155

FORD, GERALD R.

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:300.00 - 500.00 USD
FORD, GERALD R.
<b>155. GERALD R. FORD</b> (b. 1913) 38th President of the United States who assumed office upon the resignation of Richard Nixon, who Ford later pardoned for any involvement in the Watergate scandal. Excellent typed D.S. "<i>Gerald R. Ford</i>", 3pp. 4to., Grand Rapids, Oct. 4, 1998, a copy of the text of Ford's highly controversial editorial defending Bill Clinton and which appeared on the editorial page of the New York Times under the heading "The Path Back to Dignity". The text reads, in small part: "<i>...Some Americans have yet to forgive me for pardoning my predecessor...I didn't issue the pardon for Nixon's sake, but for the country's. A generation later, Americans once again confront the specter of impeachment...when the Monica Lewinsky story first came to light, I have refrained publicly from making any substantive comments...whether or not President Clinton has broken any laws, he has broken faith with those who elected him...the President has since been forced to take refuge in legalistic evasions, while his defenders resort to the insulting mantra that `everybody does it'...A simple apology is inadequate, and a fine would trivialize his misconduct...the time has come to pause and consider the long-term consequences of removing this President..." Ford then suggests an alternative to a protracted impeachment process: "...Imagine a very different kind of Presidential appearance...in the well of the House...receiving not an ovation from the people's representatives, but a harshly worded rebuke as tendered by members of both parties...the President would accept full responsibility for his actions...Let all this be done without partisan exploitation or mean-spiritedness...I do care, passionately, about rescuing the country I love from further turmoil or uncertainty...</i>" Fine.<b>$300-500</b>