Chapter 39 Scene 37 Trial of Ford

The scene is the same as Act 1. God Lee: (Stands up, hits the gavel) Now announce the opening of the 37th Court of the "Last Judgment" (sit down).Biography accused the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford (Gerald Rudolph Ford). (Ford flashes as he stands up and almost falls.) God Lee: You are Ford.Lincoln never sat in a Lincoln, but you drove in a Ford. FORD: I have better luck than him. God Lee: Why do you fall when you stand up from a sitting position? FORD: Because I didn't know I was going to stand up. (Laughter.) God Lee: You are called "an accidental Vice President and an accidental President" by your wife because you got both positions by accident. . Agnew) and replaced the botched President Nixon.

FORD: Maybe I should say modestly that I am not replacing him, but succeeding him.Because my presidency, which came at a strange time, was Nixon's campaign, and I succeeded him as president, just as I succeeded Agnew as vice president first.I regret that in my life I have not been able to get rid of the title of "accidental vice president and accidental president". God Lee: Your opponent, President Carter, said you were "an appointed President." FORD: He's more unusual than rare. God Li: It's not just him who is rare, but you are also included, right?After you came to power, the Guardian satirized you in English and said: A year ago Gerald Ford was unknown throughout America. Now he's unknown throughout the world. Your journey from being unknown throughout the country to being unknown throughout the world is very interesting.

Ford: I am a down-to-earth person who has come all the way and dare not be widely known.Because I am down-to-earth, people often misunderstand that I am dumb (silly). God Lee: I heard a quote from President Johnson.He said you're too dumb to chew gum and fart at the same time (Gerry Ford is so dumb that he can't fart and chew gum at the same time.). (Laughter.) Ford: God bless me for chewing gum, God forgive Johnson for farting. (Laughter.) God Li: It seems that you are very good at talking. Ford: Not only can I speak, I can vote.Don't forget that I was a senator for 24 years from 1949 to 1973. I was elected 12 times in a row. I won't be elected, will I?

God Lee: It's just that the election of the president did not happen. Ford: The reasons are complex, the biggest of which is that Nixon got me involved.The American people mistook me for revenge on behalf of Nixon.As the congressman Bella Abzug said: Richard Nixon impeached himself. He gave us Gerald Ford as his revenge. Nixon killed himself, but sent Ford to haunt him.I'm so unlucky. God Li: You call it unlucky, you mean that you have been president for 896 days, the time is too short and the shadow is too big, right? Ford: Yes.I wiped my ass for 896 days. God Lee: Don't forget, in exactly 896 days, the United States was founded two hundred years ago.If you say wipe your butt, you wiped a big butt.

(Laughter.) God Li: You pardoned Nixon before he was prosecuted, while the subordinates he instigated were tried and imprisoned. Do you think it is appropriate in comparison? Ford: Nixon's rank is the president of the United States. He resigned from the presidency in disgrace. This kind of punishment is worthy of imprisonment. God Lee: But for you, too many people think that Nixon gave up the presidency in exchange for your pardon as a condition, and you get benefits. Ford: After I pardoned Nixon, I also pardoned tens of thousands of Vietnam War draft dodgers and deserters. Do I also get benefits?

God Lee: I agree with your overall thinking, which is healing the wounds and pain of the riddled America.But your pardon does not fail to demonstrate the decline of many basic morals in the United States. FORD: I admit that I have been challenged by many of the basic moral wobbles of the two centuries since the founding of the United States. God Lee: Have you ever thought that you also challenged yourself.When you were appointed vice president, you stated to a congressional committee that you would not pardon Nixon as president. You broke your promise and challenged yourself. Ford: (with a wry smile) I am helpless.

God Lee: Let's talk about the Vietnam War.You've been president for 896 days and you've met the end of the Vietnam War.When President Nixon withdrew U.S. troops, he promised South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Chao that if North Vietnam violated the "Paris Armistice Agreement", the United States would "react vigorously". However, your “powerful response” from the United States is to escape quickly. Vietnam’s Saigon Airport has been attacked by North Vietnamese rockets, and helicopters have become the only means of evacuation. The US fleet parked outside only evacuated 237,000 people. In 1976 On April 29, 2010, you ordered all U.S. troops to withdraw from Vietnam. The 11-year Vietnam War ended in shame.What a "powerful response"!The conclusion is that you, the United States, have betrayed South Vietnam; the lesson is that for a regime that acts as a running dog for the Americans, at a critical moment, the master turns his back on the running dog.The Vietnam War drew too many conclusions, allowing mankind to recognize the true face of the United States and at the same time see the defeat of the United States.As the President of the United States, you did not pass the buck (shirk responsibility), you passed under the Yoke (bow your head and admit defeat).

Ford: I am interested in God Lee's English. God Lee: What about yours?Also interested me.You would pronounce "uranium" (uranium) as "uran-nm" (omitting the "i"); "t"); pronounce "judgment" as "judga-ment" (the letter "a" in the middle); the suffix of "geothermal" should be "-al" but you pronounce it "-el"; say "mazeltov" (good luck) as "mazell-tov" (the letter "l"). Ford: (embarrassed) Thank God Lee for his advice, but God Lee only blamed me, not my successor Reagan and Bush and his son's English, which seems unfair.

God Lee: (laughs) I admit that I care too much about your English, because you have only been president for 896 days, and you have done too few bad things. Ford: It seems that just because we are sorry for the Vietnamese, we cannot deny everything. God Lee: The question is, is the United States only sorry for the Vietnamese?Think about that American lackey in Cambodia, Sirik Matak (Sirik Matak). When the Communist Khmer Rouge (Khmer Rouge) surrounded Phnom Penh, your Secretary of State Kissinger was determined to rescue Matak, but , Mattaker declined, and Kissinger received a passage in elegant French from Mattaker, which I will read to you (takes out a piece of paper):

Thank you so much for your letter and for your promise to lead me to the free world.But I can't leave in such a cowardly way.Speaking of you, and especially your great country, I never believed you would abandon a people who choose freedom.You refuse to protect us now, there is nothing we can do.You are gone, and I hope you and your country find happiness under the blue sky.If I were to die here, the only mistake I'd make would be trusting you. Finally, Phnom Penh fell, Mattak was shot in the chest, no one rescued him, and died 3 days later, President Ford, how do you feel? Ford: (embarrassed) Well, I really can't express my feelings other than sorry.

God Lee: Can you say something about "your great country"?At the end of the Vietnam War, even your embassy in Vietnam was surrounded, and even your ambassador to Vietnam had to rely on a helicopter to rescue him from the roof. Your country really can't see its greatness.You are sorry for Vietnam, you could not save it, but tortured it for 11 years, in the end, you escaped first.How ironic, President Kennedy started the Vietnam War, and President Kennedy’s younger brother, Senator Edward Kennedy, was also like-minded, but in March 1975, he took the lead in cutting off any aid from the United States to Vietnam in Congress. One month later, Vietnam was destroyed He bled to death.Americans are so inexplicable. The Kennedy family is just a microcosm, a model. After 11 years of blood and tears in the Vietnam War, who dares to believe in the United States and "your great country"? Ford: Oh. God Lee: In April 1995, 20 years after the end of the Vietnam War, McNamara, who served as Secretary of Defense under President Kennedy and Johnson, wrote his memoirs.He pointed out that the U.S. underestimated nationalism and overestimated military power, believing that force is omnipotent. As a result, the U.S. failed when it required U.S. soldiers to complete tasks beyond what weapons could give them.Do you agree with McNamara's conclusion that the Vietnam War ended in your presidency? FORD: I just cleaned up the mess of the 3 presidents before me, I just got rid of American soldiers, and I didn't dare to think about anything else. God Lee: "This is a war about the balance of power throughout Southeast Asia. We lost the battle in Vietnam, but we won the war in Southeast Asia," said Walt W. Rostow, special assistant to President Johnson. battle in Vietnam, but we won the war in Southeast Asia.) Do you agree? Ford: I don't have the cheek to agree with such shameless words.It seems that McNamara has the ability to thoroughly reflect.But it was too late.His only success is that he slipped away first, gave up the murderous defense minister, and became the president of the World Bank who made money. He left the president to fight the Vietnam War by himself, and President Johnson also complained. When the water reaches the upper deck, follow the rats.McNamara is a shrewd mouse, but he is a mouse after all. Although he turned into a penitent mouse in the end, the appearance of the penitent is also very important. The shape of a mouse is suitable for living in a church, but it really slips into confession. A small room where the priest would scream in terror. (Laughter.) God Lee: It seems that Americans, as penitents, are out of shape. Ford: It seems that McNamara is probably too gimmicky (perhaps too much for a gimmick). People can't always be you. You are the one who kills, and you are the one who washes your hands 20 years later.One of the effects of McNamara's memoirs is that all the crimes have been blamed on others. The Vietnam War was fought by everyone. Why did you only become arrogant in the end? God Lee: Maybe McNamara is so smart he can fight wars and fart at the same time. (Laughter.) God Li: Retire from court (beat the gavel and stand up). (The curtain falls.)