In pardoning Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford claimed that he was helping to end “America’s long national nightmare.” But perhaps his actions were simply a way of foregoing what would, in the short term, be extraordinarily difficult, but might in the long term have been beneficial for the country — that is, a thorough airing of the Nixonian dirty laundry. Perhaps a better solution might have been to take Nixon aside, press a wad of bills into his hand, and whisper, “You have forty-eight hours to make it to Canada. Now go, run like the wind!”