What if Gerald Ford had not pardoned Richard Nixon after Watergate-and instead let Nixon face a trial? One possible effect of it would be to benefit the GOP in the 1974 midterms, in The Invisible Bridge by Rick Perlstein "A New Jersey lawmaker estimated that Republican candidates had gained 20,000 automatic votes when Nixon resigned-then lost 10,000 when he was pardoned. A Gallup poll said generic Democratic candidates would beat generic Republicans by a margin of 54 to 35." Indeed, Gerald Ford's honeymoon as President was instantly destroyed by the pardon. Ford had been seen as authentic and honest, and making clear that nobody, not even the President, was above the law, until the pardon when that image disappeared. How would the Ford presidency therefore be affected? Could Ford retain his initial popularity at least somewhat and go onto win in 1976? Also, without the pardon, what would happen to Nixon? How would the nation be impacted from that? At the time at least the pardon undermined faith in the political system and the idea that nobody was above the law, and perhaps a Nixon trial would be healthy for democracy in the long-run. OTOH, it likely would prolong America's long national nightmare and could further undermine faith in the political system. How do you think no Nixon pardon would have affected US politics? How would the 1970s have gone differently TTL? What would be the long-term effects? What if?