R. Ford, dedicated to making sexual orientation a non-issue in the Republican Party". On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Ford and the other living former Presidents (Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the World Trade Center. In a pre-recorded embargoed interview with Bob Woodward of The Washington Post in July 2004, Ford stated that he disagreed "very strongly" with the Bush administration's choice of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as justification for its decision to invade Iraq, calling it a "big mistake" unrelated to the national security of the United States and indicating that he would not have gone to war had he been President. The details of the interview were not released until after Ford's death, as he requested. Reception In 1983, Robert Lindsey expressed the view that Ford had become "a kind of one-man academic, business and political conglomerate" in his retirement who was the most active of the then-current three former presidents (Nixon, Carter, and himself). Ford is credited with having started the pattern of former American presidents generating revenue through speeches. His paid speeches drew criticism from Nixon who charged him with "selling the office." Ford would defend his activities by stating that being a private citizen at the time of generating revenue from the addresses, "he could leverage his past however he pleased." Richard Cohen stressed the lasting negative impact of Ford's participation with business boards: "He sold what they were buying, which was the prestige of the presidency. As a result, it has less and less." References Gerald Ford 1977 beginnings 2006 endings 1970s in American politics 1980s in American politics 1990s in American politics 2000s in American politics Ford, Gerald