Was the Nixon Pardon right?

Beefy

Beefy

Worst gambler ever
I'm curious as to what some of the older members of the board who went through the 70's think about Ford pardoning Nixon. To be honest, I don't really know enough about the climate back then to make an honest judgement on it. I've heard that Teddy Kennedy said at the time that it was a continuation of the Watergate cover-up. But later said that he was wrong, and Ford was right.

Was it the right move for the country? Ending the national fixation on Nixon in order to move on and get back to business as usual?

Any thoughts from you old people that can remember the time?
 
Most of the powerful who were vocal against the pardon have since changed their minds. However before Ford pardoned Nixon his approval rating was above 70%, it dropped below 50% overnight. People believed that it was a deal between Nixon and Ford and that hurt him during the election. What he did insured that Carter would win at the next election....
 
Damocles said:
Most of the powerful who were vocal against the pardon have since changed their minds. However before Ford pardoned Nixon his approval rating was above 70%, it dropped below 50% overnight. People believed that it was a deal between Nixon and Ford and that hurt him during the election. What he did insured that Carter would win at the next election....
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Yeah, I know that much. But I'm wondering, election or no election, if it was the right thing to do at the time.
 
Beefy said:
I'm curious as to what some of the older members of the board who went through the 70's think about Ford pardoning Nixon. To be honest, I don't really know enough about the climate back then to make an honest judgement on it. I've heard that Teddy Kennedy said at the time that it was a continuation of the Watergate cover-up. But later said that he was wrong, and Ford was right.

Was it the right move for the country? Ending the national fixation on Nixon in order to move on and get back to business as usual?

Any thoughts from you old people that can remember the time?
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I was pretty young: but I was already politically aware.

It was a bad time for america in those days: Vietnam and Watergate. I think it was probably the right call. We needed to put that shit behind us. A lot of people thought tricky Dick should have been wearing prison stripes though. Its a tough call.
 
Beefy said:
Yeah, I know that much. But I'm wondering, election or no election, if it was the right thing to do at the time.
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I was all of 5 when Jimmy won the election. We stayed up late watching the results. That was when I first started becoming politically aware. So... unfortunately, while I think he did the right thing based mostly off of the reports of others that were there I cannot give you personal experience on this.
 
Damocles said:
I was all of 5 when Jimmy won the election. We stayed up late watching the results. That was when I first started becoming politically aware. So... unfortunately, while I think he did the right thing based mostly off of the reports of others that were there I cannot give you personal experience on this.
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You old fart. I wasn't even 1 yet. :cof1:

I'm inclined to believe it was the right thing to do.
 
Jimmy Carter was the first President I voted for ... The pardon came at a time when I was preparing to vote for the very first time.., I was a young passionate Dem at the time...and Im sure I was one of the many who resented Ford for the pardon. It didnt take long to look back and realize It was the right thing to do.... we needed to get the enitre mess behind us and move on.
 
klaatu said:
Jimmy Carter was the first President I voted for ... The pardon came at a time when I was preparing to vote for the very first time.., I was a young passionate Dem at the time...and Im sure I was one of the many who resented Ford for the pardon. It didnt take long to look back and realize It was the right thing to do.... we needed to get the enitre mess behind us and move on.
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My experience mirrors yours. I voted for Carter because of the pardon also, I came to regret that.
 
I think Bill Clinton was very eloquent about the pardon...he stated that is was very easy, as a democrat, to be angry at Ford at the time, but that the clarity of hindsight shows that the pardon was the right thing to do for America.
 
So when we have a corrupt leader that breaks the law they should go free for the good of the country ? A piss poor example of leadership to me....

I did not vote for Nixon.
 
Nixon did have the balls to pull us out of Nam though, and ended the draft, too late to help me though....
If Nixon had not pulled us out of Nam Bush could not have run around over there in his jammies promoting trade and such.
 
Beefy said:
You old fart. I wasn't even 1 yet. :cof1:

I'm inclined to believe it was the right thing to do.
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That depends on what factor you think was the most important.

The pardon DID, in fact, kind of force us to put Watergate and the failed Nixon presidency behind us. OTOH, forcing us to do that before we were ourselves ready to do so denied us what the trendy would now call "closure."

Was Nixon a criminal? It's still a matter of personal opinion and conjecture.

I don't pretend to know the final answer. I'm still usually of the opinion that it was a mistake: we should have worked through the implications of Watergate as a legal matter. Nixon should have stood trial. Not only for the sake of closure but also to further reduce the prestige of the "imperial presidency" that Nixon had built up. I think we're still paying the price for that today.
 
Thanks Ornot, you said it so much more eloquently and precisely than I could have.

To me in short, no one should be above the law in this country. And all should pay the same prices for breaking the laws.
 
You dont think Nixon suffered? You dont think spending the final years of his life in humiliation was a price? Sure..you may say that he lived comfortable with his pension and nice home.. but money isnt everything..
Like many who sit in the Presidency... there is the ego factor and the legacy thing.... this is what motivates them ... Nixons legacy ended in shame .. he was penalized.
 
Pardoning Nixon was definitely the right thing to do. I don't understand people who are so full of hate that they need more than what was done to Nixon & his legacy...his name will always be synonymous with Watergate & scandal; isn't that enough? Beyond that, I'm of the firm belief that he "just got caught," and wasn't really doing anything beyond what most politicians do, particularly in terms of protecting his people. I don't give him a pass, but enough is enough.

Also, I happen to think Nixon was probably the best Republican President of my lifetime, in many respects. He got us out of 'nam, and did some good work with China....
 
klaatu said:
You dont think Nixon suffered? You dont think spending the final years of his life in humiliation was a price? Sure..you may say that he lived comfortable with his pension and nice home.. but money isnt everything..
Like many who sit in the Presidency... there is the ego factor and the legacy thing.... this is what motivates them ... Nixons legacy ended in shame .. he was penalized.
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whatever. Criminals should be sent to prison period. It could have been put behind us with him being in jail too. What the he|| kind of precident is that? Politicians should have to pay so that the public can move on. I disagree with all of you whole heartedly. Martha did her time.
 
Onceler said:
Pardoning Nixon was definitely the right thing to do. I don't understand people who are so full of hate that they need more than what was done to Nixon & his legacy...his name will always be synonymous with Watergate & scandal; isn't that enough? Beyond that, I'm of the firm belief that he "just got caught," and wasn't really doing anything beyond what most politicians do, particularly in terms of protecting his people. I don't give him a pass, but enough is enough.

Also, I happen to think Nixon was probably the best Republican President of my lifetime, in many respects. He got us out of 'nam, and did some good work with China....
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Sorry. Nixon broke the law. He should pay just like the rest of us and in the same way that we would. I don't hate the man. Its a matter of principals. If he knew he was wiretapping unlawfully, and he did it anyway why shouldn't he be sent to jail? If other presidents did it too, they should be punished too. I'm tired of politicians thinking they are above the law they are elected to protect.
 
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Onceler said:
Pardoning Nixon was definitely the right thing to do. I don't understand people who are so full of hate that they need more than what was done to Nixon & his legacy...his name will always be synonymous with Watergate & scandal; isn't that enough? Beyond that, I'm of the firm belief that he "just got caught," and wasn't really doing anything beyond what most politicians do, particularly in terms of protecting his people. I don't give him a pass, but enough is enough.

Also, I happen to think Nixon was probably the best Republican President of my lifetime, in many respects. He got us out of 'nam, and did some good work with China....
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I think you are most likely right on the best republican President of our lifetime.
On the rest, I believe if you do the crime you do the time.
 
"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
Abe Lincoln
 
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