'Statesman' Misstates Ford's Mistake

Only the Statesman editorial board could fuck up something as simple as a tribute to president Gerald Ford. On Ford's defining moment, his quick turn-around in pardoning Nixon, they say "as the nation got to know this modest man better, most accepted that Ford really did act in what he believed was the best interest of the country." "Most" is further defined as Kay Bailey Hutchison, and a quote from Ted Kennedy calling it "an extraordinary act of courage." (So is storming hell with a glass of ice water – that doesn't make it a good idea, though.)

Aside from setting a questionable precedent, one which lead to Clinton's long vilified Marc Rich pardon, there's a greater danger in Ford's actions, one we're reaping the wretched spoils of today. In sweeping Nixon's crimes under the rug for the sake of "the country" ("the landed Beltway gentry" is more like it), Ford began the pushback against the transparency Watergate promised, entrenching what we know today as the theory of the "unitary executive" allowing Bush's ambitions to roam unchecked. It's no accident that Donald Rumsfeld and the architect of the Imperial Presidency, Dick Cheney, served under Ford, the latter's views no doubt forged in reactionary response to hardened congressional oversight.

Granted, it's poor etiquette to speak ill of the dead. But with Bush committing crimes that would make Tricky Dick blush, there's a more appropriate cliché: those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.