Jimmy Carter remembers Gerald Ford

[DemocratSinceBirth]

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. Former President Jimmy Carter is remembering Gerald Ford as "one of the most admirable public servants and human beings" he has ever known.

Carter defeated Ford in 1976. Ford, who died last night, assumed the presidency in 1974 upon the resignation of Richard Nixon because of the Watergate scandal.

Carter called the Michigan Republican "an outstanding statesman" who "wisely chose the path of healing during a deeply divisive time" in America's history.












http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5861517&nav=0RbQ

[npincus]

1. Carter is a class act.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. And A Truthteller...

When I was young and immature I pilloried Gerald Ford because he had a (R) after his name....


I now know he was a fundamentally decent guy which trumps ideology...

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. When I was young and immature I pilloried Gerald Ford because

he pre-emptively pardoned Nixon, allowing him to be rehabilitated in later years as a republican elder statesman instead of of criminal he was - it was Ford who named Poppy to head the CIA; it was Ford who gave Rummy and Cheney their starts, allowing them positions well above their competance level; Ford was a spokesman for the Warren Commission, who never backed away from its conclusions, even to the point of squashing contrary evidence -- and btw, as a member of the Warren Commission he certainly knew that Poppy Bush claimed to not know where he was on 11/22/63, and yet he appointed him to head the CIA anyway.

I'm not going to praise someone just because he had the good grace to shuffle off this mortal coil - I'm not going to celebrate, but I won't waste tears on the old fascist either.

[hughee99]

16. Wow, Gerald Ford, a FASCIST, never thought I'd hear that... n/t

[RaleighNCDUer]

20. You must not have been around in the 70s. nt

[hughee99]

24. Or perhaps I'm just following the definition

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/fascist

Main Entry: fas·cism
Pronunciation: 'fa-"shi-z&m also 'fa-"si-
Function: noun
Etymology: Italian fascismo, from fascio bundle, fasces, group, from Latin fascis bundle & fasces fasces
1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality -- J. W. Aldridge>

[RaleighNCDUer]

27. I know the definition. Perhaps you don't know the politician.

"autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader"

He pre-emptively pardoned Nixon, which forestalled any investigations into the crimes of the Nixon administration, as well as investigations of Tricky Dick himself - Nixon was the first to promulgate the notion that the president was above the law. He made * possible.

"forcible suppression of opposition"

Using the force of law, rather than direct force, he was a driving force of the Warren Commission which decided that Oswald was a lone shooter, then marshalled all the evidence to support only that pre-supposition. Using the power of governmet to squelch investigations of the assassination of the opposing party's leader - what would you call that?

If you go by Musoulini's definition of fascist as being corporatist, he was clearly a fascist - he was no friend of labor.

If the jackboot fits...

[hughee99]

32. So it's Gerald Ford, dictatorial leader?

Yes, I remember when my mother was carted off in the night because of her opposition to Gerald Ford's wars of aggression. I remember when Ford burned down congress and declared himself chancellor, and proceeded to pack the courts. I recall when his political opponents were killed. I remember when he dissolved the labor unions, and imposed his will on the people of America. I remember the great oppression he inflicted in his 2 1/2 years as president. :sarcasm:

So your argument is that pardoning Nixon (which I'll admit that I don't agree with) is the same thing as an "autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader". That his "work" on the Warren Commission, which he was only one member of, 10 years before his presidency, is the same thing as his government being characterized by it's "forcible suppression of opposition". Is this what your saying?

Naturally, anyone who's not a "friend to labor" is fascist, since there are no other political ideologies that are not friendly to labor.

I'm no Gerald Ford fan, but the jackboot doesn't fit. I'm just a little tired of hearing that everyone from the guy who puts up a keep off the grass sign, to the professor who INSISTS that all homework be turned in on time, to the guy at the coffee shop that ran out of "grande" cups is a fascist. If people use the word inaccurately often enough, no one will really know what it means at all.

[RaleighNCDUer]

34. In your eagerness to defend him you twist what I say with

hyperbole.

Obviously, he was not a Nazi. You know what? Not all fascists were Nazis. He tended more toward the Henry Ford, Charles Lindburgh home-grown fascism of coroporatism and Americanism - what's good for big business is good for America, the political elites know how to run things, and for god's sake never tell the public the truth about America. Whip Inflation Now.

Ford was not a dictator - but he covered for a would-be dictator, and prepared the ground for a dictator to follow. Had proper investigations and prosecutions followed Watergate, above and beyond the few sacrificial goats that were tossed on the pyre, we would not be looking at the executive power we have today. And for specifics, had Ford not made Bush I head of the CIA, he would probably not become VP under Reagan (for that matter, Reagan might not have been elected pres at all, because Carter would have been able to deal with the hostage crisis, but for the back room deals between the repugs and the Iranians). If Bush I had not been made VP, Bush II would never have gotten off the ground in his governor's race, therefore, no Bush II. And by any definition I know, Bush II IS a fascist.

Ford's entire career consisted of supporting and abetting those who stood for the worst in republican politics. The only reason he is seen by some as a moderate is that he made pragmatic concessions to a Democratic majority congress. He was, like many (I might say most) republicans, an enemy to democracy. And he was fully aware of what he was doing when he did what he did. That's why I call him a fascist. It's more than name calling. It's truth telling.

[hughee99]

37. In your eagerness to condemn him, what you say is hyperbole.

I wasn't eager to, or even or trying to defend him at all, I'm just saying, he was not a fascist. If you have to make the argument that Ford is responsible for Bush I and Bush I got us Bush II, and Bush II is clearly a fascist, then I don't think your argument is as strong as you seem to think it is.

You know what? Not all people who believe that what's good for big business is good for America, that the political elites know how to run things, or that the public shouldn't know the truth are fascists either. It doesn't mean they're right, just that they aren't automatically fascists. Yes, he certainly covered up for Nixon, no denying that, but to blame Ford for all the crimes of Poppy because of his appointing Bush I as the head of the CIA (I believe confirmed by a Democratically controlled Senate, so I guess they share the blame) is quite a stretch.

[JVS]

33. Re: corporatism, Fascisms definition of that word is much more complex than...

the way it is misused in current discourse. If we use the common misconception of what corparatism is, every presidential candidate of the two major parties has been a fascist for the entire 20th century.

[cwydro]

3. Jimmy is the best.

Hope none of the Ford bashers will mind when the Republican grave-dancers start celebrating over the death of our heroes.

[Faygo Kid]

5. Yes, the level of hate towards Ford is disturbing.

If commentators here can't tell the difference between W. and Gerald Ford, it's difficult to take them seriously.

[helderheid]

10. I totally agree!

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. Ford made W possible.

By not prosecuting Nixon and his adminsitration, he established the precedent that the president is above the law. He appointed Poppy Bush to head the CIA. He made Cheney his Chief of Staff, and Rummy Asst. Scty of Defense, bringing them into presidential circles for the first time.

the similarities far outweigh the differences.

[Hoosier Dem]

8. I agree...

Those here who are pilloring Ford mainly because of the (R) after his name will no doubt express true outrage when the GOP ghoul-squad comments when President Clinton passes away. (which will not be for MANY years, hopefully!)

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. Like they did with Wellstone?

My pretending to be nice is not going to keep them from being the scorpians they are. so fuck em.

[Faygo Kid]

4. What a tight race that was. No Karl Roves in that election.

A different time, a different kind of Republican from that which curses our land today. A close election, much like 1968, with the parties switched. Ford had the momentum, but couldn't close the gap - just like Humphrey in 1968. The pardon and Ford's comment that the Soviet Union did not dominate eastern Europe combined to lose the election for him - plus, of course, Carter was a fresh face after Nixon and Watergate and Vietnam. My daughter was three weeks old that election night; she is 30 now. Geez.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

17. 3,000 Votes In Hawaii And Ohio Would Have Changed The Outcome

It's the 2004 map turned on it's head...

The southeast and a few big industrial states were blue. The rest of the country was red.

[AzDar]

6. I believe Ford was a decent man; used as a dupe. n/t

[Midlodemocrat]

7. I think Betty Ford was such a class act, that you have to be right.

She was so ahead of her time.

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. Ford was a republican LBJ - longtime senate leader, very

informed, intelligent, strong willed, powerful.

He was nobody's dupe.

His crimes lie squarely on his own head.

[theoldman]

9. No one in real life can live up to the praises heaped upon them

on their death. Ford was just an average guy. I give his wife credit at doing something.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

12. How Does The Saying Go?

The bad a man does he takes to his grave. The good he does lives long after him.

I don't want to be judget by my worst act or acts and don't want to judge others that way.

[RaleighNCDUer]

31. I've always heard that the other way around.

Any shakespearians here to set us straight?

The pessimist in me suggests the opposite.

[ronnykmarshall]

11. Carter and Ford became good friends.

They are both classy and good men.

[Nikki Stone1]

13. I have my doubts about Ford, especially as a member of the Warren commission

Not sure about the guy at all.

[undeterred]

15. Carter is a gracious man.

[ripple]

18. Carter and Ford had differing visions at the time

But I truly believe that they both had the best interests of our nation in mind during their tenures. Once again, Jimmy Carter shows himself to be a class act.

[WinkyDink]

19. I love Jimmy, but how is covering up a cancer instead of excising it "healing"?

[Bandit]

22. I know if you had been on the Mayguez you would feel different

about Ford. He did the job that was needed at the time. I applaud him.

[undeterred]

23. Chimpy was probably stoned through the entire Ford presidency

hence it would be difficult for him to remember him.

[Faygo Kid]

35. Not sure about the Ford presidency, but Nixon's definitely

Actually, I rolled more than a few meself during Tricky Dick's tenure.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

26. Let's See If Carter Will Get Flamed As Much As Others Have, By Some Here.

I think Carter spoke quite respectfully and appropriately.

[Cameron27]

29. I stand with Jimmy Carter

RIP Gerald Ford.

[roamer65]

30. Looks like Jimmy is now the elder former president.

Carter, Bush I and Clinton are all that is left, if I'm not mistaken. Jimmy is a great man.

[Faygo Kid]

36. You are right. Only three ex-presidents now alive.

Have been as many as six at one time, including recently.