"I am not a Lincoln; I am a Ford" (#292, Topic P)

Visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, I was impressed by the 3-inch type, PRESIDENT FORD DIES, in the local newspaper, The Detroit Free Press; Ford died the previous evening in Palm Desert CA. A congressman from nearby Grand Rapids, Ford was considered a native son. I asked our son-in-law whether he was a member of the Ford family well known in this motor-town. The answer is no. Ford moved to Michigan when he was two, after his father passed away and his mother re-married; Ford is his step-father's last name. A -- perhaps the -- most important feature of democracy, as viewed by President Bush, is that leaders are elected by majoirty vote. But as practiced in USA, it seems to me that that feature is honored more by its breach; American leaders, at least in recent memory, are the product of legal maneuvers. And Ford is an excellent example. When Richard Nixon, the 37th president, was reelected in 1973, his running mate on the Republican ticket was Spiro Agnew; Ford was the minority leader in the House. When a president is unable to discharge his/her responsibilities, the law in USA states that he/she is to be succeeded by the vice-president; if the vice-president is unable to fill the vacancy, the Speaker of the House is the next in line. Though legalistic, this law is nevertheless simple and straight-forward; still, it cannot cope with modern-day complexities. Here, were Nixon forced out (he was on the verge of being impeached), Agnew, the vice-president, would be the president. But Agnew was under a cloud himself, being charged with corruption and such. (Agnew lived in an exclusive -- exclusionary would be closer to the mark -- area, Kenwood, which has the Kenwood Country Club bordering its north and cherry trees lining its streets; as late as the 50s, Jewish-Americans were not allowed to have property there. To accommodate them and others, another development, Kenwood Park, was established; it is just north of the Kenwood Country Club and adjacent to the well-regarded Walter Whitman High School. How do I know the history? My wife and I lived there, on two tours totalling more than 25 years, before moving to this retirement community.) So, were Agnew similarly impeached, the Speaker of the House would be installed as the president -- but the Speaker was a Democrat, which would be a clear no-no. So, the brightest of the legal community took over. First, force Agnew to resign. Second, install Ford as the new VP. Third, after Nixon left office in mid-stream (he chose to resign in 1974), install Ford as the new president. So, Ford was never on a national ticket. One of the first acts Ford performed, after assuming the presidency, was to pardon Nixon -- "absolute pardon," in Ford's own words. So, in a country where no one is above the law, the president acted no differently from an emperor, who has the absolute power to pardon. Many historians felt that one reason Ford was not elected on his own accord is this very pardoning act. During the day, a local TV station had a segment on Ford uttering, among other gems, the sentence used as the title to this entry.