Remembering Ford: His integrity helped heal the nation

WASHINGTON — President Ford may be best remembered for helping the nation through the turbulent times following President Nixon's resignation, but many recall how he also "ushered" the country into integration, provided aid to Vietnamese refugees and helped Americans begin healing from the Vietnam War.

"I think he will be remembered for being exactly the right man at the right time at the right place to heal a hurting nation," said Guy Vander Jagt, R-Mich., a former House minority leader and a longtime friend.

Ford, who was the longest living president, died Tuesday at 93. He came into office in 1974 following the resignation of the disgraced Richard Nixon.

"During his time in office, the American people came to know President Ford as a man of complete integrity who led our country with common sense and kind instincts," President Bush said.

Ford was best known for "changing the tone of the presidency and restoring people's faith in the presidency," said Ron Nessen, Ford's former press secretary. "He was a down-home guy, the guy next door. I think people welcomed that."

Aside from the Nixon scandal, Ford's 2 1/2-year tenure was plagued by high inflation, a crippling recession and the final stages of troop withdrawal from Vietnam. He was also in charge as the country wrestled with implementing some integration laws.

But it was Ford's unpopular decision to pardon Nixon that haunted him.

Soon after being sworn in as president, Ford's approval rating hovered at 71 percent, according to a Gallup Poll. But that number plummeted after he pardoned Nixon. By the start of the next year, Ford's approval rating had plunged to 37 percent.

"I don't think he ever had second thoughts about the pardon," Nessen said.

Vander Jagt said Ford knew the pardon would cost him the presidency when he ran for a full term in 1976, but it "freed him up to address the other problems that unite the nation."

Thirty years later, public opinion has changed. A Gallup Poll last month showed 60 percent of respondents rated Ford's overall presidency as average.

It was also under Ford's watch that the United States pulled out of Vietnam, ending a war left behind by previous presidents.

John Rowan, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America, called Ford the "caretaker" of the nation's final days in Vietnam.