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On the Attack, But Why?

A portrait for former United States President Gerald R. FordWikimedia Commons

Last Updated on February 6, 2023

Some political bloggers on the left have been working overtime, scouring through declassified transcripts from thirty-year-old government documents and old photo archives of President Gerald Ford posing with notables from the time of his presidency, trying to do anything they can to find fault with him, as if they believe that he will return from the dead long enough to apologize for any transgression they identify.

It’s not as if one couldn’t find fault with Ford; but then one could easily find fault with every president who has ever served, if one wants to remove himself from discussions of the day long enough to look.

It’s not enough for them, apparently, that prominent Democrats have had plenty of positive things to say about Ford. There was Jimmy Carter, for example, who called Ford a man of “the highest integrity,” adding:

“An outstanding statesman, he wisely chose the path of healing during a deeply divisive time in our nation’s history. He frequently rose above politics by emphasizing the need for bipartisanship and seeking common ground on issues critical to our nation.”

Bill and Hillary Clinton issued a statement in tribute as well:

“Gerald Ford brought Americans together during a difficult chapter in our history with strength, integrity and humility. All Americans should be grateful for his life of service.”

But for political bloggers, that’s a tall order.

Still, interviews Ford gave on the condition that their contents wouldn’t be made public until after his death are at least giving such bloggers a reason to smile. That’s because in them, Ford is critical not only of the current president, but also his own former staffers Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, and their War in Iraq.

CBS News reports that Ford told Bob Woodward that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld made “big mistake” in justifying the war with an emphasis on weapons of mass destruction:

“And now, I’ve never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do.”

He also criticized the notion of engaging in war in the hopes of spreading Democracy and said he was “dumbfounded” when he heard of the current president’s domestic surveillance program.

The release of these comments create an odd situation for President Bush, who has had nothing but the highest praise for the former president. Ford’s remarks must also have carried quite a sting for Cheney, who Ford accused of turning “pugnacious” in the years since the two worked together and then agreed with Colin Powell’s assertion that Cheney had developed a “fever” about the threat of terrorism and Iraq.

Maybe these comments will be enough to ease some of the “anger” that seems to have cropped up when anyone has something nice to say about the former president.

Anytime a staunch conservative tries to turn the topic of conversation away from the mess in Iraq, his liberal opponents will swiftly bring it back up. And as they do so, you can bet that they’ll attack the idea that anyone would try to shift the discussion to such unimportant trivia when so many lives are being lost in the current conflict. How ironic — and sad — that the opponents of Ford’s party seem to be so easily able to table Iraq for the chance to criticize a former president who has been out of office for twenty-nine years.

It might give a reasonable person pause to ponder what is to be gained.

If there is another Ford out there somewhere, who has the ability to encourage people to put partisan foolishness aside long enough to start solving problems, that candidate deserves our vote.

the authorPatrick
Patrick is a Christian with more than 30 years experience in professional writing, producing and marketing. His professional background also includes social media, reporting for broadcast television and the web, directing, videography and photography. He enjoys getting to know people over coffee and spending time with his dog.

3 Comments

  • I also am troubled by the revelation that he was so strongly against the war. Why not speak up sooner. Forget about appearances. If one has principle then sometimes one needs to stand up. A former president of same party, who has had both Rumsfeld and Cheney as his subordinates, could have made a damned strong statement that might have halted the war before it started.

    That’s certainly true. But my point is, that Ford had the right to choose not to do so, and now that he is deceased, criticizing him for the decision he chose will serve no purpose. Ford did it his way, a way with which you may or may not agree; but it’s too late for Ford to change his mind now.

    Look at how long Bill Clinton has supported Bush’s decision to go into Iraq or at least defended Bush for it! He’s been accused of being a “suck-up” for not following his own party lines.

    I don’t think it’s unreasonable to suggest that people who are critical of Ford should first go after those in their own party who haven’t spoken up with a message they want to hear. For me, any apparent lack of complete agreement against Bush’s tactics on the opposite side seems at least as damaging as the lack of criticism from within his own party.

  • Hi Patrick..hello derse…

    Being an old codger, I remember Ford and Watergate, and I remember the pardon of Nixon. It soured a lot of people, one can’t underestimate how bitter people were. Coming off Vietnam, an oil embargo which drove up gas prices, high inflation, etc.

    I think many of the statements were inflammatory in response to Ford’s memory, but some of us who lived through it had deep resentment against the man.

    I also am troubled by the revelation that he was so strongly against the war. Why not speak up sooner. Forget about appearances. If one has principle then sometimes one needs to stand up. A former president of same party, who has had both Rumsfeld and Cheney as his subordinates, could have made a damned strong statement that might have halted the war before it started.

    It is easy to deify someone in death. Reagan is the same way. He has been heralded as a visionary. Oh? Again, come talk to a Democrat who was of voting age and followed politics through the eighties.

    Okay, I’ll stop my cynicism now. Peace to all…hope I haven’t offered offense.

  • I believe some people are fire starters, eager to throw in the inflammatory commentary, jump back and see what happens. Others wanting to make their affiliations known, simply add their words to those already out there. In my own blog I struggle to balance between opinion that others would like to hear versus my ranting on about how upset or disappointed I am. As my reader will attest, I don’t always succeed.

    Just as the individual choices I make in life culminate into the life I have today, so have the choices each and every president has made bring together the country we have today. For better or worse we are in the here and now, and we we move from this point forward carries more meaning than finding others to blame for the past.God Bless you President Ford, you will be missed.

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