Former U.S. president Gerald Ford was honored Saturday in state funeral services as the man who guided the country from the trauma of the Watergate scandal.

The flag-draped coffin of Ford was delivered Saturday to the seat of Congress in a solemn ceremony. The remains were placed at the center of the Capitol Rotunda, where Ford will lie in state until Tuesday.

Vice President Dick Cheney praised the former president in a speech for Ford's decision of pardoning Richard Nixon, saying the decision saved the country from division and disaster.

Ford "was almost alone in understanding that there can be no healing without pardon," said Cheney.

"It was this man, Gerald R. Ford, who led our republic safely through a crisis that could have turned to catastrophe," Cheney said.

Even before the evening prayer service ended, a long line of citizens had formed outside the Capitol on a chilly winter evening, awaiting the opening of the Rotunda to the general public.

Also on Saturday in his weekly radio address from his Texas ranch, President George W. Bush paid tribute to Ford, praising him for guiding the United States through a "crisis of confidence."

"He was there for the nation when we needed him most," Bush said.

"Providence gave us Gerald Ford's steady hand and calm leadership during a time of great division and turmoil. He guided America through a crisis of confidence, and helped our nation mend its wounds by restoring faith in our system of government," Bush said.

Bush, who will return to Washington on Monday to attend formal memorial ceremonies, ordered on Thursday all government agencies, except those relating to national security and defense, to be closed on Jan. 2, 2007, to honor former President Gerald Ford, who died Tuesday at the age of 93.

On Wednesday, Ford's remains are to be laid to rest at the Gerald Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Ford battled pneumonia in January 2006 and underwent two heart treatments in August at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

He was the longest living president, followed by Ronald Reagan, who also died at 93.

Ford was the only unelected president in the history of the United States.

In 1973, he was appointed vice president after Spiro Agnew, then vice president who resigned to avoid prosecution on corruption charges.

On Aug. 9, 1974, Ford took office as the 38th U.S. president minutes after Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment over the so-called "Watergate" scandal and then served in the White House for 895 days.

Ford had been a congressman from Michigan for 26 years before he ascended to the top office of the United States.

Source: Xinhua