Fords receive congressional gold medal

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Fifty-one years after being sworn in as a congressman, Former President Gerald R. Ford and his wife Betty Ford were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday for helping heal "a nation in torment."

The medal is the highest honor Congress can bestow on an American citizen. Ford became the 38th president when former president Richard Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal. Ford inherited a country still riven by the fallout of the Vietnam War and the trauma of the Watergate scandal.

Ford downplayed his role, both as president and as a long-time congressman from Michigan.

"I feel good that I had a small part, both in the legislative branch and in the White House, in providing that freedom and liberty would prevail against communism and Marxism," he said.

Ford took the oath of office as president August 9, 1974, saying that "the long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works."

Before becoming president, he served from January 3, 1949 to December 6, 1973 in the House, re-elected twelve times, each time with more than 60 percent of the vote being appointed vice president by Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned.

Speaker after speaker at the ceremony in the Capital Rotunda said that Ford, in the 2 1/2 years he was in the White House, helped heal the nation's wounds after Vietnam and Watergate.

Rep. Vernon Ehlers, the Michigan Republican who currently occupies which he called the "Jerry Ford seat" -- said Ford had a "well-earned reputation for personal integrity and principled leadership."

"You and Mrs. Ford healed a nation in torment," he said.

All the speakers noted that Mrs. Ford made many contributions to America, included her well-publicized battles with substance abuse and breast cancer, successfully battling both diseases.

House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said doctors speak of the "Betty Ford effect," a surge in diagnosed cancers after Mrs. Ford spoke out about her battle with breast cancer and urged women to have yearly mammograms and seek out early treatment of the disease.

"Her courage was not only inspiration to women struggling with the disease, it saved the lives of countless women who would have never received the care they need had she remained silent and not led on this important issue." he said.

President Bill Clinton said Ford made many tough and controversial decisions during his administration and were criticized by people, like himself, who were caught up in the moment.

"You didn't get caught up in the moment and you were right. You were right for the controversial decisions you made the keep the country together and I thank you for that," he said to much applause.

Several speakers noted Ford's push for civility in public life and in his remarks, Ford reminded the audience of that.

"Some people equate civility with weakness and compromise with surrender. I strongly disagree," he said.

Gephardt said when he arrived in the House of Representatives clearly bore the mark of Ford's leadership where Republicans and Democrats worked together and where politics stopped at the water's edge "That legacy needs to be revived," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said Ford encouraged him to run for Congress when he was a young staff member for a Mississippi congressman who was retiring and gave him his first campaign contribution.

"Thank you, Mr. President, for what trouble you've gotten me into over all these years," Lott said to much laughter.

Lott and Gephardt both recalled Ford's first speech to the nation after he assumed the presidency in which he told Americans that he was "just a Ford, not a Lincoln."

"Well, he wasn't a Lincoln, but he was a Ford and he was just what America needed at that moment in our history. We're indebted to President Ford," Lott said.

Ford took the oath of office as president August 9, 1974, stating that "the long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works."

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Fords receive congressional gold medal

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Wednesday, October 27, 1999