How many times can he tell this story?

In this morning's papers Bob Woodward puts out a story of immense proportions, at least in his mind. He claims, yet again, that the pardon of President Nixon by his successor, was somehow a conspiracy. In May of 1973, about the time that Haldeman and Erlichman stepped down, Mr. Ford is quoted as saying to Nixon "We'll stand by you morning, noon and night." It should be remembered here that May of 1973 was a full five months before Nixon appointed Ford as VP and before a number of revelations about Nixon's actions had come to light. Woodward damns Ford by commenting that Nixon "often turned to him (Ford) to get things done on the hill." If you were a Republican president who would you turn to but the Minority Leader of the House?

Woodward should remember, although he does not seem to think it important, that one of the fellow co-conspirators at the time must have been Carl Albert the Speaker of the House who commented "We gave Nixon no choice but Ford." Many leaders at the time were struggling with what to do about the developing situation, especially as the Nixon presidency began to collapse with the resignations of Haldeman and Erlichman in May and Agnew in October. Most of those leaders had the good sense, which Woodward seems to lack, that the developing crisis was more than about scoring political points.

Woodward's major "indictment" of Ford is an undated quote where the former president commented "I looked upon him (Nixon) as my personal friend. And I always treasured our relationship. And I had no hesitancy about granting the pardon, because I felt that we had this relationship and that I didn't want to see my real friend have that stigma." Based on Woodward's other work, one would wish that this quotation were put in context. It is clear from all other accounts at the time that Ford, who had a long professional and personal relationship with Nixon, agonized about the situation. But it is also clear that Ford's ultimate decision was based not on Nixon's situation but on the country's and on his judgment that the country would not gain from continuing the drama of Watergate. Here is how Wikipedia describes the pardon. "Nixon's last chief of staff (Alexander Haig) offered Ford several options including one where the Vice President would pardon the president after assuming office. 'Even if Haig offered no direct words on his views, the message was almost certainly sent. An emotional man, Haig was incapable of concealing his feelings; those who worked closely with him rarely found him ambiguous.' Despite the situation, Ford never accepted the offer from Haig and later decided to pardon Nixon on his own terms." Even Woodward should be able to get that nuance- but, of course, Woodward's purpose is not to analyze what actually happened but to continue to present his own biased views. (emphasis added)

From my perspective, Woodward wants to do as he has always done, to sensationalize his "insider's" perspective of a set of events that have been well covered in other places. But Woodward, like the literary paprazzi that he is, simply cannot leave this story alone.