody else but Harry Truman.

Equally comfortable in his own skin was President Gerald R. Ford, who more than once quoted Harry Truman on the isolation of flattery to which occupants of the Oval Office so regularly succumb: "The President hears one hundred voices telling him that he is the greatest man in the world. He must listen carefully indeed to hear the one voice that tells him he isn't."

In the 12 presidential campaigns I have been lucky enough to work in or cover, I have never observed a presidential nominee more emotionally healthy than Gerald Ford. Most presidential candidates are so consumed by ambition for the office they lust after that they end up spending too much of their time and lives plotting or manipulating to get there.

As a Republican representative from Grand Rapids, Mich., and as the GOP's House minority leader, Ford had the then-unrealistic goal of becoming speaker after leading Republicans to a majority in the House. Along the way, he instead — after the forced resignations of Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon — became the president of a divided and disheartened nation.

Gerry Ford, refreshingly free of neuroses or self-importance, was Midwestern open and American natural. Voters responded. His 71 percent job-approval rating — some 44 points above the resigning Nixon's — was the highest given any president in 10 years.

Then Gerald Ford listened not to any White House palace guard or campaign mavens. He put principle over political popularity and consciously sabotaged his own chances for re-election by pardoning Richard M. Nixon.

Like too many others at the time, I slipped from skepticism into cynicism, sure that the pardon must have been part of a secret deal for Nixon to leave and Ford to rise. President Ford's poll numbers began the steep drop down to 37 percent approval.

I, and every other cynic, was absolutely wrong. What President Ford did in pardoning Nixon was both courageous and wise. Thus did the man who took pride in the fact that he only had momentary adversaries and no political enemies save his fellow Americans from continuing to tear themselves apart over Richard Nixon. His moral courage (he had already, as his 10 World War II battle stars attested, proved his physical courage) made it possible for the healing of the nation to begin.

After the 1976 Kansas City Republican convention, where a switch of just 59 of the 2,257 delegates to Ronald Reagan would have cost him the nomination, President Ford on Labor Day trailed his Democratic challenger, Jimmy Carter, by 30 points in the polls. That year, more than 81.5 million Americans voted for president. That meant Ford in September was more than 24 million votes behind Carter. By a brilliant campaign effort, Ford closed the gap to the point where on Election Day, with a switch of only 12,740 votes in Ohio and Mississippi, he would have won the White House. The bad taste left from the Nixon pardon changed history.

Regardless of your personal leanings or loyalties, are you optimistic, let alone confident, that your preferred 2012 presidential candidate would jeopardize victory in November — to say nothing of his entire political career — by daring to stare into his own political grave and to put principle above popularity and the health of the nation ahead of his own ambition? Is it too much to ask for a president in 2013 who could pass the Gerry Ford test?

To find out more about Mark Shields and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at [url]www.creators.com[/url].

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM

COPYRIGHT 2012 MARK SHIELDS

[/QUOTE]

intelligentjetsfan · 04-08-2012, 08:56 AM

Ford's pardoning of Nixon was an affront and the idea that it was done to "heal" the country is an insult. It was done for the same reasons that its always been done; to protect the powerful. There was a real opportunity to change the culture but instead the pardon had the opposite affect. It sent a message to future powerful and corrupt politicians that you will eventually land softly. Years later incidents such as the Iran-Contra Affair would serve as a reminder that the powerful had a separate set of rules then everyone else. Oh sure, Nixon was embarrassed and shamed but how many criminals would sign up for embarrassment [B]instead of[/B] prison time.

Ford was the right man at the right time for Nixon as he always knew had to "do a solid" for his bosses.

[url]http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=19096[/url]

sg3 · 04-08-2012, 09:25 AM

Nice fella...crappy Prez..pardoned the crook...nearly killed golf fans in the gallery....still never elected by any Americans not in Grand Rapids MI

Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk

Buster · 04-08-2012, 03:11 PM

[QUOTE=intelligentjetsfan;4430206]Ford's pardoning of Nixon was an affront and the idea that it was done to "heal" the country is an insult. It was done for the same reasons that its always been done; to protect the powerful. There was a real opportunity to change the culture but instead the pardon had the opposite affect. It sent a message to future powerful and corrupt politicians that you will eventually land softly. Years later incidents such as the Iran-Contra Affair would serve as a reminder that the powerful had a separate set of rules then everyone else. Oh sure, Nixon was embarrassed and shamed but how many criminals would sign up for embarrassment [B]instead of[/B] prison time.

Ford was the right man at the right time for Nixon as he always knew had to "do a solid" for his bosses.

[url]http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=19096[/url][/QUOTE]

Perhaps.

Ford knew pardoning Nixon would seriously hamper his chances of winning the Presidential Election.

The Premise of the column is that Ford thought it was the right policy move (for whatever reason) but must've known it was the wrong move politically for him.

Would Either the President Obama or Governor Romney make a move that would cost him the Presidency but at the same time be the right policy?

I doubt it.

04-08-2012, 01:48 AM	#1
Buster not a rocket surgeon All League Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: East of the Jordan, West of the Rock of Gibraltar Posts: 4,251	The 2012 Gerry Ford Test [URL="http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields/the-2012-gerry-ford-test.html"]http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields/the-2012-gerry-ford-test.html[/URL] [QUOTE] It was rightly said of President Harry Truman that he liked being Harry Truman: He was comfortable being Harry Truman; he never thought about being anybody else but Harry Truman. Equally comfortable in his own skin was President Gerald R. Ford, who more than once quoted Harry Truman on the isolation of flattery to which occupants of the Oval Office so regularly succumb: "The President hears one hundred voices telling him that he is the greatest man in the world. He must listen carefully indeed to hear the one voice that tells him he isn't." In the 12 presidential campaigns I have been lucky enough to work in or cover, I have never observed a presidential nominee more emotionally healthy than Gerald Ford. Most presidential candidates are so consumed by ambition for the office they lust after that they end up spending too much of their time and lives plotting or manipulating to get there. As a Republican representative from Grand Rapids, Mich., and as the GOP's House minority leader, Ford had the then-unrealistic goal of becoming speaker after leading Republicans to a majority in the House. Along the way, he instead — after the forced resignations of Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon — became the president of a divided and disheartened nation. Gerry Ford, refreshingly free of neuroses or self-importance, was Midwestern open and American natural. Voters responded. His 71 percent job-approval rating — some 44 points above the resigning Nixon's — was the highest given any president in 10 years. Then Gerald Ford listened not to any White House palace guard or campaign mavens. He put principle over political popularity and consciously sabotaged his own chances for re-election by pardoning Richard M. Nixon. Like too many others at the time, I slipped from skepticism into cynicism, sure that the pardon must have been part of a secret deal for Nixon to leave and Ford to rise. President Ford's poll numbers began the steep drop down to 37 percent approval. I, and every other cynic, was absolutely wrong. What President Ford did in pardoning Nixon was both courageous and wise. Thus did the man who took pride in the fact that he only had momentary adversaries and no political enemies save his fellow Americans from continuing to tear themselves apart over Richard Nixon. His moral courage (he had already, as his 10 World War II battle stars attested, proved his physical courage) made it possible for the healing of the nation to begin. After the 1976 Kansas City Republican convention, where a switch of just 59 of the 2,257 delegates to Ronald Reagan would have cost him the nomination, President Ford on Labor Day trailed his Democratic challenger, Jimmy Carter, by 30 points in the polls. That year, more than 81.5 million Americans voted for president. That meant Ford in September was more than 24 million votes behind Carter. By a brilliant campaign effort, Ford closed the gap to the point where on Election Day, with a switch of only 12,740 votes in Ohio and Mississippi, he would have won the White House. The bad taste left from the Nixon pardon changed history. Regardless of your personal leanings or loyalties, are you optimistic, let alone confident, that your preferred 2012 presidential candidate would jeopardize victory in November — to say nothing of his entire political career — by daring to stare into his own political grave and to put principle above popularity and the health of the nation ahead of his own ambition? Is it too much to ask for a president in 2013 who could pass the Gerry Ford test? To find out more about Mark Shields and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at [url]www.creators.com[/url]. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM COPYRIGHT 2012 MARK SHIELDS [/QUOTE]

04-08-2012, 08:56 AM	#2
intelligentjetsfan All Pro Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 5,307	Ford's pardoning of Nixon was an affront and the idea that it was done to "heal" the country is an insult. It was done for the same reasons that its always been done; to protect the powerful. There was a real opportunity to change the culture but instead the pardon had the opposite affect. It sent a message to future powerful and corrupt politicians that you will eventually land softly. Years later incidents such as the Iran-Contra Affair would serve as a reminder that the powerful had a separate set of rules then everyone else. Oh sure, Nixon was embarrassed and shamed but how many criminals would sign up for embarrassment [B]instead of[/B] prison time. Ford was the right man at the right time for Nixon as he always knew had to "do a solid" for his bosses. [url]http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=19096[/url] Last edited by intelligentjetsfan; 04-08-2012 at 09:08 AM.

04-08-2012, 09:25 AM	#3
sg3 REX AND THE I-MAN - BACK ON TRACK Jets Insider VIP Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The Big Apple, USA Posts: 20,342	Nice fella...crappy Prez..pardoned the crook...nearly killed golf fans in the gallery....still never elected by any Americans not in Grand Rapids MI Sent from my SGH-T679 using Tapatalk

04-08-2012, 03:11 PM	#4
Buster not a rocket surgeon All League Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: East of the Jordan, West of the Rock of Gibraltar Posts: 4,251	[QUOTE=intelligentjetsfan;4430206]Ford's pardoning of Nixon was an affront and the idea that it was done to "heal" the country is an insult. It was done for the same reasons that its always been done; to protect the powerful. There was a real opportunity to change the culture but instead the pardon had the opposite affect. It sent a message to future powerful and corrupt politicians that you will eventually land softly. Years later incidents such as the Iran-Contra Affair would serve as a reminder that the powerful had a separate set of rules then everyone else. Oh sure, Nixon was embarrassed and shamed but how many criminals would sign up for embarrassment [B]instead of[/B] prison time. Ford was the right man at the right time for Nixon as he always knew had to "do a solid" for his bosses. [url]http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=19096[/url][/QUOTE] Perhaps. Ford knew pardoning Nixon would seriously hamper his chances of winning the Presidential Election. The Premise of the column is that Ford thought it was the right policy move (for whatever reason) but must've known it was the wrong move politically for him. Would Either the President Obama or Governor Romney make a move that would cost him the Presidency but at the same time be the right policy? I doubt it.