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Gerald Ford the 38th President passed away today at the age of 93. When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, “I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances…. This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.”
It seemed like Ford was perhaps the least conspicuous president in the second half of the Twentieth Century. His years in office did not seem to be as notable as those of other presidents, such as Nixon before him. He also did not seem to be as active in public life after his term was over.
True. And I have to say his presidency was never one I was much interested in. I thnk he got sandwiched between two chapters in history hat shuffled him to almost a footnote.
The fact that he relinquished the Presidency after his appointed term was up, is remarkable in of itself. He understood his role as an appointee and he never stepped out of his bounds by constructing any massive foreign policies that would require him another term of office to supervise. He wanted an elected president who possessed a mandate from the people to implement such a policy. Ford, though, did in fact hold the nation together when it was reeling from defeat in Vietnam and the Watergate Constitutional crisis, and the stagnating economy. He and Eisenhower were very functional Presidents in this regard.
I read today he was the first president who was really under media scrutiny. I imagine because of Watergate and all that.
I dont agree with that. I think all presidents have had to deal with that. Lincoln is a great example, they could be merciless to him. I think the favorite was 'the great ape'.
The fact that he relinquished the Presidency after his appointed term was up, is remarkable in of itself.
I could be wrong but I thought he lost a primary…
He ran, but public opinion was against him so he challenged Carter to televised debates (the first between a President and an opponent) He nearly overtook Carter but Carter won.
I could be wrong but I thought he lost a primary…
No Ford defeated Reagan in the 1976 Republican primary (by a narrow margin) and then of course lost to Jimmy Carter. After that he decided to cease pursuing the White House as he knew Reagan would best him the next time.
I mentioned the fact that he “relinquished” the Presidency because he didn't want to run for election, but was ultimately persuaded to run by the party. Reagan almost defeated him, but Ford was too tainted by the Nixon pardon to defeat the squeeky clean Carter.
