Gerald Ford

In the comments of my last post Pete asked about Gerald Ford's legacy. Unfortunately, I think his legacy will be that he was not elected to the position and that he pardoned Nixon. Maybe that's what it should be in regards to the Presidency. I mean, he came in at a pretty tough time with having just got out of Vietnam, Watergate, and there was serious problems with inflation. However, it would have been easy enough to decline. He took over a tough job at a tough time, made some gutsy decisions and a lot of vetoes, so I think he deserves some credit.

However, Ford was a long-serving member of Congress before becoming President. Before replacing Agnew (then Nixon) he was well on his way to being Speaker of the House. There, I think he will be remembered for his strong bipartisanship and honesty. I think that honesty is why people liked him as a person. He also served on the Warren Commission to investigate Kennedy's Assassination.

Oddly enough, I think many Americans will remember him as a klutz thanks to Chevy Chase's portrayals of him on Saturday Night Live. Really though, he was a good athlete at Michigan (Go Blue!).

I, however, would like to think that his legacy will be based on his appearance on the Simpsons.