Gerald Ford

The 23 September 1976 debate confronts Ford with the contrast between pardoning Nixon and refusing a blanket pardon for draft evaders. He stays with the difficult comparison and states his reasons: Nixon's resignation, the burden of continuing Watergate proceedings and the demands of governing. His defence leaves the fairness objection open, but makes the grounds of his decision inspectable. This is a useful case of owning a controversial choice rather than pretending the criticism concerns something else.