Ford's pardon of Nixon: Right or wong?

[cynatnite]

I was only a kid when Nixon resigned and remember very little of it. My interest in Watergate has increased in the last few months and the biggest question I have is what many people thought about Ford's pardon of Nixon.

A part of me thinks it might have been the right thing to do. My understanding is Nixon's polling was good and he still had a lot of support from the public prior to the revelations. It seems to me that convicting a former president would have really hurt the country at the time.

At the same time, I look at bush then wonder. I want to see bush pay for his crimes and it seems contradictory to Nixon's pardon.

So what do you think? Was Nixon's pardon good for the country or should he have been sent up?

[thebigidea]

1. someone dig up that Hunter Thompson quote about it!

something about celebrity golf partners overhearing Ford say "I know I will go to hell for pardoning Richard Nixon."

[PermanentRevolution]

32. Here ya go...

From "Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie"

"Richard Nixon is gone now, and I am poorer for it. He was the real thing - a political monster straight out of Grendel and a very dangerous enemy. He could shake your hand and stab you in the back at the same time. He lied to his friends and betrayed the trust of his family. Not even Gerald Ford, the unhappy ex-president who pardoned Nixon and kept him out of prison, was immune to the evil fallout. Ford, who believes strongly in heaven and hell, has told more than one of his celebrity golf partners that 'I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon.'"

And, from the same article...

"If the right people had been in charge of Nixon's funeral, his casket would have been launched into one of those open-sewage canals that empty into the ocean just south of Los Angeles. He was a swine of a man and a jabbering dupe of a president. Nixon was so crooked that he needed servants to help him screw his pants on every morning. Even his funeral was illegal. He was queer in the deepest way. His body should have been burned in a trash bin."

Rest in peace, Doc...

[Pepperbelly]

53. When you really, really consider Nixon's actions ...

I was thinking about the break-in at Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office. They did that for the sole reason of finding dirt that they could use to smear Ellsberg. Period. Material for a political smear job.

Nixon was a straight-up evil motherfucker. I'd still take him over Bush. ((s i g h))

[JDPriestly]

2. It was wrong.

Regardless of his popularity, Nixon was a crook. He abused the power of the presidency, and the fact that he got away with it established a precedent that has emboldened some of the subsequent presidents, such as Bush, to abuse their office and thumb their noses at laws of various kinds.

[xray s]

3. It proved one thing to millions of Americans

If you are rich or powerful you never pay for your crimes.

[FreedomAngel82]

14. I agree

Definitley agree.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

4. Psychologically good

At the time, coming off the oil embargo and the Vietnam silver medal, I think the prospect of having a president sent to jail would have knocked the national psyche for a loop.

[thebigidea]

7. national psyche? The heck is that?

somehow, i doubt many folks would've been troubled by Nixon being jailed. Only the "Ba'athist deadenders" like Pat Buchanan would've cared.

[aquart]

15. Really? It wrecked me.

And the Republicans still stayed bitter and vengeful plotting to impeach a Democrat.

So what, precisely, did it heal?

Try not to repeat propaganda for fact.

[bemildred]

17. I think it would have been fucking great, and I was there.

Seeing justice done has a lot to be said for it.

[Sparkly]

29. I think I know what you're saying.

(Except -- are you saying you earned a silver medal in Vietnam?)

I agree that at the time, Nixon's resignation was so devastating, sending a past president to jail wouldn't have added enough to make it worth it. There was so much else going on, it wasn't a precedent we needed.

It's hard for some to see, from today's perspective. This is so much worse, and the nation so much more complacent, we'd like to see the entire administration behind bars.

I think the anger we're feeling today -- worldwide -- is less visible than it was during the youth movement of the Vietnam era, but that makes it all the more fervent. That's why BushCo would rather outsource and privatize their war than draft our youth today -- despite 9/11, those who remember Nam, and have children of draft age now, would fight together with our youth like nothing this country's ever seen. BushCo knows that.

Just know the trigger is light -- the responses you're likely to get here reflect that. People here are furious and would jail this president in a heartbeat (myself included). So the idea of not jailing Nixon, here and now, is met with some fury colored by the current situation.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

49. Vietnam silver medal

Sorry, that was a variation on an old joke -- we didn't lose in Vietnam, we came in second.

I was too young to serve in Vietnam myself. Like Cheney, I had different priorities, although in my case that was preschool.

[ThomWV]

55. Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth

I despised Nixon but I still tought what Ford did was right. There was absolutly no good to be done with further public humiliation of Nixon. You hit the nail right on the head with the current situation too. Then was nothing like now.

[SeveneightyWhoa]

31. Having Karl Rove sent to jail would do the same thing..

..after the disasterous Iraq War.

So I say -- FREE ROVE!

[Salviati]

5. I think that any high crimes need to be routed out to the last man...

crimes like these are a cancer on our nation, and nothing should be left around to metastasize. Just look at all the people who keep cropping up over and over, how many of them should have been put away years ago, and how many would have been discouraged by the threat of some serious prison time...

[Stinky The Clown]

6. I think it was the right thing to do .... given the times and the issues

That said, in today's world, nothing would be better than to show the world we care by allowing our boy to be sent away.

Nixon was not one one hundreth the world terrorists that idiot son's cabal are.

[FARAFIELD]

10. Right

It took guts, but remember the first thing Carter said, during his inaguarul? "I want to thank President Ford for all he has done to heal our land" then shook his hand.

[tenshi816]

43. Ah, Jimmy Carter,

always the gentleman. I love that man.

[walldude]

11. You can find the Quote about Ford going to hell here:

http://www.node707.com/archives/003220.shtml

about halfway down the page:


Richard Nixon was an evil man--evil in a way that only those who
Not even Gerald Ford, the unhappy ex-president who pardoned Nixon and kept him out of prison, was immune to the evil fallout. Ford, who believes strongly in Heaven and Hell, has told more than one of his celebrity golf partners that, "I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

[whistle]

8. It was the worst thing that Ford could have done .....

...because we now are seeing the full consequences of allowing a criminal president, Richard Nixon, and a renegade element of a political party, the republicans to continue to have the appearance of respectability and to operate above the law. It open doors for the continuation of that type of subversive activity under Ronald Reagan, GWH Bush and now GW Bush. And it allowed the republican party to be infiltrated and completely taken over by the religious fundamental fanatics and neo-conservation fascists.

[aquart]

9. Wrong.

Proved that the rich and famous can get away with anything.

[Horse with no Name]

12. Considering his crime was covering up the crime

instead of committing the crime...I'd say a pardon was fair.
He took responsibility and stepped down as he should have.
He lost the respect of the country.
However, this present cabal refuses to accept any responsibility and I swear to God that if the next President attempts to pardon this group of thugs--I will swing from the ceilings and insist THAT President be impeached. Democrat or Republican.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. A good read

is CBS reporter Bob Schiefer's biography. He says that when Clinton was impeached he realized Ford did the right thing by pardoning Nixon. His theory is that the Clinton impeachment so polarized the country (and still is, IMO) and distracted us from much more important events. In 1974, we couldn't afford to be distracted by a president on trial. Ford realized this and pardoned Nixon, not as a favor to Nixon, but because it was what was best for the country.

I am not sure I agree with him, but it is an interesting theory.

[hfojvt]

20. It was sorta what I was going to say

and especially after six or seven months of Monica, I was seeing the value of moving on. The country has more important things to do than pore over Mr. Nixon. Also, I do not really care that much about seeing Bush prosecuted and jailed. It is more important to undo the damage they have done than it is to exact some sort of revenge or set an example for future evil-doers.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. What a lot of folks not old enough to remember Nixon

don't realize is that Watergate did great damage to the Republican party. They were so discredited. The whole country was furious at them. The Dems could have run Mickey Mouse for prez in 1976 and he would have won in a landslide.

So at the time, it didn't really matter that Nixon never went to trial.

[hfojvt]

33. I remember it being quite close

when I went to bed the networks still had not announced a winner, although Carter was leading. That was probably 11 PM central time. Carter won 40,830,763 to 39,147,793 and electorally 297 to 240 (Funny to see Ford taking California and Illinois, both pretty solid blue today and Carter took Texas and most of the rest of the south!). I do not know if they lost ground in Congress, but I do remember that Republicans took the Senate in 1980 and made gains in the House. So any damage did not last long enough. I doubt if a trial would have helped in that matter. Congressional Republicans distanced themselves from him by voting to impeach in committee.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. You are right

but I still think no way a repub would have won that election. That is, unless they were playing with the voting machines even back then. And that wouldn't surprise me.

[cynatnite]

22. I can see the benefit of convicting bush for the country

The thing is the time comes when we must put our foot down. As has been previously mentioned there is a history of government corruption. The time has to come when we put our foot down. We have to force our government and those in power to be accountable. It does send a powerful message to anyone who becomes president that they must be above reproach in every way. The standard must be set higher for anyone in that role.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

16. Definitely wrong.

IMHO it cost Ford the 1976 election and made the Republicans think they were "above the law", which is something they ran with for the last 32 years and are still getting away with.

I didnt' buy Ford's BS about "time to move on" or whatever excuse he used at the time and I still don't. Nixon should have been made to stand trial and found innocent or guilty by a jury.

[tsuki]

18. I cannot fault Ford. I believe in Ford. A man that Jimmy Carter has

called "My Distinguished Colleague."

At the time, he thought it was best for healing the wound of a nation divided by the Vietnam Conflict. And I'll probably be flamed, but will never think that Nixon could even approach the evil of the present regime. I could watch Nixon. I cannot watch the shrub. I could feel some empathy for Nixon. I cannot feel any thing but animosity for the shrub. Nixon inherited a situation. Shrub forced the situation.

Nixon was secretive, and vindictive, but the EPA and the consumer protection agency was begun under his administration. Name something that the shrub as begun.

I believe that Nixon had a far different vision of America than I do, but I believe he had a vision of America. I believe the shrub has neither a vision or a patriotic bone in his body. The shrub believes only in himself.

Given a choice, I would choose a Nixon over a shrub.

[two gun sid]

19. It was wrong. Nixon should have been hauled off to jail...

with the rest of his cronies. Since the day Ford pardoned Nixon we have heard from rethug apologists and revisionists how Tricky Dick had done nothing worse than other Presidents. Ford's pardon bypassed a trial that would have exposed Nixon's crimes against the American People.

Never forget, his crime was not bugging himself or breaking into the Watergate. His crime was setting up a WH Gestapo (The Plumbers) who went around the country breaking into doctors offices to get info to smear critics. Using the IRS to go after 'Enemies'. Conspiring to obstruct justice. Bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors.

Contrary to what Nixon himself said, that fucker was a crook.

[Gemini Cat]

23. Ford should not have pardoned Nixon.

As others have noted, it set up an evil tradition of no republican needs to obey the law.
For what it's worth, Nixon probably wasn't as bad as the current chimp in charge, but he was bad never the less.

[shraby]

26. I agree. I thought he never should have been

pardoned. He should have paid his debt to society like anyone else who breaks the law and gets caught.
He did pay in a way though. Even now he's still the butt of jokes. He probably couldn't watch t.v. because there were always jokes about him all the time.

[Zen Democrat]

24. One thing for sure -- The Watergate investigation ended prematurely.

Once Nixon was out, the media packed up and went home. Very little investigative journalism was done post-resignation. Jaworski put the lid on the Special Prosecutor's office work. Everyone went back to sleep.

[TreasonousBastard]

25. I'd say wrong, but necessary...

Impeachment is merely removal from office, not a criminal matter, and if Nixon committed crimes, they probably had more to do with Cambodia than Watergate, but Watergate was the vehicle to get him out.

No coverup was actually proven, although it most likely would have, and no one seriously thought that there was a law against it, whatever "it" was. And, the Senate never got to try him, since he quit.

Think about a criminal trial of a former President forced to step down in shame while we were going through a huge economic crisis and still wondering what all those years in Viet Nam were about.

Think about this for a minute-- what if Clinton had resigned and Shrub still won in 2000. Then, the criminal charges over his impeachment were still raging on 9/11.

Helluva scary scenario there, nu?

Impeachment and resignation in disgrace is punishment enough-- anything more just punishes the nation.

[tibbir]

27. I believe pardoning Nixon was a prerequisite to Ford becoming VP

It never should have been granted. The truth should have been told so that history could show that no one is above the law.

[burrowowl]

28. Wrong! eom

[IMSA]

30. He was right

He needed to pardon Nixon to close that chapter in American history. The country was split as it was and if Nixon had gone on trial I'm afraid it would cause problems that would take several years to heal. I'm no Nixon fan but it was best for the country.

IMSA

[Solly Mack]

34. It was wrong. He should have been impeached and convicted

And criminally tried after he was thrown out of office.

The idea that America can't weather a President going to jail is a huge lie fed to the masses to keep them in a halcyon haze. If America didn't crumble over the assassination of a President(and it never did), one going to jail is certainly no big deal. If our nation isn't strong enough to take the truth and the consequences of those truths, then we aren't much of a nation. If people need to tell themselves lies about how good and right the government always is to make it through the day, I submit those people should seek out a mental health expert. Because thinking that way is not only bad for the country, it's bad for them as well.

Bush should be thrown in jail as well. And it would not serve the country to allow him to get away with his crimes either.

[artemisia1]

35. Ambivalent.

He likely would not have served any real jail time anyway. The main thing was that he and his actions were discredited. Hindsight 20/20. In Hindsight, he should have been tried. However, he NEVER held office again and his legacy was trashed.

[Rex]

36. Presidential pardons overrule the SCOTUS

and are a direct conflict of interest. It disgusts me that it even exists.

[Zinfandel]

37. I think because his "numbers" were still good, (they weren't) Nixon

should of been let off the hook, screw the fucking lies , since his 'numbers' were good.

But, what do YOU think?

[Melynn]

38. Screw it - Nixon was a crook

He should have gone to jail.

[PaulaFarrell]

39. Wrong

I seem to recall that Ford practically swore an oath before he was appointed VP that he wouldn't pardon Nixon. And then he did. I was only about 12 at the time but I followed the whole thing on TV every night, and the day Nixon got pardoned I became a total cynic about politicians. Probably the reason I've been a very sporadic voter all my life.

[KT2000]

40. It was OK

The right and wrong of the pardon is good for theoretical discussions. Ultimately it comes down to: What did Nixon deserve as punishment.
But...
The pardon was needed for the citizens of the country - their faith had been shaken so deeply that there was a real need to move forward. He had poisoned the country for too long.

[Hawkowl]

44. Wrong.

If he was to be pardoned it should've been after his conviction. He should have been pilloried as a warning to all future politicians. Instead he has become a role model for all crooked fascists. His image on a f...ng postage stamp?!? The Governator saying he was inspired by a great man at their convention?!? Heal the country my ass. I don't know of much of anyone who felt healed by the pardon.

I have been thinking about this the past couple of days and I believe the reason We are enduring * right now is because Democrats didn't finish off Nixon. Forgiveness should be left to the Deity, vengeance to us.

This time if, IF (and it is a long shot) we ever, ever, get the chance, we need to bury the shrub, his cronies, his family and destroy the rethuglican party. Let them be reborn as the whigs.

[Hawkowl]

45. Wrong.

If he was to be pardoned it should've been after his conviction. He should have been pilloried as a warning to all future politicians. Instead he has become a role model for all crooked fascists. His image on a f...ng postage stamp?!? The Governator saying he was inspired by a great man at their convention?!? Heal the country my ass. I don't know of much of anyone who felt healed by the pardon.

I have been thinking about this the past couple of days and I believe the reason We are enduring * right now is because Democrats didn't finish off Nixon. Forgiveness should be left to the Deity, vengeance to us.

This time if, IF (and it is a long shot) we ever, ever, get the chance, we need to bury the shrub, his cronies, his family and destroy the rethuglican party. Let them be reborn as the whigs.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

41. 100% wrong. He should have been put on trial for a number of crimes.

[Piperay]

42. Correct thing to do ... nt

[baron j]

46. Absolutely wong.

I mean, wrong. ;^)

[lateo]

48. It was wrong.

He should have been impeached for it.

[cynatnite]

50. Ford said he wouldn't pardon Nixon, then he did

Was it for the greater good of the nation or other reasons? They were friends?

[Garfield Goose]

51. It was wrong

You save charity for charity cases. He was a basket case.

[ICantBelieve]

52. That shiny headed man took off Sesame Street!

That's how old I was when Nixon resigned. But looking back on it, I do think that moving on was the right thing to do. I mean, geez, how many more episodes of Sesame Street would have been pre-empted if there had been a trial?

I'm perfectly happy to have Bush live out his years in Crawford, clearing brush, falling off his bicycle, and choking on pretzels. I just don't want him in the WH.

[Garth Beaumont]

54. Nixxon

the same old gas!