I'd fallen asleep with the earphones of a Sony Walkman radio in my ears last night and awoke at 11:00 PM with the words that President Ford had died. My thoughts before falling asleep for the night were of his association with Richard Nixon. This morning's television is full of the news of his passing, and I am able to recall my admiration for this man. He was this country's only non-elected President. After Spiro Agnew, under pressure, left the office of Vice President vacant, Nixon eventually appointed Ford to the position, and Congress approved which set the pieces in place for Ford's ascendency.
Ford pardoned Nixon from any criminal action which I remember created a bit of a furor, but everyone got over it. A cynic would probably think that an agreement to do just that had been set in place prior to Nixon's appointment of him. I think the legacy of Ford is that he was a very decent man. He'd had many years of legislative experience as a Representative and as minority leader had learned the valuable art of compromise.
Comedians had a great time with the clumsy mishaps of Ford: hitting errant golf balls into a crowd, stumbling down stairs, falling off stages, and whatever else struck them as humorous. All in all, it will be hard to find much fault with the man. May he rest in peace.
