Gerald Ford Didn't Go Huge Enough

Gerald Ford died recently, as we all know, and through various retrospectives on his presidency and his life I learned more about him than I ever knew before. By all accounts he was a decent man who took his job and his faith very seriously. What stuck out to me, however, was the fact that he gave an interview at the beginning of the Iraq war in which he (very sensibly) stated that the invasion was a mistake. The problem is that he told the reporter not to release the interview until after his death. Now, in light of my newfound respect for the man I'd like to avoid labeling him as a coward, but how else can I take this? He opposed the war, but he was too ________ to say so publicly. Respectful of W? Busy? Curious to see how badly we would screw it up? I can't think of anything that makes sense besides cowardice. He just didn't go huge enough. Jimmy Carter recently released a book about the Israel-Palestine conflict that has many people angry, but he did what he should do, which is use his unique soapbox to contribute to an important debate. Ford had a chance to do this and he punted. To build upon a comparison made on this blog, Gerald Ford was a great closer who retired to a comfy job as a commentator, but when he saw another pitcher doing an injustice to the entire game of baseball by trying to win a rugby match with curveballs and spitballs he decided not to point out the travesty. For fear of what? You were a good man Mr. Ford, but you didn't go huge enough.