Henry Kissinger's Eulogy of President Ford

Henry Kissinger, who served as President Ford's Secretary of State, eulogized the president in remarks delivered today:

"According to an ancient tradition, God preserves humanity despite its many transgressions, because at any one period there exist 10 just individuals who, without being aware of their role, redeem mankind.

Gerald Ford was such a man.

Propelled into the presidency by a sequence of unpredictable events, he had an impact so profound as rightly to be consider providential.

Unassuming and without guile, Gerald Ford undertook to restore the confidence of Americans in their political institutions and purposes.

Never having aspired to national office, he was not consumed by driving ambition. In his understated way, he did his duty as a leader, not as a performer playing to the gallery.

Gerald Ford had the virtues of small-town America: sincerity, serenity and integrity.

As it turned out, the absence of glibness and his artless (ph) decency became a political asset, fostering an unusual closeness to leaders around the world, which continued long after he left office.

In recent days, the deserved commentary on Gerald Ford's character has sometimes obscured how sweeping and lasting were his achievements."

Historians will debate for a long time over which president contributed most to victory in the Cold War. Few will dispute that the Cold War could not have been won had not Gerald Ford emerged at a tragic period to restore equilibrium to America and confidence in its international role.

Sustained by his beloved wife, Betty, and to the children to whom he was devoted, Gerald Ford left the presidency with no regrets, no second-guessing, no obsessive pursuit of his place in history.

For his friends, he leaves an aching void. Having known Jerry Ford and worked with him will be our badge of honor for the rest of our lives.

Early in his administration, Gerald Ford said to me, "I get mad as hell, but I don't show it, when I don't do as well as I should. If you don't strive for the best, you will never make it."

We are here to bear witness that Jerry Ford always did his best, and that his best proved essential to renew our society and restore hope to the world."