Gerald Ford, R.I.P.

Former President Ford has died at age 93. The conventional wisdom is that Ford was an ideal successor to Richard Nixon because his persona was so unlike Nixon’s. In this case, I think the conventional wisdom has it right.
Ford was roundly criticized for pardoning Nixon, a move some say cost him the election of 1976. As much as I disliked Nixon, I believed at the time that Ford’s decision was correct and this too has become the conventional wisdom, I think.
My favorite Ford moment came in his 1975 state of the union address when he declared, “the state of the union is not good.” Do you think we’ll ever hear another president make a statement like that when his party has controlled the White House for an extended period?

SCOTT adds: Reader Patrick Ishmael emails us from St. Louis University Law School to alert us to the Ford campaign ad above that summarizes President Ford’s life up to the time of the 1976 campaign in 34 seconds.
To discuss President Ford and his career, go here.