Former President Gerald Ford

President Gerald Ford with his golden retriever, Liberty, in the Oval Office in 1974. Photo courtesy Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library


Like President Harry S. Truman, President Gerald Ford died a day after Christmas.

LOS ANGELES -- Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th president and the only one never elected to nationwide office, has died. He was 93.

"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," former first lady Betty Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."

Statement by President Bush on the passing of former President Ford:

Laura and I are greatly saddened by the passing of former President Gerald R. Ford.

President Ford was a great American who gave many years of dedicated service to our country. On August 9, 1974, after a long career in the House of Representatives and service as Vice President, he assumed the Presidency in an hour of national turmoil and division. With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the Presidency.

The American people will always admire Gerald Ford's devotion to duty, his personal character, and the honorable conduct of his administration. We mourn the loss of such a leader, and our 38th President will always have a special place in our Nation's memory. On behalf of all Americans, Laura and I offer our deepest sympathies to Betty Ford and all of President Ford's family. Our thoughts and prayers will be with them in the hours and days ahead.

According to AP, Ford was in the White House for just 895 days.

I like President Bush's phrase "quiet integrity" to describe former President Ford. That's his legacy.

I know that there are lots of radical Lefties who despised Ford for granting Richard Nixon a pardon.

The ones still upset about it need to get a life, and appreciate and respect Ford for his decency.

He was just what America needed, guiding the country through a period that could have been marked by disorder. Ford fulfilled the difficult role of being the first and only president in our history to assume the office without being elected.

Yes, Ford was selected, not elected. He was an excellent selection.

He embodied what's great about the American system of government -- we are a nation of laws, not men.

Listen to President Ford be sworn in as the 38th President of the United States.

Read President Ford's remarks upon taking the oath of office.

Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs. We cannot stand still or slip backwards. We must go forward now together.

To the peoples and the governments of all friendly nations, and I hope that could encompass the whole world, I pledge an uninterrupted and sincere search for peace. America will remain strong and united, but its strength will remain dedicated to the safety and sanity of the entire family of man, as well as to our own precious freedom.

I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our Government but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad.

In all my public and private acts as your President, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end.

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.

Quiet integrity.
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