The real embarrassment is how little effort there's been to limit/reform the pardon system since then.

Pardons have valid uses, but it's wild that a single person can unilaterally pardon donators, family members, former presidents, etc, without needing so much as a simple majority confirmation vote in the House or Senate.

The questionable pardons that we've seen over the last few years (and the Nixon pardon) are just the tip of iceberg in terms of how badly they could be abused.

I'd imagine it won't be long until we see a president issue a preemptive pardon to themself at the end of their term, because there's nothing in the constitution that says they can't.

Did he? It felt to me like he let us all get over re-litigating Watergate. The country had real problems. Nixon was gone and it was time to move on.

Not saying it wasn't a miscarriage of justice. Rather, that "justice" is, to me, just one part of making a good world.

Nixon-ism went on to form a truly despicable Republican party, but I think that would have happened whether Ford pardoned him or not. In fact I think pardoning him was the best chance to put that "win politics at all costs" mentality behind us. Turns out that didn't work out, but prosecuting Nixon wouldn't have made it any better.