I've got to agree with pilgrim here, Ford's pardon of Nixon exacerbated the ongoing notion that presidents were above the law. Worse it created the suspicion that there was somehow a deal in place when Nixon resigned (altho from a historical viewpoint I no longer believe that). I think the country would have been well served by airing th…
I've got to agree with pilgrim here, Ford's pardon of Nixon exacerbated the ongoing notion that presidents were above the law. Worse it created the suspicion that there was somehow a deal in place when Nixon resigned (altho from a historical viewpoint I no longer believe that). I think the country would have been well served by airing the entire Watergate scandal including Nixon through official channels even though ultimately I would probably have agreed that Nixon should just be left to rot in history and not necessarily in a jail cell. I generally feel the same way about Trump. I don't expect him to serve a prison sentence (even if he might deserve it) but definitely believe he needs to be set aside for the rest of his life.
In most other countries a president like Nixon would have been jailed as he tried to board that plane. Ford was a fool. This set in motion the idea of excusing criminal behavior based on some sort of nonsense about calming a divided public or whatever. The "public" was screaming for justice.
Ford, an otherwise decent guy is near the bottom of my presidential list. And putting him ahead of Jimmy Carter or Biden? Good grief.
At a minimum, Trump should be confined forever to his oceanside mansion - allow him a bedroom, the empty ballroom and the bathroom where he stored the STOLEN TOP SECRETS. Only greasy cheeseburgers but no ketchup for throwing against the walls. No internet. Just TVs permanently tuned to CSpan and MSNBC.
Also, lots of cats and a sound system that just plays Taylor Swift.
Nae, nae. He should be confined in his version of Hell: in New York, in Trump Tower with absolutely no golf and the same sort of limitations on communications as are imposed on other federal prisoners.
For me, the big distinction between President Nixon and candidate Trump is that the former had enough respect for the rule-of-law to hand over the damning evidence. Candidate Trump instigated the Capitol riot.
EDIT: Candidate Trump should go to prison. AND rot in history.
I use the term 'candidate' to avoid saying President Trump. I also used that term to emulate its use by Special Counsel Smith in his revised case for 06jan21 case. Special Counsel Smith used the term candidate to differentiate candidate Trumps actions as unofficial acts eligible for indictment.
I worry about confining innocent — they’re just doing their jobs — Secret Service personnel to jail, even for just a few hours at a time. Sounds silly?? It doesn’t seem that silly to them, or to their friends and family, I bet.
When I learned of it, I was disappointed that Ford didn't make public his belief that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and the acceptance of one is a confession of guilt. This opinion was issued by the SCOTUS in 1915; Ford kept a pull quote from the decision in his wallet until he died. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/236/79/
Indeed Ford felt that way but Nixon did not. His interviews with David Frost made it clear that he saw the pardon as an endorsement of his acts which he still felt were justified and intended to help the nation, not him.
True. I do wonder how it would have been if Ford hadn't talked about putting the "long national nightmare behind us" but instead had said, "Nixon's acceptance of this pardon is an admission of his guilt. It's forever a stain on him and his presidency. The country is left shaken by his perfidy but we can take pride in the fact that we didn't turn away from the facts. It is my belief that the nation must move forward and thus I've issued and the former president has accepted this pardon." (Well, a girl can dream, can't she ;-)
I expect he went to his grave still feeling that HE was the aggrieved party, not the public or the country. It's not uncommon among criminals who mostly seem to feel that their problems are not so much caused by what they have done but rather by the fact that they got caught.
I've got to agree with pilgrim here, Ford's pardon of Nixon exacerbated the ongoing notion that presidents were above the law. Worse it created the suspicion that there was somehow a deal in place when Nixon resigned (altho from a historical viewpoint I no longer believe that). I think the country would have been well served by airing the entire Watergate scandal including Nixon through official channels even though ultimately I would probably have agreed that Nixon should just be left to rot in history and not necessarily in a jail cell. I generally feel the same way about Trump. I don't expect him to serve a prison sentence (even if he might deserve it) but definitely believe he needs to be set aside for the rest of his life.
He deserves prison and we need to have him in prison.
No one is above the law.
In most other countries a president like Nixon would have been jailed as he tried to board that plane. Ford was a fool. This set in motion the idea of excusing criminal behavior based on some sort of nonsense about calming a divided public or whatever. The "public" was screaming for justice.
Ford, an otherwise decent guy is near the bottom of my presidential list. And putting him ahead of Jimmy Carter or Biden? Good grief.
At a minimum, Trump should be confined forever to his oceanside mansion - allow him a bedroom, the empty ballroom and the bathroom where he stored the STOLEN TOP SECRETS. Only greasy cheeseburgers but no ketchup for throwing against the walls. No internet. Just TVs permanently tuned to CSpan and MSNBC.
Also, lots of cats and a sound system that just plays Taylor Swift.
I hereby award you First Place in prison design.
😊
…no cats.
😊
Nae, nae. He should be confined in his version of Hell: in New York, in Trump Tower with absolutely no golf and the same sort of limitations on communications as are imposed on other federal prisoners.
Ford’s pardon of Nixon was the camel’s nose of what’s now become the existential threat to democracy we face today.
For me, the big distinction between President Nixon and candidate Trump is that the former had enough respect for the rule-of-law to hand over the damning evidence. Candidate Trump instigated the Capitol riot.
EDIT: Candidate Trump should go to prison. AND rot in history.
There should NOT be a Candidate Trump.
I use the term 'candidate' to avoid saying President Trump. I also used that term to emulate its use by Special Counsel Smith in his revised case for 06jan21 case. Special Counsel Smith used the term candidate to differentiate candidate Trumps actions as unofficial acts eligible for indictment.
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/27/nx-s1-5090925/trump-indictment-jan6
As always, Jon, a balanced and well thought out opinion. Many thanks.
agree with you. No need to have presidents serve prison sentences. Let history be their eternal prison.
Presidents who commit crimes, like insurrection, election interference, bribery, and stealing classified documents need to be in a prison cell.
I worry about confining innocent — they’re just doing their jobs — Secret Service personnel to jail, even for just a few hours at a time. Sounds silly?? It doesn’t seem that silly to them, or to their friends and family, I bet.
On of the challenges here is how slowly the wheels of justice turn.
Yes this one does but it won’t happen.
When I learned of it, I was disappointed that Ford didn't make public his belief that a pardon carries an imputation of guilt and the acceptance of one is a confession of guilt. This opinion was issued by the SCOTUS in 1915; Ford kept a pull quote from the decision in his wallet until he died. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/236/79/
Indeed Ford felt that way but Nixon did not. His interviews with David Frost made it clear that he saw the pardon as an endorsement of his acts which he still felt were justified and intended to help the nation, not him.
True. I do wonder how it would have been if Ford hadn't talked about putting the "long national nightmare behind us" but instead had said, "Nixon's acceptance of this pardon is an admission of his guilt. It's forever a stain on him and his presidency. The country is left shaken by his perfidy but we can take pride in the fact that we didn't turn away from the facts. It is my belief that the nation must move forward and thus I've issued and the former president has accepted this pardon." (Well, a girl can dream, can't she ;-)
Wow, you should be a political speech writer! Nothing more exciting than a woman who understands the word "perfidy"!!!
I expect he went to his grave still feeling that HE was the aggrieved party, not the public or the country. It's not uncommon among criminals who mostly seem to feel that their problems are not so much caused by what they have done but rather by the fact that they got caught.
Absolutely. In this, Nixon and Trump share that character trait in which they are never at fault.
And after 20 years of "exile" he became an "elder statesman" in the eyes of the press. Every time I saw him on a talk show, I wanted to vomit