Scene VIII. Washington, D.C. The White House.

[Fanfare; Enter Gerald R. Ford, as President of the United States.]
Ford. I wept for him. I prayed for him.
I watched him say good-bye to the only
people who were still faithful to him,
those five hundred White House servants. They loved
him and stood with him. It almost broke 5
my heart to see him smile, to shake hands and
wave, like it was downtown Cairo. Behind that
plastic mask must have been the saddest man
since Christ. I almost choked as he boarded
the helicopter and flashed his 10
victory sign, arms upheld, his family
smiling from behind. I can imagine
only what he must have felt inside. I pray
for Richard M. Nixon and his family.
May he, who brought peace to millions, 15
find it for himself. And as
his plane carried him westward, to the sands
of San Clemente, I said, “I do” to
the oath of office, pledged to guard
the Constitution with all the powers 20
within me. Our Constitution works;
our great Republic is a government
of laws and not of men. Here the people rule.
But there is a higher power, by
whatever name we honor Him, 25
who ordains not only righteousness,
but love; not only justice, but mercy.
As we bind up the internal wounds
of Watergate, more painful
and poisonous than foreign wars, let us 30
restore the Golden Rule to our political
process. How is it we can learn to hurl
ourselves down a crowded highway at speeds
not even matched by the sparrows above,
but cannot teach each other brotherly love? 35
[Exit.]