A Time to Mourn: Former President Gerald Ford Dies at 93

Being 8 hours ahead of New York, I came in to work this morning and heard the news that former President Gerald Ford passed away today- he was 93. I've been in a state of shell-shock ever since. I'm not saying I didn't know this was coming-- eventually-- just that when it came, I wasn't prepared for it.

What follows was written exactly eight months ago, when I named President Ford at the top of my "TOP FIVE People I Would Most Like to Meet." I think it summarizes how I felt about the man, and although he deserves a much more fitting tribute, I just can't muster the spirit to write right now...

#1) Gerald Ford, former President of the United States. I don't have a lot of respect for most politicians-- actually, my feelings toward 99.9% of them borders on downright contempt-- and so it's not surprising that the only one that makes my list is the exception, as he was throughout his admirable career: Ford was an All-American athlete who passed on professional sports to pursue his legal studies; he was a political leader sin charisma who lacked their almost-innate diplomatic ability to work an audience; and he remains the only President who was elected to neither the Presidency nor the Vice-Presidency-- a delicate situation he acknowledged in his first speech, when he noted:

"I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your President by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your President with your prayers."

It's a shame that Americans think of the humorous Chevy Chase SNL performances when they think of Ford-- the stumbling, bumbling, clutzy fool-- and don't realize that he was a two-time All-American football player at Michigan (a distinction no other President shares), and (along with Theodore Roosevelt) the toughest man who ever occupied the White House. Remember, for instance, just six years ago, at the not-so-ripe age of 86, when Ford walked down to the hospital and was misdiagnosed with a "sinus attack," then returned three days later to tell them they were wrong: he was then correctly diagnosed with a stroke. A stroke. Three days of living with a stroke would kill or cripple a normal human being, let alone an eighty-six year old one; but Gerald Ford was no normal human being. Despite what his critics wanted to believe, Ford was no idiot, either-- he was extremely intelligent with a solid grasp of current events and a keen understanding for the role of history in contemporary affairs. Perhaps he will be remembered for his comments about Eastern Europe not living under Soviet domination, but his debating opponent Jimmy Carter later acknowledged that even he understood Ford meant he would not accept Soviet domination. And, oh, by the way, his Helsinki Accords did more for human rights in the Communist world than Nixon had done or than Carter ever would.

Perhaps not surprisingly for the time, this gentle, inoffensive man with impeccable morals was universally criticized by his Democratic and Leftist critics for striking a "corrupt bargain" when he pardoned the recently resigned Nixon (subsequently released White House tapes have demonstrated that he actually told Nixon he never would have accepted the Vice Presidency if he had known what he later learned about the President's role in Watergate-- confirming the falsehood of such a bargain, not that a single one of Ford's accusers have ever felt the need to apologize). He paid the price for that pardon by losing the White House in the next election, but has never looked back on or regretted the decision-- a remarkable display of responsibility that is completely absent in today's blame-everyone-but-myself culture.

And that was vintage Ford: for all his immense physical and intellectual talents, he is first and foremost a man of humility. This was a man who famously spoke to his modesty by reminding the nation that "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln"-- a caution to remember that he was one of us, a common man with uncommon responsibilities, but that he would do his best to faithfully execute the awesome duties of his office. Compared with the sheer arrogance of today's would-be kings (can anyone seriously consider President Bush or Senator Kerry honestly demonstrating that kind of humility on anything?), Ford is something special. He wasn't worried about his legacy, he wasn't worried about his place in history: he was worried about healing our nation (something for which President Carter would later praise him). His memoirs, A Time To Heal, lacks the starkly naked Nixonian and Clintonian attempt to spin their respective actions in a more favorable dressing; Ford merely tells you what happened, and honestly acknowledges how he made some mistakes.

In a recent interview with Michael Bamberger, he pointed out how he regretted that he never played professional football, stating:

"I had to make a tough decision. I think I made the right one, but I've wondered if one year of playing pro ball might have been a good thing--good for the resumé."

Now I'm not sure what job Ford wanted to apply for that he thinks having "President of the United States" on his resumé is not enough, but it speaks to the indomitable spirit of the man who wanted to have done everything he could in life. And so while most historians continue to write that Ford's talents were beneath the Presidency, a man who tried hard but just wasn't good enough, I think they got it all wrong: the Presidency was beneath Gerald Ford. We didn't deserve such a good, honest, hard-working man like him to lead us out of the worst crisis of the time. We're going to lose him in the next few years, and when we do, we'll realize that he was, if ever such a man existed, too good for us.

Farewell, Mr. President. May God bless you in the afterlife.