In Memoriam: President Gerald R. Ford 1913-2006

An unassuming Midwesterner who salved the wounds of Watergate, President Gerald R. Ford died this week at the age of 93, the longest-living president. Tapped to fill the void when Vice President Agnew resigned in disgrace, then stepping up again when President Nixon resigned, the Congressman from Michigan brought a quiet integrity, down home common sense, and innate kindness to a country roiling in political chaos. With typical self-effacing humor, he joked about his promotion from congressman to instant vice president to instant president: "The United States Marine Corps Band is so confused they don't know whether to play Hail to the Chief or You've Come a Long Way, Baby."

An unassuming man thrust into the political spotlight during one of our nation's bleakest hours, at his swearing in Gerald Ford told the nation, "I have not sought this enormous responsibility. But I will not shirk it." Ford "was exactly the right person for that moment and being the right person meant he was very unpresidential," said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "He was not an elegant speaker. He was not a person who had airs. He was a smart but simple man. He was a man most people would have liked to have as a next-door neighbor." And that was the crux of President Ford's success. His humble demeanor, dedication to family and country, and gentle good humor made him seem like one of us.

Gerald Ford was someone we could trust at a time when the nation felt sorely betrayed by the scandals of the Nixon administration and the discontented ending of the Vietnam War. Ford's controversial pardon of Richard Nixon probably cost him the presidency when he ran against Jimmy Carter in 1976, but history is showing it to be the tough love that healed the nation. In office a mere 895 days, President Ford did what he set out to do: unify the nation and heal its wounds. He was the right man for the time.

County Stamp Center mourns the loss of President Ford. His presidency is commemorated in this 45-stamp sheetlet of US Presidents issued by the Marshall Islands. (Click the post title to order.) Visit our website for more stamps on US history and hundreds of other topics. Come to County Stamp Center for all your philatelic needs.