Congressman Gerald R. Ford Remarks PDF file. December 6, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. President pro tempore, distinguished guests and friends: Together we have made history here today. For the first time we have carried out the command of the 25th Amendment. In exactly 8 weeks, we have demonstrated to the world that our great Republic stands solid, stands strong upon the bedrock of the Constitution. I am a Ford, not a Lincoln. My addresses will never be as eloquent as Mr.
But I will do my very best to equal his brevity and his plain speaking. I am deeply grateful to you, Mr. President, for the trust and the confidence your nomination implies. As I have throughout my public service under six administrations I will try to set a fine example of respect for the crushing and lonely burdens which the Nation lays upon the President of the United States. President, you have my support and my loyalty. To the Congress assembled, my former colleagues who have elected me on behalf of our fellow countrymen I express my heartfelt thanks.
As a man of the Congress, let me reaffirm my conviction that the collective wisdom of our two great legislative bodies, while not infallible, will in the end serve the people faithfully and very, very well. I will not forget the people of Michigan who sent me to this Chamber or the friends that I have found here.
Speaker, I understand that the United States Senate intends in a very few minutes to bind me by its rules. For their Presiding Officer, this amounts practically to a vow of silence. Speaker, you know how difficult this is going to be for me. Before I go from this House, which has been my home for a quarter century, I must say I am forever in its debt. And particularly, Mr. Speaker, thank you for your friendship which I certainly am not leaving.
To you, Mr. Speaker, and to all of my friends here, however you voted an hour ago, I say a very fond goodbye. May God bless the House of Representatives and guide all of you in the days ahead. Chief Justice, may I thank you personally for administering the oath, and thank each of the Honorable Justices for honoring me with you attendance. I pledge to you, as I did the day I was first admitted to the bar, my dedication to the rule of law and equal justice for all Americans.
