Republican convention honors former GOP presidents with video salute

By Mike Ferullo/CNN

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Former presidents George Bush and Gerald Ford appeared briefly in the spotlight Tuesday as the Republican National Convention payed tribute to former GOP presidents, while Nancy Reagan acknowledged an outpouring of support for her husband, Ronald Reagan.

Former President Gerald Ford: "Governor Bush of Texas has had an exceptionally fine record."

Unlike past GOP conventions, none of the former presidents or Mrs. Reagan delivered live speeches during the this year's gathering. Rather, the leaders' accomplishments in office were highlighted in a series of video montage's that ran about 10 minutes each.

The tribute to Gerald Ford credits his swift leadership during the 1975 Mayaguez crisis -- in which Cambodia seized the American merchant ship Mayaguez in international waters off its coast -- for helping the country move past the military failures of the Vietnam War.

"As commander in chief, Gerald Ford quickly dispatched U.S. forces, and they soon returned the Mayaguez and freed her crewmen," the narrator states, going on to tout Ford's leadership during the Helsinki Conference on Human Rights later in 1975.

A large portion of the video also praises Ford as a president who provided a "steadying hand and unified voice" after the Watergate crisis, and draws a parallel between the Watergate scandal of the Nixon White House and the ethical problems that have plagued the Clinton administration.

"When it came to upholding the promise, Gerald Ford earned the trust of Republicans and Democrats alike, restoring much-needed honor and dignity to the White House. It's a value that Americans are hoping to find again in the next president of the United States," the narrator states.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan attends the Republican convention as a delegate to honor her husband, former President Ronald Reagan.

Next up, the Reagan video begins with the 1981 assassination attempt and a narrator intoning, "We almost lost him." It continues with clips of Reagan accepting the Republican presidential nomination in 1980, "with a mandate to restore respect for America at home and abroad."

It also features a somber Reagan speaking after the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and his famed 1985 quote during his visit to West Berlin, urging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."

"Indeed, Ronald Reagan is credited with setting the stage for the end of the Cold War," the narrator continues, characterizing Reagan's 1987 signing of a treaty with the Soviet Union to reduce intermediate-range nuclear forces as "a master stroke of international diplomacy."

The former president has Alzheimer's disease and no longer makes public appearances. However, his wife Nancy is featured prominently in the video.

"The love and affection from thousands of Americans has been and continues to be a strengthening force for Ronnie and me each and every day," Mrs. Reagan says during a clip from her appearance at the 1996 Republican Convention in San Diego.

Bush's video begins with a narration of the 1991 Gulf War with Iraq and concludes with the former president talking about his son George W., the Texas governor and GOP presidential hopeful.

Former President George Bush appears in a videotaped tribute Tuesday night at the Republican convention.

"I was determined, and my very able team was determined, that that aggression would not stand," Bush says during the opening of the video. The tribute to the elder Bush took place on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which sparked the Persian Gulf crisis.

Former President Bush, who arrived at the convention Monday with his wife Barbara, is playing a carefully limited role at this year's Republican gathering. Campaign aides to GOP presidential hopeful George W. Bush are eager not to attract criticism from Democrats that the Texas governor would not be where he is without the family name and that he lacks experience for the White House.

"I think George's record can stand all the scrutiny in the world. I think it will show a man of honor, a man of integrity," the elder Bush states on tape.

The Bush tribute ends with the father reading an August 1998 letter written to George W. and his brother Jeb, the governor of Florida. In the letter, he talked about how instances may arise where the sons may have to disagree with some of his policies.

"Don't worry about it," the former president said in the letter. "Nothing can ever be written that will drive a wedge between us, nothing at all."