Cheney hails Ford's leadership at state funeral

Washington, Dec 31: Vice President Dick Cheney hailed formerUS President Gerald Ford at a state funeral, praising him for helpingto heal the nation in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

Ford, the 38th president who died on Tuesday at age 93, steeredthe United States through ''a crisis that could have turned tocatastrophe,'' said Cheney, who was chief of staff in Ford'sadministration 30 years ago and an honorary pallbearer at the ceremonyin the US Capitol rotunda.

Cheney eulogized Ford after news emerged that Ford, a moderateRepublican known for his discretion, had confided to journalist BobWoodward that he disagreed with President George W Bush's decision togo to war in Iraq. The report was published in The Washington Post, twodays after Ford's death.

Ford held office for 2-1/2 years after Richard Nixon became theonly president to resign. Nixon did so on August 9, 1974, implicated ina cover-up of a break-in at Democratic National Committee headquartersin the Watergate office complex in Washington.

The only US president not elected to either the presidency or vicepresidency, Ford was appointed vice president in 1973 after Nixon'soriginal vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned to avoid prosecution oncorruption charges.

Ford stirred lasting controversy by granting Nixon a blanketpardon for any crimes he may have committed -- a move that helped JimmyCarter, a Democrat, beat him in 1976.

''The consensus holds that this decision cost him an election andit's very likely so,'' said Cheney. ''But President Ford had largerconcerns at heart,'' he said, saying the action helped heal thenation's wounds from its most far-reaching political scandal.

Ford's flag-draped casket was borne to the Capitol by motorcadeafter arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The casket wasflown from California aboard a Boeing 747 from the presidential fleet.

His funeral motorcade paused briefly en route to the Capitol atthe World War Two memorial to mark his war-time service in the US Navy.

Ford served 26 years as a congressman from Michigan and wasRepublican leader of the U.S. House of Representatives at the time ofhis appointment as vice president.

He will lie in state until Tuesday, when Bush will eulogize him atanother memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral.

Burial is to be on Wednesday on a hillside at Ford's presidential library in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Bush, was at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, and did not attend theSaturday evening ceremony. However, many current and former members ofCongress, Supreme Court justices and of the current and previouspresidential administrations were on hand.

Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who also served asPentagon chief under Ford and was to have been another honorarypallbearer, missed it because he was snowed in in New Mexico, NBC Newsreported. A Rumsfeld spokesman could not immediately be reached forcomment.

Reuters