Cheney, Nixon, and Ford

According to VP Cheney, Pres. Ford did the right thing in pardoning Pres. Richard Nixon immediately after taking office after the disgraced President resigned. Hmm. Spoken like a man threatened with his own impeachment. If you want to hear from a bunch of Republicans about the virtues of 'healing' and getting on with it, check out this story from Yahoo! News: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061231/ap_on_re_us/gerald_ford. Otherwise, suffice it to say that this obviously not true. Looking at what Nixon's criminal activities while in office has made the entire country skeptical of the position. Instead of indicting, prosecuting, and convicting a president resigned from his post, he has been excused of his bad behavior. This isn't healing--healing would be in allowing us to see Nixon as a bad seed that was corrupted by power. Instead, we are left to suggest that all presidents are likely to be bad seeds. Take a look at the first elected president after Nixon: Jimmy Carter. Carter was the most respectable and appropriate president of the last fifty years, for sure, but we weren't allowed to appreciate those virtues.

You know, Dick, it isn't about making the right decision at a time, it is the right decision for all-time. Gerald Ford was courageous in his decision: too bad the repercussions have not been what he had hoped. Now as for you, Mr. Cheney, perhaps you will be saved from impeachment, but I’m sure you’ll be fighting legal battles for the next decade. Hey, you made your own bed.