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Former US President Ford Honored for Decision to Pardon Nixon
Former US President Gerald Ford was honored on Monday for pardoning his predecessor Richard Nixon.
The award, called the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, was presented to Ford during a ceremony at the John Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts.
Ford, 87, said that he took the step to pardon his predecessor because he needed to get on with "the problems of the country."
He said that when he became president, the country was in total turmoil with the war in Vietnam and the Watergate scandal, and it was important to try and heal the wounds of the two tragedies. The Watergate scandal led to Nixon's resignation.
Ford pardoned Nixon on September 8, 1974, a month after he took office, a move many political analysts believe contributed to his loss two years later to Jimmy Carter.
The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award is presented annually to an elected official who makes a decision in the face of strong political opposition.
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