He saved the nation?

OK. I'm not that much of an iconoclast that I can't appreciate the significance of Gerald R. Ford's presidency. I understand he was generally a nice guy, he probably meant well in all that he did, and I can excuse the mess he helped continue in Southeast Asia and his inability to rein in inflation and job stagnation. I also understand the inflated ego of Grand Rapids (Ford was congressman there for a million years) and the West Michigan fish bowl that makes the RCA and CRC seem more powerful than a locomotive and Hope College a top school for dance.

But I won't stand for idolatry or hero worship.

When Ford died, The Grand Rapids Press announced in its front page headline that Ford, "Saved the nation."

What?

Ford did no such thing. He followed a consitutionally chosen path to the presidency. Everything in the nation, constitutionally, worked great. Nixon resigned, the vice president stepped in. No riots. No revolution. No counter revolution. Wow. The system worked. That is impressive.

Now, the Constitution also worked when Ford pardoned Nixon. Despite all the flowery talk now of how that "healed" a nation, I say CRAP. Nixon got away with some major crimes, the worst being using the powers of government to attack individuals he didn't like. That is the greatest abuse of government.

All Ford did is what his politcal party asked of him (I say it was implicit, that there was no quid pro quo between Ford and Nixon).

And I say that was not brave. It's not cowardly either. It's what was expected. A brave man who cared about his country would have made sure Nixon was fairly charged, fairly tried and, if needed, fairly punished.

If I used my power to order crimes, erase evidence and harass people outside the limits of the law, and I was caught, you're damn right I'd be in jail where I should be. Unless I had a friend in a high place. ...

George Washington "saved" the nation. Abraham Lincoln "saved" the nation. FDR "saved" the nation. Gerald Ford just cruised through a pot hole on the road to going golfing.

Thought: Oh, Ford also helped the current VP and Rumsfeld get into top government. For that, well, some things can't be forgiven.