Gerald Ford, RIP December 27, 2006 9:29 AM He was the unelected president who pardoned the disgraced Richard Nixon in an attempt to heal the wounds of the Watergate era. The debate about that pardon is beginning in earnest now and, thanks to the New Media made possible by the Internet, it will be a truly national debate. Several members of The Examiner Blog Board of Contributors have already posted their thoughts on Ford’s passing, as have some of our regular oped contributors. I’ll be updating this post throughout the day with links to these thoughtful posts. Blog Boarder Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters thinks Ford’s decision to pardon Nixon was made on honorable grounds, but still had the effect of allowing Nixon to avoid being subjected to the full weight of the judicial process his acts deserved. Ed’s post is here. Another Examiner Blog Boarder, TalkLeft’s Jeralyn Merritt thinks the Nixon pardon was wrong. Jeralyn provides several useful links, including to a 1993 interview with Ford. UCLA law professor Stephen Bainbridge is an Examiner Blog Boarder and he thinks Ford did exactly the right thing because the system had worked as intended by the Founders when the threat of impeachment induced Nixon to resign. Betsy Newmark is another Examiner Blog Boarder who thinks Ford was right to pardon Nixon, but she goes on with an in-depth recounting of Ford’s career in Congress and the succession of policy disasters he was behind as president that, among much else, made necessary and inevitable Ronald Reagan’s stirring 1976 GOP presidential primary challenge. Regular oped contributor Bruce Kesler contends Ford’s pardon of Nixon was less important than his successor’s pardon of Vietnam draft dodgers. You can read Bruce’s post here. Gerald Ford Nixon Watergate Nixon pardon
