Forgive me, but

Squeaky Fromme is to assassin as Gerald Ford is to president.

Pardoning President Nixon was a message to all potential malefactors "Worst case you get caught, and we get you a pardon" See Irangate for a case of implementation of this strategy. How many times do we hear criminal politicians propose that "For the good of the country we must put this episode behind us and get on with the work of serving the people of our great nation". Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams play says it best. "Oh, the mendacity." Thanks Gerry for the corruption of the system.

But that's not what cost him the election to Jimmy Carter, any more than Chevy Chase's impersonations of him tripping over his own feet and falling down a lot. He lost that election because he said in a televised debate that the Soviet Union did not and never would dominate Eastern Europe. Jimmy Carter, the moderator and all of America were too shocked to speak, but the word DUMMY in neon letters flashed in everyones' minds simultaneously, and we all said a silent prayer that election day would arrive before the next serious problen hit his desk.

But the reason to abhor Gerald Ford is that he was J Edgar Hoover's man on the Warren Commission and that he changed the wording of the Commission's report as to where the bullet entered the presidents back. He changed the report to say the bullet hit the president in the neck, Which allowed the commision to conclude that the bullet passed through and hit Gov Connelly in the shoulder, an impossible trajectory from where the bullet actually hit the president. The single bullet lie was neccessary to keep the number of shots fired to two rather than three because Lee Harvey Oswald couldn't have fired three shots from his supposed vantage point in the time that the president's limousine was in his line of sight. I'm sure Mr Ford rationalized this deception with the thought, "For the good of the country we must put this episode behind us and get on with the work of serving the people of our great nation". Oh, the mendacity.