Now that he has passed away as a nonagenarian, Gerald Ford will be assessed and probably dismissed as the Eagle Scout he was all throughout his life, except, perhaps, for the incident with his former boss, the disgraced Richard Nixon who was forced from office because of scandal in high places.  Mr. Ford besmirched himself by pardoning Nixon and therefore lost his image as one of the “good” guys.

If you forgive your enemies this is a way to mark you as a superior human being.  Pardoning a mentor and former boss to avoid a national disaster smells of something less than holy or even ordinary.  We expect our Boy Scouts to act like practicing heroes and learn about our history through living in the rough like our ancestors. Mr. Ford’s only real mistake was in becoming an ordinary politician who is accused of making a deal allowing Nixon to get off the hook.

What is so extraordinary about this bit of American History is that it was about Republicans, Republican control of the Country and Republican mistakes in leading our country.  America, particularly that portion that had been called the heartland of America, is truly invested in that Grand Old Party, the GOP and it was shaken badly by the bad behavior of its leaders.  One wonders if this kind of blow to the body politic of the Right led to the excesses of trying to pillory Bill Clinton and Hillary.  I suspect this is part of the picture that forms about that time when Bill’s zipper betrayed her and the country.  If Bill Clinton was a Boy Scout, would he have done what he did?

Being holier than thou in this country is supposed to be a standard for becoming a leader.  Few of our Presidents have clean hands and few – even George Washington – would if held to present day vetting would not make it through the nominating process.

I am being petty here, but just as the Republicans will not let America forget and forgive Bill Clinton for his personal failings and hate Hillary Rodham Clinton for being the smart, forceful and gifted person she is – I cannot let the pardoning of Richard Nixon by Gerald Ford pass without a parting word or two or three.

Nixon was a politician and a smart one.  He made many mistakes but was forgiven them by his constituency who tend to make saints out of their leaders.  This is unconscionable in the kind of government we have created.  Mr. Ford should not be forgiven for taking this tendency and making it official by pardoning Mr. Nixon. The disservice to our country by Ford’s action is one of the reasons why other nations look in askance at our self-proclaimed superiority.  Shame on Mr. Ford and on us.