January 3,
2007
Column #1,323
Advance for January 6, 2007
Ford: A Christian Politician
by Michael J. McManus
Four prominent Washingtonians eulogized Gerald Ford at moving memorial service
at the magestic National Cathedral - President George Bush and his father,
Henry Kissinger and Tom Brokaw. They said memorable things, but the deepest
insights came from an unknown, Rev. Robert Certain, pastor of Ford's church in
California.
The elder President Bush called Ford "a Norman Rockwell painting come to
life...To political ally and adversary alike, Jerry Ford's word was always
good....Few if any of our public leaders could have stepped into the breach and
rekindled our national faith as did President Gerald R. Ford. History has a way
of matching man and moment...Just as F.D.R.'s optimism was the perfect antidote
to the despair of the Great Depression, so too can we say that Jerry Ford's
decency was the ideal remedy for the deception of Watergate."
Kissinger recalled, "Gerald Ford was always driven by his concern for humane
values...Throughout the final ordeal of Indochina, Gerald Ford focused on
America's duty to rescue the maximum number of those who had relied on us. The
extraction of 150,000 refugees was the consequence."
The current President Bush noted that the "Helsinki Accords" that ratified
borders in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe ( a source of intense criticism at
the time) also set "new standards for human rights" which "helped bring down the
Soviet Union as courageous men and women behind the Iron Curtain used it to
demand their God-given liberties."
Tom Brokaw praised Ford's "decency, honesty and his modesty," qualities that are
rare among U.S. Presidents. "Gerald Ford brought to the political arena no
demons, no hidden agenda, no hit list or acts of vengeance."
Indeed, most speakers praised his decision to pardon Richard Nixon that was so
unpopular at the time, his approval rating dropped 20 points, contributing
substantially to his inability to be re-elected. However, that act spared the
nation from what likely would have been years of divisive trials of the
disgraced President. Sen. Edward Kennedy, who was bitterly critical at the
time, changed his mind and awarded Ford a "Profile In Courage" award in 1999.
However, none of these eulogies got to the core of the inner Gerald Ford. What
enabled him to befriend both Democratic and Republican politicians with big
egos? The President inaccurately said that when Nixon "needed to replace a vice
president who had resigned in scandal, he naturally turned to a man whose name
was a synonym for integrity, Gerald R. Ford."
In fact, Nixon wanted to name Texas Gov. John Connally not Ford as his VP. The
Democratic Speaker of the House, Carl Albert and key Republicans, persuaded
Nixon that House Minority Leader Ford's nomination would sail through, while
Connelly's would be questionable.
Why was Ford so beloved?
Rev. Certain told mourners at the National Cathedral and the national TV
audience that many of Jesus' words "have been reflected in the life and
ministry of Gerald Ford. In Matthew 5...Jesus gives us a list of virtues in the
Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount:
• "‘God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom
of God.' Gerald Ford, you have always been a man of that kingdom.
• "‘God blesses those people who are humble. The earth will belong to them.' My
dear friend, this earth was yours...
• "‘God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy.'
Gerald Ford, you showed mercy when others demanded vengeance...
• "‘God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children.'
Jerry Ford, you were truly a child of God."
His pastor stated the matter simply: "Gerald Ford was a Christian man, a man who
lived his life in accordance with the virtues of the Beatitudes. For us, he
will continue to serve as an example of how to live as a man of faith, a man of
the nation, a man for the world."
He added, on the last day of his ministry, Jesus said, "Greater love has no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
• "In WW II Gerald Ford served in the Navy, willing to die for this nation...
• "As President, he laid aside his political future to heal this nation."
However, in 2004 Ford told Washington Post's Bob Woodward he "very strongly"
disagreed with Bush's justification for invading Iraq, adding "I don't think I
would have gone to war." Ford only asked that his opinion not be published until
his death, which Woodward honored.
Ford's commitment to the truth, as he saw it, was deeper than his desire not to
offend which governed his political life until his death.
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