president gerald ford dies at 93

The longest-living and the only unelected President of the United States, Gerald Ford, died on Tuesday. Ford, a Michigan Republican, was 93.

Ford became vice president after Spiro Agnew resigned amid controversy, and became president when the embattled Richard Nixon was forced to leave office over the Watergate scandal. He was succeeded by Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Some speculate that Ford's legacy will be molded by his decision to pardon Nixon for any wrong-doing. Others insist that Ford will be remembered for healing a post-Watergate nation.

President Bush said this today:

"President Ford was a great American who gave many years of dedicated service to our country. On August 9, 1974, after a long career in the House of Representatives and service as vice president, he assumed the presidency in an hour of national turmoil and division. With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency."

Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, had the following words of remembrance for Ford:

"Gerald Ford brought Americans together during a difficult chapter in our history with strength, integrity, and humility. All Americans should be grateful for his life of service; he served our nation well. To his great credit, he was the same hard-working, down-to-earth person the day he left the White House as he was when he first entered Congress almost 30 years earlier."

NTL remembers Gerald Ford, an American President. We join the nation today in the mourning of the loss of one of our leaders.