I like Presidential History and last night I realized that I really didn't know much about Gerald Ford compared to other "modern" Presidents so I decided to read up on him. I figure most people only know him for being Nixon's VP and him pardoning Nixon. Here are some tidbits of his background and Presidency:
I always assumed he was terrible and the worst thing he did was probably give Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney positions of power..which was really bad in hindsight...but for a Republican he wasn't really that bad of a guy it seems.
- Lt. Commander from 1942-1946 in the Navy
- Played Center at Michigan and won 2 National Titles
- Was in the House of Representatives from 1949-1973
- Appointed to the Warren Commission in 1963 by LBJ
- Was House Minority Leader for 8 years and was considered fair and inoffensive
- Ford was nominated to be VP after the resignation of Spiro Agnew..becoming the first VP after the 25th Amendment was implemented. Senate voted 92-3 in his favor. The house confirmed him 387-35
- He became VP as Watergate was unfolding and had nothing to do with it whatsoever.
- Ford assumed the Presidency in 1974 becoming the first man to become VP and President without winning the nomination on a ballot. Nelson Rockefeller became his VP despite objections from more conservative Republicans
- He pardoned Nixon in September of 1974. Ford later agreed with critics that his pardoning of Nixon cost him the 1976 election against Jimmy Carter. He was the first President to testify in front of Congress since Abraham Lincoln.
- He later said that he "couldnt bring himself to do it" in regards to mentioning Nixon by his name and just referred to him as his predecessor.
- Ted Kennedy said that he was initially against the pardon but came around to believing that the pardon was the right thing to do.
- Ford issued Presidential Proclamation 4313, which introduced a conditional amnesty program for military deserters and Vietnam War draft dodgers who had fled to countries such as Canada. The conditions of the amnesty required that those reaffirm their allegiance to the United States and serve two years working in a public service job or a total of two years service for those who had served less than two years of honorable service in the military. Carter later ran on providing full amnesty for draft dodgers.
- Ford inherited Nixon's cabinet but replaced everyone except Henry Kissinger and William E Simon. His selections were terrible however as he named George HW Bush director of the CIA, Rumsfeld as Secretary of State and dikk Cheney as Chief of Staff
- He increased taxes on the wealthy and corporations by 5 percent but later switched course and lowered taxes.
- Federal Budget ran at a deficit every year he was President.
- Signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975
- Didnt bail out NYC during their bankruptcy issues in 1975.
- He was a big supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment
- Said that abortion should be a state issue and later claimed he was pro-choice
- Entered into the Helsinki Accords in 1975
- Refused to conclude any arms agreements in with Israel and said they made him mad as hell. 76 senators urged him to switch course and he eventually caved.
- Supported aid to South Vietnam but was reneged by congress. Then basically said fukk it.
- He was the target of two assassination attempts.
- Appointed John Stevens as a Supreme Court Justice.
- Beat Reagan in the primary of 1976
- Supported gay marriage in 2001
- Disagreed very strongly with the Iraq War
- Died in 2006 at 93 years old..the longest lived President of all time
I always assumed he was terrible and the worst thing he did was probably give Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney positions of power..which was really bad in hindsight...but for a Republican he wasn't really that bad of a guy it seems.
thats one way of looking at it 
Saddam War 1 
