The recent death of former President Gerald Ford certainly brings back old memories of the early '70's. What could arguabily be the defining moment of the Ford Presidency was the pardoning of Richard Nixon.

Was this the right thing to do??? Would continuing & going forward with the Watergate investigation, and prosecuting Richard Nixon, have served any real purpose??? Did this one single act alone cost Gerald Ford to lose his own Presidential bid???

I believe Gerald Ford did do the right thing. The country had been drug down into the mud with Watergate long enough and it was time to move on. It might have served notice that no one, including the President, is above the law, but I've always been of the opinion that the loss of power and public humiliation Nixon suffered was the worst kind of punishment he could have gotten.

I don't think this one act alone cost him his Presidential bid, but it was certainly a big factor. The economy wasn't exactly doing great during his administration, and there were divisions within his own party as Ronald Reagan was becoming a rising star among the Republicans. He didn't have much support from the far right and was considered by many Republicans as too far to the left. And it certainly didn't help any when, during the debates with Jimmy Carter, he said Eastern Europe wasn't under the influence of Soviet domination. That major mistake and his appearance in general during the debates hurt him, too.

So there were a number of things that led to his defeat, though his pardon of Nixon was certainly a major factor. All this, of course, is IMHO.

I feel that President Ford was looking to 'heal' the situation as rapidly as possible. There were many pressing issues at the time and pursuing this avenue of prosecution would have made several years of additional and costly muckraking to occur.

At that time, we, the Americal Public were a much more naive insular people and this would have damaged us much more than the same events today.

In fact, the same events HAVE occurred on a much larger scale (the Files that were 'found' within the offices of the Clinton Administration) and no one almost batted an eye.

In the end, I think Ford was looking to the public good and not even examining what the Pardon would do to his presidential bid during the next election.

Do I think that the Pardon effected the outcome of the elections? Possibly.. even probably. Looking back now, almost everyone in all parties and political analysts all agree that it was the best decision, but at the time it was extremely contravertial and too many people were suspicious of 'double dealing' and 'deal making' even when, in this case, even though attempts WERE made, Ford refused all of them and went his own way with his own conscience.

It is a rare person (and even more rare politician) who is willing to go for the greater good than the expedient path toward political and personal power.

As I mentioned in another thread, since the Nixon name is almost permanently associated with treachery and betrayal ("Tricky Dicky"), he more than suffered all and more he would have suffered going to prison. Having your name villainized is not a comfortable life to live, I should think.

I don't think much good would have been served by a protracted prosecution of Richard Nixon. The country needed to get back on its feet again.

While the pardon was certainly an issue, I think Carter's being an evangelical southern governor had more to do with the election:

When I think back to the Watergate Era, I think of a scandal that was basically one big mass of confusion that there was really no getting to the bottom...it just kept getting deeper & deeper. It is said that Richard Nixon was very paranoid and felt his political enemies and the news media were out to get him. In all reality this was true. For he was not the most well liked of Presidents even before he ever took office.

There are some who felt Nixon and Ford cut a deal for a pardon, prior to Ford's being the first appointed Vice President. This would probably have been an allegation no matter who Nixon would have appointed. However Ford put his Presidency on the line early. In the end he was defeated for his own Presidential bid.

While the Nixon pardon did have its place in Ford's defeat, I feel above all, the country was ready for a change. Jimmy Carter hit the scene and to many at the time he was considered the savior. I remember posters & T-shirts with Jimmy Carter's picture with the words, "JC Can Save America" He was a relatively unknown who captivated the country and appealed to the inner good of the many people who voted for him.

Gerald Ford never really got too much of a chance to do a whole lot while he was in office. In many ways his hands were tied due to the circumstances he entered office.

The funniest memories were probably the SNL skits and one of the Pink Panther movies featuring Administration officials watching a football game.

I think Ford did the right thing.

I remember watching an Amimaniacs skit of Watergate. It was quite funny.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/29/politics/main2310044.shtml

Here's an article where Gerald Ford discussed the pardon.

It's probably a good job Nixon wasn't the Boston Strangler. He would never have been brought to trial, "'cos he's my friend and I wouldn't have liked to see him on trial"

Nuts!