Should Ford have pardoned Nixon?

Chimpy pulling a Nixon.

but hell no!

at the time to have any idea what was happening, so all my theories on the pardon were developed during Reagan's tenure.

We certainly saved a lot of money and time by having the pardon, which I long felt was a good thing and well worth it.

But now, after experiencing what a truly evil president can do, and being far more aware socially and politically and psychologically, I realize that all Ford did was what alcoholic (or other dysfunctional) families do: hide it under the rug, and pretend that because it's hidden, everything is okay.

American wasn't healed by the pardon, it's been slowly poisoned because hiding bad secrets eventually destroys the secret holder, whether it's the mind of one person or the collective mind of a country.

The pardon also set up an awful precedent of saying to presidents, "You won't be held accountable". Like an alcoholic's family constantly reinforcing "You won't be held responsible for your drinking - we'll cover up for you".

The pardon of Nixon, as I see it now, should have been an unpardonable offense.

And I fear the awful precedent that the pardon set will be followed by Democrats refusing to impeach Shrubbie.

We wouldn't be in the mess we are today if he prosecuted the crimes. All this pardon did was send a message that it's ok to do whatever the fuck you want when you are President as long as you are a Republican. Horrible, tragic move.

The message was fairly clear: There are no consequences for your actions. Same lesson Reagan learned over Iran-Contra, same one Chimpy McCokespoon is currently relying on.

But it's tough to say that a Democratic president wouldn't do the same thing if they were in Ford's shoes.

contributing to a cover-up and the grounds for Ray Gun et al.

I was angry when he did and I'm still angry about it.

Cheers

I certainly didn't think so at the time. I still feel much the same, although I've never vilified Ford for that; I also understood the reasons for pardoning him, even if I didn't agree.

Other, because: What exactly is the point? What difference does what a dead man should or shouldn't have done 3 decades ago make right now, other than to distract people from issues of substance that need attention NOW.

This is a place where people can ask questions, wether you like them or not. If you don't like the question, don't answer.