Lessons Learned Should Not Be Forgotten
Of all the presidents who have served our great land there are few with whom I feel a stronger affinity and affection than our 38th President, Jerry Ford. The late President’s passing earlier this week marks an important moment of contemplation for those involved in the bitter partisan battles of what is currently considered to be political discourse. A statesman for his time, Ford’s contribution is currently being eulogized and should not be forgotten.
When Ford emerged on the national stage as President Richard Nixon’s replacement for his criminally beleaguered Vice President Spiro Agnew, he brought with him the legacy of a distinguished career in the congress. His knack as a manager allowed him to rise through the House ranks, but his lack of personal promotion kept him locked in Congress’ well . Perhaps most unique about Ford is that in a city where every elected official sees a future president staring back at them in the morning bathroom mirror, Ford only saw a congressman who aspired to be the House Majority Leader. Alas his tireless efforts to vault his party forward never to reach that goal and he instead served for many terms as the Republican Minority Leader. It was here that Nixon found Ford as his default choice for Vice President when his first choice, an unconfirmable John Connally was privately dismissed.
Ford’s presidency was characteristically unflamboyant. He applied a plodding methodology to his charge and assembled an incredibly capable staff that in retrospect looks like a who’s who of presidential administration heavyweights. Incredibly, some of the staffers (neocons like Cheney and Rumsfeld) that Ford graduated to future service were weened in the most moderate of recent Republican administrations, and it is this moderation for which Ford is fondly remembered.
No greater demonstration of his selfless and statesmanlike approach can be seen than in his decisions to pardon his predecessor and the amnesty he gave to Vietnam era draft dodgers. His pardon of Nixon likely cost him his chance at elective claim to the office he never thought to seek and his forgiveness of those who chose to run rather than fight penalized him among the conservatives who instead backed Ronald Reagan in an inner party squabble that split the Republican party during the 1976 primary campaign. Both of these choices damaged Ford’s position at the time, but have proven to have emboldened his legacy.
Perhaps Ford’s passing can serve as a lesson to all of those who currently choose to put party before principle, and popularity ahead of pragmatism. Our country needed Jerry Ford then, and we need now to remember the lessons he taught.
