Former Senator Alan K. Simpson, the director of the Institute of Politics (IOP), which sponsored the event, introduced Ford as a man "who showed tremendous courage in pardoning Richard Nixon."

"Had that not been done, this country would be in great turmoil," Simpson said.

Ford, who was the first president inaugurated under the terms of the 25th amendment after Nixon resigned the office in August of 1974, granted Nixon a pardon for "any crimes he committed or may have committed" in connection with the Watergate burglaries and cover-up.

Ford's press secretary at the time, Jerald terHorst, resigned rather than support the pardon, and many historians believe Ford's decision ruined his chances of re-election in 1976.

Having been so intimately involved with one impeachment process, Ford was uniquely situated to comment on the more recent one.

In two separate op-ed pieces in The New York Times this fall, Ford broke ranks with Republican leaders by calling for a "harshly worded rebuke" of President Clinton rather than an impeachment trial.

"At age 85, I have no personal or political agenda, nor do I have any interest in 'rescuing' Bill Clinton. But I do care, passionately, about rescuing the country I love from further turmoil or uncertainty," he wrote in the Oct. 4, 1998 issue of the Times.