Gerald R. Ford, 1913-2006

GERALD FORD, who died Tuesday at age 93, was a man of modest vision and plain habits, a natural conciliator whose talents were burnished by 25 years in Congress. He was just what the nation needed as president after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace in 1974.

Ford squandered his popularity by pardoning Nixon a month after becoming president. It was his worst mistake, not so much for the action itself -- the Watergate special prosecutor probably wouldn't have indicted Nixon -- but for the abruptness of the decision and Ford's failure to consult Congress.

Yet he made amends by going before Congress to explain his actions and insist there was no deal before Nixon's resignation. And even though the Democrats made major gains in the 1974 congressional elections, Ford maintained good relations with his old congressional chums across the aisle.

Ford was a throwback to the moderate Republicanism of President Eisenhower, an internationalist abroad and a fiscal conservative at home. He began his presidency by promising to stamp out inflation, but with the Democrats in control of Congress and recession taking hold, he signed a $9 billion tax cut. Famed for his refusal to aid New York in its fiscal emergency (the famous New York Daily News headline was "Ford to City: Drop Dead"), he ended up signing a $2.3 billion emergency loan guarantee. His flexibility helped the country weather the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Ford continued the foreign policies of his predecessor. As he geared up for the 1976 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan assailed his policies from the right, especially the detente that Nixon had initiated with the Soviet Union. Ford nonetheless signed the Helsinki Accords that seemed to seal Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, but also put the Soviet leadership on record supporting human rights in these nations. Dissidents used this guarantee to pry open the space for protest and individual expression. Ford's commitment to detente aided in the break-up of the Soviet empire.

Ford was the only unelected vice president ever to become president. Nixon chose him to replace Spiro Agnew, who was forced to resign after federal investigators discovered that he had taken payoffs while governor of Maryland. Had the divisive, unprincipled Agnew become president, it would have prolonged the "national nightmare" from which Ford promised to deliver America. "I want to be remembered as a . . . nice person. who worked at the job, and who left the White House in better shape than when I took over," the unassuming Ford told historian John Robert Greene in 1988. Although his presidency lasted less than 30 months, he deserves the nation's gratitude for restoring confidence in the office.