Gerald Ford: Ronald Reagan was "overrated"

[Human Snorenado]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/12/ford.presidents.ap/index.html

Ford said Reagan, who challenged him unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in 1976, was "a great spokesman for attractive political objectives" such as a balanced budget and defeating communism, "but when it came to implementation, his record never matched his words."

Reagan was "probably the least well-informed on the details of running the government of any president I knew," Ford said. In a separate interview, he said Reagan "was just a poor manager, and you can't be president and do a good job unless you manage."

Under the 1975 Helsinki accords signed by Ford, the United States recognized borders in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe in exchange for the Soviets' pledge to respect basic human rights.

Ford said other key factors that won the Cold War were the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe after World War II and the establishment of NATO.

"When you put peace, prosperity and human rights against poverty, a massive unsuccessful military program and a lack of human rights, communism was bound to collapse," he said. "No president, no Democrat or Republican, can claim credit for those programs. I'll tell you who deserves the credit -- the American people."

He's still going to Hell for pardoning Nixon, but this made me chuckle.

[BlueTsunami]

STAR WARS

[Diablos]

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[xnikki118x]

It seems Gerald Ford was a pretty decent guy. I mean yeah, he pardoned Nixon, but he also talked shit on the war AND Ronnie.

Much respect for the late President.

Also, I think he's right when he says Jimmy Carter won't be frowned upon so much as time goes on. The circumstances during his time in office were pretty dire, and could've probably buried just about any President. Could he have handled things better? Yes. But I bet he still would've only endured one term regardless.

I agree. Poor Jimmy Carter definitely got the short end of the stick on that one.

Some people say the same thing about Bush, but I doubt that people are going to be sympathetic in the future with him as they seem to be with Carter.

[Cheebs]

Jimmy Carter will be looked upon far better 50-100 years from now. But Bush likely wont. Why?

Carter has changed how people view him due to his acts as ex-president. He was a weak president but when you ask people what they think of when they hear his name it tends to be "that guy who builds houses for the poor people" or something else along those lines. He has gotten the noble peace prize and to this day does insane amounts of charity work and helping elections in struggling countries.

Carter has changed his legacy, people will remember the ex-president, not the president Carter. And thus History will look upon him fondly.


I am curious what happens to Bill's legacy. Clinton was well liked as President and then became beloved due to the scandal(complete opposite of watergate, this time the public saw bill as the victim and rallied around him) and his legacy has increased somewhat due longing for his peaceful 90's due to Bush admin.

I wonder, with the Hillary campaign he will become VERY active again, nearly on the scale of a presidencial candidate. I wonder if that could hurt him rather than letting people keep their happy memories of the 90's.

My guess is Clinton's will be similar to that of Ike. Very well liked, very positive overall feeling but not that exciting nor full of material for great books and so forth compared to later Presidents(Bush in Clinton's case).

[Diablos]

Nah, Clinton has done a lot of good work after his Presidency and stays well-informed on current events, and provides a very insightful response to many issues of the day. He cares a lot about this country AND the world. Look at CGI, that's amazing. I have a feeling he's going to be doing these kinds of things until the final year of his life.

Hell, even Ford ranked him higher than Reagan; even if he said "average", that's saying something. A society that grows more progressive as time goes on is going to look back on the whole Lewinsky thing and laugh. Specifically, at Republicans for bringing the country to a screeching halt to get the President impeached because he lied about a blowjob. Say what you will about Clinton not doing enough to get bin Laden, but he did want to go after him, and Republicans said it was nothing but a distraction from the Lewinsky scandal and simply didn't want to hear it. And with the Republicans in control of the house at the time, that made it all the more difficult for Clinton to seek the finances required to seriously take on such a task. If you read Richard Clarke's book, Clinton did want to get an anti-terror taskforce established but he had a lot of problems with it. Now these same Republicans claim he didn't do enough. Just like black hawk down, even though back when it happened, they wanted him to leave the next day. 

Also, what "great books" about George W. Bush are going to look more interesting than Bill Clinton ones? In the long run, Clinton will likely be remembered fondly by history. Bush's legacy is the one to worry about... as time goes on, I would hope that this mess of a war holds a lot more weight than fooling around with an intern (and not to mention, Bill had a good Presidency otherwise; just about every single thing Bush has proposed angered SOMEONE). Clinton is going to be viewed as a center-left President who cared a lot about his objectives and did not tend to go to extremes; Bush is already known as being an extremely polarizing ideological figure.

Some people say the same thing about Bush, but I doubt that people are going to be sympathetic in the future with him as they seem to be with Carter.

Yeah, I definitely agree and for the reasons I mentioned above.

[Cheebs]

A society that grows more progressive as time goes on is going to look back on the whole Lewinsky thing and laugh. 

Uh...most did then and still do.  When the scandal happen a majority of America disapproved of impeachment and Clinton's approval ratings rose with America seeing Clinton as a victim during the scandal.

The average American didn't like what happened to Clinton. The only ones who cared were the Republican Congress and the media.

[Diablos]

Clinton's legacy is nothing to worry about. Bush is going to be remembered as a terrible President.

[Lonestar]

Clinton's legacy is not anything to worry about. Bush is going to be remembered as a terrible President.

When the Iraqi War turns successful, he'll be remembered as a visionary.  A prophet ahead of the times.  Brought down by partisans such as yourself who have no stomach for wars that benefit this great nation. 

[Diablos]

Clinton's legacy is not anything to worry about. Bush is going to be remembered as a terrible President.

When the Iraqi War turns successful, he'll be remembered as a visionary.  A prophet ahead of the times.  Brought down by partisans such as yourself who have no stomach for wars that benefit this great nation.