President Ford was the right man at the right time. He soothed America at a very critical time.
The radical far LEFT had caused President LBJ not to seek re-election in 1968. Then they turned the Democratic Convention into a fiasco. America was on the verge of anarchy.
When Nixon was elected, he had no choice but to reclaim the country, and reestablish law & order with an iron fist. If you didn’t live through those times, you can’t understand what it was like.
When it became obvious that President Nixon had to do “something,” no one knew if he would resign or create a Constitutional crisis. I didn’t think that a military takeover of the government was beyond possible. In June of 1976, I stocked up on water, food, batteries, fuel, ammo, and had cash handy.
It was a relief when Nixon resigned peacefully and turned power over to Ford.
Remarks By President Gerald Ford On Taking the Oath Of Office As President
August 9, 1974
My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.
Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.
As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate, more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate.
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