Cheney hails Ford's pardon of Nixon

[superconnected]

Cheney hails Ford's pardon of Nixon By CALVIN WOODWARD and JEFF WILSON, Associated Press Writers
24 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - With the thunder of cannon and the whistle of a bos'n pipe, the nation's capital honored Gerald R. Ford's memory Saturday in funeral ceremonies recalling the touchstones of his life, from combat in the Pacific to a career he cherished in Congress to a presidency he did not seek.

Old colleagues, today's leaders and ordinary Americans remembered him as a man called to heal the country from the wounds of Watergate, the scandal that shattered Richard Nixon's presidency in 1974 and brought the even-keeled Ford to the Oval Office.

Ford's decision to pardon Nixon, so divisive at the time that it probably cost him the 1976 election, was dealt with squarely in his funeral services by his old chief of staff, Vice President Dick Cheney.

"It was this man, Gerald R. Ford, who led our republic safely though a crisis that could have turned to catastrophe," said Cheney, speaking in the Capitol Rotunda where Ford's body rested in a flag-draped casket. "Gerald Ford was almost alone in understanding that there can be no healing without pardon."

more..

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061231/ap_on_re_us/gerald_ford

[Eric J in MN]

1. Let's see if Rush Limbaugh attacks Cheney for politicizing a funeral...

...the way Limbaugh shouted that Paul Wellstone's memorial was political.

[Selteri]

7. Hard to tell

I mean, he'd have to stop shaking enough from his histrionics to be able to reply, neh? It's hard to tell with Dick if he's wishfully thinknig that it will be how he gets the presidency or it might just be him trying to divert people from the idea of impeaching his and King George's butt's 5 times over.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "But Saddam wasn't playing ball, so we had to OFF him." - Dick Five Deferments Cheney

"He was never really one of the boys, if you know what I mean. Tough noogies."

- Dickie 5D

[54anickel]

3. He's just trying to set us up for a repeat.

[wordpix]

28. that's my take, too: "pardon the criminals to heal the nation"---criminals like Dickhead

[jeff30997]

4. Nixon was THE catastrophe,Rumfield!

[Kingshakabobo]

5. Was he loosening his collar with his index finger when he said this? nt

[superconnected]

6. cheneys statement:

"It was this man, Gerald R. Ford, who led our republic safely though a crisis that could have turned to catastrophe," said Cheney, speaking in the Capitol Rotunda where Ford's body rested in a flag-draped casket. "Gerald Ford was almost alone in understanding that there can be no healing without pardon."

----

Considering his and bush's war crime and crimes against americas democracy, I'm guessing he is saying that he wants to be pardoned, instead of executed like saddam, when we finally try him.

[sandrakae]

8. Fuck yeah, cause he knows he might need a President some day to pardon him.

The Fucking Crooked Bastard.

[enid602]

9. insurance

Sounds like old Cheney's just taking out a bit of insurance.

[Blackhatjack]

10. Cheney will make the same argument for himself later.....

... Ford obviously was not totally honest with the American people if the comments attributed to him are accurate --that he granted the pardon for his dear friend Nixon because he did not want his dear friend to suffer from the stigma of criminal charges.

Ford had a duty as President to exercise the power to pardon on the behalf of the American people for their best interests, not the best interests of Nixon.

[Bob3]

11. if anybody was in any doubt that Ford's Pardon of Nixon

was a rotten idea - the fact that Darth Cheney approves should remove all doubts.

[msongs]

12. the can be no CONVICTION without a trial, Mr. War Criminal VP! nt

[HuffleClaw]

13. wow. that is some offensive.

he's one sinister piece of work.

[Nevernose]

14. And what did he say for Clinton's impeachment?

I don't know, but if you could tell me what his opinion of "healing" was during that shameful episode, I could tell you whether or not he was a hypocrite (in addition to being a war criminal).

[Say_What]

15. Nice groundwork Dick, you PR*CK... n/t

[aquart]

16. That alone should tell you it was the wrong thing to do.

Does anyone here remember what followed that "healing" act? The ME Decade. America's young and not so young lost total faith in our institutions and the possibility of justice and substantive change and threw all their efforts into the only thing they could control: their own bodies.

They learned that our constitution didn't cover the high and the mighty. So they set out to make money and muscles.

[Whoa_Nelly]

17. Be afraid, Cheney...be very afraid

There may be no pardon for you, you worthless weasel

[xxqqqzme]

18. Anybody else think frist looked stoned?

That goofy smiled frozen on his face? Fat denny needs to get some new suits or lose weight - those buttons on his jacket were straining to do their job. Viagra bob looks like crap.

Wonder if crashcart was lookin' around & wondering of this is what his service will look like in a couple of years. He looks more like Danny De Vito as 'The Penquin' every time I see him.

Where was chucklenuts? Still busy figurin' out that Iraq mess?

Did you notice every time darth spoke to Betty Ford, her son would put his hand on her shoulder, as if to protect her?

Interesting - could it have been any more chaotic? It seemed like no one knew what was happening next. Isn't there a protocol handbook some where w/ all the instructions?

[Eurobabe]

19. That's real fucking rich, "subliminable" message here anywhere?

Chain-Knee's gonna NEED a pardon when we impeach his fat ass.

But he won't get one, because he's an even bigger CROOK than Nixon!!

[Garbo 2004]

20. Scabpicker, fearmongering, hatemongering divisive liar Cheney speaks of "healing."

Hoo boy.

What "crisis?" What "catastrophe?" The unimpeded functioning of the rule of law? That inhabitants of the Executive Office were not above the law and could be prosecuted for crimes committed in office? Yeah, one imagines old Dick would regard that as a "catastrophe."

[cyr330]

21. oh yeah

I bet he & his fat, ugly ass are thinking about how handy a pardon would be for them, should the Dems have the guts & balls to actually do them some damage.

[Tellurian]

22. No, what Cheney was thinking is if a Trial went forward with Nixon.

the nefarious network working behind the scenes while Nixon was president,
namely, himself, BushI and Rumsfeld, would be exposed during the Trial.

If Nixon was taping his own conversations, rest assured, conversations tagging
the Treacherous Trio had been taped as well. I'm sure, Cheney and BushI, confidently
rode into the sunset knowing the damaging information contained on those tapes had been
destroyed before even Nixon himself knew what their tapes contained.

Lots of back slapping going on the day the helicoptered Nixon rose in shame and exile.
Cheney and BushI successfully dodging a bullet. The risk of exposing their nefarious
subversive activities now nothing more than the sound of a vortex of whirling, swirling,
chopper blades.

What we are now experiencing is the culmination of so much sewage (gone unexamined) under the bridge.

Sewage generated by the Treacherous Trio conveniently heaped with 3 sets of hands on Nixon.
Dumping and pardoning Nixon was in THEIR best interests. Ending the discovery process that might reveal
a vast underground of subversive, treasonous activities helmed by the three headed hydra.

The full air of relief came the minute the squeaky clean Ford accepted the tap as Nixon's replacement.
BushI and Cheney back in the saddle with a new check list in hand. First order of business. Keep Ford
in the dark for as long as possible while raising the Jolly Roger at a new, undisclosed, location.

[catzies]

31. A most excellent post.

:thumbsup:

[Zorra]

23. "No healing without pardon". What a crock of buzzard spew.

Ford's pardon of Nixon was instrumental in allowing Reagan to get elected a few years later.

After Watergate, no republican should have been elected ever again.

And that would have been a genuine healing for this country. Because Ford pardoned Bu*h, Reagan got to lay the foundation for the destruction of the US, a GOP project that Bu*h, Cheney and the rest of the corrupt republican party are in the process of finishing as fast as they possibly can.

[LeftishBrit]

24. Well, he may need someone to pardon HIM one of these days!

[LeftishBrit]

25. 'Frist later indicated Broomfield was OK.'

That's slightly worrying. Being diagnosed as OK by Frist sounds a bit sinister. Hope he'll be fine, in spite of the Frist bit!

[tanyev]

26. I wonder if Cheney's realized that he'll always be remembered

as the VP that shot a guy in the face.

[leesa]

27. I'll bet he thinks pardons are a real swell idea.

[DoYouEverWonder]

29. Ford and Nixon

In the ashes of the WTC.

[MiniMe]

30. He is thinking of himself and a dem congress.

Pardon me so the nation can heal.

[teryang]

32. What happened to personal responsibility for criminal acts?

...you know that ancient Anglo-American jurisprudential principle of personal responsibility?

He see's his fate coming (prison) and hopes to avoid it. No running to Paraguay for him.

Is he pathetic or what? These are people who like to "take the gloves off" by torturing and killing their enemies but seek clemency for themselves.

[Imagevision]

33. Most important was the fact that Nixon got rid of the 18 minute tapes gap, which

had references to the JFK assasination...

[struggle4progress]

34. Ford cited friendship in Nixon pardon

Fri Dec 29, 2006 4:23pm ET

By David Alexander

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former President Gerald Ford told an interviewer last year he pardoned Richard Nixon in part to spare his friend the stigma of a criminal conviction for the Watergate cover-up, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

The explanation goes beyond Ford's previous insistence that he issued the pardon to move the United States beyond the partisan divisions of Watergate.

"I looked upon him as my personal friend. And I had no hesitancy about granting the pardon because I felt that we had this relationship and I didn't want to see my real friend have the stigma," Ford, who died on Tuesday at age 93, told journalist Bob Woodward in a 2005 interview ...

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-12-29T212255Z_01_N29218977_RTRUKOC_0_US-FORD-nixon.xml