Gerald Ford

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There is no Soviet domination over Eastern Europe
—Oct 6, 1976 in debate with Jimmy Carter[1]
FAIL

Gerald Ford was the 38th President of the United States. He was appointed Vice President by Richard M. Nixon after the resignation of Spiro Agnew. Following Nixon's resignation, Ford assumed the Presidency, an office which he held from 1974 to 1976 making him the first and only person to hold the office without winning either a presidential or vice presidential election. In 1976 he overcame a strong primary challenge from Ronald Reagan and was defeated by Jimmy Carter in the general election. Gerald Ford died in 2006 at the age of 93.

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[edit] Administration

Ford, who believes strongly in Heaven and Hell, has told more than one of his celebrity golf partners that "I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."
Hunter S. Thompson[2]

Ford's short term in office is mostly remembered for two things: Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon, and his ill-fated initiative "Whip Inflation Now." Mostly though, if you remember the 1970s you weren't there, which is why Ford isn't remembered for much. Ford may be remembered for being very clumsy, as he tripped and fell down a lot, in spite of having been a college football player. This clumsiness was portrayed by Chevy Chase (as Ford) in several skits on Saturday Night Live in the 1970's (the show was a comedy show back then). Ben Stein was one of his speechwriters. Ford's second Chief of Staff and then his Secretary of Defense was Donald Rumsfeld (and his third Chief of Staff was You-Know-Who), both of whose careers were resurrected 25 years later by George W. Bush.

[edit] A caveat

Ford was actually the last Rockefeller Republican President: he began amnesty programs for Vietnam War draft dodgers, was pro-choice, supported the Equal Rights Amendment, signed a landmark disability education law,[3] and post-presidency called for the GOP to embrace gay rights and acknowledge the Iraq War was a "big mistake." That sanity was immediately thrown out the window.

[edit] Woooo

Although not often remembered or remarked upon outside of certain conspiracy theory circles, Ford, although a virtually unknown Representative from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was appointed a member of the investigation team that produced the Warren Commission Report, the "official" version of the events surrounding the John F. Kennedy assassination. Did this have anything to do with his later becoming President of the United States?

[edit] Footnotes

  1. The disaster (And the Helsinki Accords were a good thing!)
  2. He Was a Crook, The Atlantic
  3. See the Wikipedia article on Education for All Handicapped Children Act.
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