Court TV Host: Join Court TV's Senior Editor Fred Graham to discuss President Gerald Ford and his legacy. Fred, in addition to covering Watergate, covered Gerald Ford's justice department, and covered him on Capitol Hill...

Court TV Host: Thanks for joining us today to talk about him, Fred.

Fred Graham: Let's start off discussing Gerald Ford.

Question from tara: Hello Fred. Welcome Back and Happy 2007. What do you think Ford's greatest achievement was?

Fred Graham: Pardoning Richard Nixon. It saved the country a lot of angst, but it gave us Jimmmy Carter.

Question from gottaknow39: Did you ever think that, given how divisive and politically fatal to Ford the Nixon pardon was, that the widespread consensus now is that it was a Solomonic decision?

Fred Graham: Passions cool. And Nixon kept a low profile until they died, then played the role of the statesman.

Court TV Host: Fred, you knew Ford, you covered him when he was in the House - what was like?

Fred Graham: Most people don't recall that when Gerry Ford was the minority leader in the House, he let Attorney General John Mitchell talk him into trying to impeach Justice William O. Douglas. It was a nutty thing to do with almost no chance of success. But I had many conversations with him about his investigation. I came away thinking he was one of the nicest politicians I had ever known, but maybe not the smartest.

Court TV Host: It seems especially ironic, given that he's the President who appointed Justice John Paul Stevens - something he was clearly proud all his life.

Fred Graham: Ford told his attorney general, Ed Levi, to find the best legal mind to nominate to the Court,, and Ford didn't want to know if the nominee was a conservative or a liberal. Levi picked John Paul Stevens, who turned out to be a liberal (at least compared to other Republican nominees to the Court).

Question from tara: Fred, did Ford every have qualms of public appearances after two assassination attempts?

Fred Graham: He seemed to consider it a risk of the job. But security was really lax in those days. Squeaky Frome walked right up to ford and pulled the trigger of a45-calliber automatic. Fortunately, she had failed to chamber a round, so it didn't go off.

Question from topanga000: Why did Nixon select Ford?

Fred Graham: Some people said it was personal friendship, or maybe that Ford would be no threat to Nixon. A few cynics said it was Nixon knew Ford would pardon him.

Question from Missed_Q_2007: Fred, what type of political pressures do you think were put on Ford to pardon Nixon?

Question from balloonatic: Was Gerald Ford told that Nixon was in such bad health that a prosecution could kill him? If so, was that true, or was it exaggerated?

Fred Graham: The political pressures were to not pardon Nixon. Ford was surprised that his pardon caused such a negative uproar. Al Haig was trying to persuade Ford to pardon Nixon, and nobody really knows what all the arguments were. But Ford's real reasons were probably what he said--to get Watergate behind us.

Question from terpsichore: Did Nixon and Ford keep in touch at all after they were both out of the White House?

Fred Graham: They were close before the pardon, but I don't know what their relationship was afterward.

Court TV Host: Does anyone know what Spiro Agnew thought of Ford?

Fred Graham: Agnew became a bit of a hermit after his disgrace and his move to California. I never heard rumors of him commenting on political events in Washington.

Court TV Host: As a reporter, can you describe the difference between covering the Nixon and Ford administrations?

Fred Graham: It was night and day. The Nixon administration was like a paranoid, corrosive force hovering over Washington. The Ford administration seemed to be straightforward almost to a fault. The Ford administration was much more comfortable to be around--but then it was on its way to being a one-term presidency. Was it proof that nice guys finish last? Or fate? Nobody, in my judgment, has the answer to that.

Question from tara: Fred, do you think Ford had any regrets on pardoning Nixon or other decisions he made?

Fred Graham: Ford never changed his mind on the rightness of his decision to pardon Nixon. As to other decisions, if he agonized afterward, he never let on about it. My judgment was that he had the normal number of regrets--but didn't dwell on them.

Court TV Host: Thank you very much, Fred Graham, for sharing your thoughts about President Ford with us today.