Date: 2011-03-14
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. President Ford was a wonderful person. as everyone has said here. He was a remarkable man. And one of the most remarkable things about him was the humility with which he carried himself through his entire life. An AllAmerican football player. he was criticized for being clumsy by the national press at times. when in fact it was because he had a trick knee as a result of injuries that he suffered. But he never complained about that. Id like to just mention one little anecdote that I think brings to the attention of people what a genuine person he was. We all know that President Ford took a rather controversial. and I would say courageous. act in granting a pardon to President Nixon because he thought it was best for this country. Now. some time thereafter. my father actually happened to be the physician attending to former President Nixon when he was suffering from his phlebitis attack which led to a neardeath occasion while he was at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. President Ford heard about that. and President Ford was en route to California. and he immediately summoned his aides to him on Air Force One and said. I want to go visit Richard Nixon. His staff replied. Mr. President. we would advise against it. Youve already received political heat for pardoning Mr. Nixon. And a personal visit like this would draw attention to that. and we would recommend against it. In response. Gerald Ford said. Richard Nixon is my friend. he is in trouble. I want to see him. So his aides then said. well. Mr. President. perhaps he is not well enough to see you. And President Ford said to his staff. call his doctor. call Pat Nixon. ask whether it would be good for me to visit him. and I will abide by their decision. They called up and talked to Mrs. Nixon. who then called my dad and asked whether it would be a good idea. And my dad said it might be the best thing for his health that could happen. And when that was told to Gerald Ford. he said. make it happen. And he did. He came and he visited Richard Nixon at the hospital. After it was over. he turned to his aide. his Chief of Staff. Dick Cheney. and said. thats as close to death as Ive ever seen anybody. because President Nixon was very. very sick at the time. My dad called me up after that was over and said. this was a wonderful visit. It will help the health of President Nixon. And then he said to me. thisprobably politically incorrect to say today. but my dad said. That President Ford. hes a real mans man. What he meant by that was he was a genuine person who. irrespective of the political consequences. decided to go forward with what most people would consider to be a genuine act of friendship. trying to help a friend in need. a friend who was in difficulty and. in fact. almost on the doorstep of death. But that was Gerald Ford. He acted the way we would all hope that we would act. without concern for the consequences politically. Gerald Ford was. in fact. a mans man. Mr. Speaker. I would urge our colleagues to support this resolution so that we might have the presence of Gerald Fords statue here in our Nations Capitol so that generations from now children can come and visit and ask questions about who that man. President Ford. really was. and perhaps they will get the real picture.