Comments on: President Gerald Ford (1913-2006) http://axisofright.com/2006/12/27/president-gerald-ford-1913-2006/ Conservative Politics, Religion, Culture, and Anything Else Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:24:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Ryan http://axisofright.com/2006/12/27/president-gerald-ford-1913-2006/comment-page-1/#comment-1050 Ryan Wed, 27 Dec 2006 15:44:18 +0000 http://axisofright.com/2006/12/27/president-gerald-ford-1913-2006/#comment-1050 Ford's tenure was only just under 2 1/2 years, but it was consequential. He was viewed as both a national healer and a political crony during his term in office (he barely lost to Jimmah in 1976). He also pushed the detente-laden Helsinki Accords, which recognized Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, leading to his flap in the 1976 Presidential debates about their being no communist problem in Eastern Europe. However, the Mayaguez Incident off the coast of Cambodia was viewed as a positive moment after Vietnam when our military could feel proud again about successfully rescuing some hostages on the high seas. Yet, his hand was steady, his politics were grounded, and he had to deal with an angry and vindictive Democratic Congress that refused to fund his plan to bomb the NVA after breaking the Paris Peace Accords in 1975, that kept our energy policy and budgets way out of the realm of fiscal responsibility, and threatened to override every single veto that came their way. He could have been a real jerk given their behavior, but he composed himself like a statesman. At the 1976 Republican National Convention he let his primary foe, Ronald Reagan, speak. After the 1976 loss, this memory gave hope to millions of Republicans and conservatives for 1980 and the future-- the fog was beginning to lift from the Shining City. It may not have happened without Ford's gracious demeanor towards a tough, but defeated foe, giving life to an obscure political future for Ronald Reagan. Ford's character and, as Mike insists, his classy ex-Presidency should serve as a model for other ex-Presidents (read Jimmah and Billy) who have not comported themselves with the revere that those whom the Office has graced should have. He will be missed.<div class="comment-remix-meta"><a href="#" class="replyto" onclick="replyto('1050','Ryan'); return false;">Reply</a> - <a href="#" class="quote" onclick="quote('1050','Ryan','Ford\'s tenure was only just under 2 1\/2 years, but it was consequential. He was viewed as both a national healer and a political crony during his term in office (he barely lost to Jimmah in 1976). He also pushed the detente-laden Helsinki Accords, which recognized Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, leading to his flap in the 1976 Presidential debates about their being no communist problem in Eastern Europe. However, the Mayaguez Incident off the coast of Cambodia was viewed as a positive moment after Vietnam when our military could feel proud again about successfully rescuing some hostages on the high seas.\n\nYet, his hand was steady, his politics were grounded, and he had to deal with an angry and vindictive Democratic Congress that refused to fund his plan to bomb the NVA after breaking the Paris Peace Accords in 1975, that kept our energy policy and budgets way out of the realm of fiscal responsibility, and threatened to override every single veto that came their way. He could have been a real jerk given their behavior, but he composed himself like a statesman.\n\nAt the 1976 Republican National Convention he let his primary foe, Ronald Reagan, speak. After the 1976 loss, this memory gave hope to millions of Republicans and conservatives for 1980 and the future-- the fog was beginning to lift from the Shining City. It may not have happened without Ford\'s gracious demeanor towards a tough, but defeated foe, giving life to an obscure political future for Ronald Reagan. Ford\'s character and, as Mike insists, his classy ex-Presidency should serve as a model for other ex-Presidents (read Jimmah and Billy) who have not comported themselves with the revere that those whom the Office has graced should have. He will be missed.'); return false;">Quote</a></div> Ford’s tenure was only just under 2 1/2 years, but it was consequential. He was viewed as both a national healer and a political crony during his term in office (he barely lost to Jimmah in 1976). He also pushed the detente-laden Helsinki Accords, which recognized Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, leading to his flap in the 1976 Presidential debates about their being no communist problem in Eastern Europe. However, the Mayaguez Incident off the coast of Cambodia was viewed as a positive moment after Vietnam when our military could feel proud again about successfully rescuing some hostages on the high seas.

Yet, his hand was steady, his politics were grounded, and he had to deal with an angry and vindictive Democratic Congress that refused to fund his plan to bomb the NVA after breaking the Paris Peace Accords in 1975, that kept our energy policy and budgets way out of the realm of fiscal responsibility, and threatened to override every single veto that came their way. He could have been a real jerk given their behavior, but he composed himself like a statesman.

At the 1976 Republican National Convention he let his primary foe, Ronald Reagan, speak. After the 1976 loss, this memory gave hope to millions of Republicans and conservatives for 1980 and the future– the fog was beginning to lift from the Shining City. It may not have happened without Ford’s gracious demeanor towards a tough, but defeated foe, giving life to an obscure political future for Ronald Reagan. Ford’s character and, as Mike insists, his classy ex-Presidency should serve as a model for other ex-Presidents (read Jimmah and Billy) who have not comported themselves with the revere that those whom the Office has graced should have. He will be missed.

Reply – Quote
]]>