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Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006
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Subject: BS: President Gerald Ford passes at 93 From: Devilmaster Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:21 AM Betty Ford just confirmed to the AP |
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Subject: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 2006 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:22 AM We knew it was coming, he was the oldest living (former) president ever. Gerald R. Ford, age 93, died on December 26, 2006. He lived in interesting times, with all that that implies. Please DON'T whine about this being "above the line." It belongs there. SRS
-Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 2006 From: SINSULL Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:25 AM Can I whine about the fact that he pardoned Nixon? |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 2006 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:28 AM From the San Francisco Chronicle (link): Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only president in America's history never elected to nationwide office, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93. "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age," Mrs. Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband's office in Rancho Mirage. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country." The statement did not say where Ford died or list a cause of death. Ford was an accidental president, Nixon's hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straightforward as Nixon was tightly controlled and conspiratorial. He took office minutes after Nixon flew off into exile in 1974 and declared "our long national nightmare is over." But he revived the debate a month later by granting Nixon a pardon for all crimes he committed as president. That single act, it was widely believed, cost Ford election to a term of his own in 1976, but it won praise in later years as a courageous act that allowed the nation to move on. The Vietnam War ended in defeat for the U.S. during his presidency with the fall of Saigon in April 1975. In a speech as the end neared, Ford said: "Today, America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned." Evoking Abraham Lincoln, he said it was time to "look forward to an agenda for the future, to unify, to bind up the nation's wounds." Ford also earned a place in the history books as the first unelected vice president, chosen by Nixon to replace Spiro Agnew, also forced from office by scandal. He was in the White House only 895 days, but changed it more than it changed him. Even after two women tried separately to kill him, the presidency of Jerry Ford remained open and plain, and — to greatest satisfaction to a nation numbed by Watergate — not dishonest. Even to millions of Americans who had voted two years earlier for Nixon, the transition to Ford's leadership was one of the most welcomed in the history of the democratic process — despite the fact that it occurred without an election. After the Watergate ordeal, Americans liked their new president — and first lady Betty, whose candor charmed the country. They liked her for speaking openly about growing up problems of young people, including her own daughter; they admired her for not hiding that she had a mastectomy — in fact, her example caused thousands of women to seek breast examinations. And she remained one of the country's most admired women even after the Fords left the White House when she was hospitalized in 1978 and admitted to having become addicted to drugs and alcohol she took for painful arthritis and a pinched nerve in her neck. Four years later she founded the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage a substance abuse facility next to Eisenhower Medical Center. In a long congressional career in which he rose to be House Republican leader, Ford lit few fires. In the words of Congressional Quarterly, he "built a reputation for being solid, dependable and loyal - a man more comfortable carrying out the programs of others than in initiating things on his own." When Agnew resigned in a bribery scandal in October 1973, Ford was one of four finalists to succeed him: Texan John Connally, New York's Nelson Rockefeller and California's Ronald Reagan. "Personal factors enter into such a decision," Nixon recalled for a Ford biographer in 1991. I knew all of the final four personally and had great respect for each one of then, but I had known Jerry Ford longer and better than any of the rest. So Ford it was. He became the first vice president appointed under the 25th amendment to the Constitution. On Aug. 9, 1974, after seeing Nixon off to exile, Ford assumed the office. The next morning, he still made his own breakfast and padded to the front door in his pajamas to get the newspaper. Said a ranking Democratic congressman: "Maybe he is a plodder, but right now the advantages of having a plodder in the presidency are enormous." It was rare that Ford was ever as eloquent as he was for those dramatic moments of his swearing-in at the White House. "My fellow Americans," he said, "our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule." And, true to his reputation as unassuming Jerry, he added: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers." For Ford, a full term was not to be. He survived an intraparty challenge from Ronald Reagan only to lose to Democrat Jimmy Carter in November. In the campaign, he ignored Carter's record as governor of Georgia and concentrated on his own achievements as president. Carter won 297 electoral votes to his 240. After Reagan came back to defeat Carter in 1980, the two former presidents became collaborators, working together on joint projects. Even as president, Ford often talked with reporters several times a day. He averaged 200 outside speeches a year as House Republican leader, a pace he kept up as vice president and diminished, seemingly, only slightly as chief executive. He kept speaking after leaving the White House, generally for fees of $15,000 to $20,000. Ford was never asked to the White House for a social event during Reagan's eight years as president. In office, Ford's living tastes were modest. When he became vice president, he chose to remain in the same Alexandria, Va., home — unpretentious except for a swimming pool — that he shared with his family as a congressman. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 2006 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:28 AM Hey, all things considered, he probably saved us a lot of grief. And when you look at George W. Bush, Nixon wasn't really so bad, now was he? |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 2006 From: SINSULL Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:36 AM Right - Nixon only attempted to overthrow the Constitution. One of Ford's "attempted assassins" was Squeaky Frome (sp?), one of Charles Manson's followers. I believe she said "Bang Bang, You're dead" but never fired. Those were strange times. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 2006 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:38 AM Me again, sorry to be back so many times in a row. Here is a chronology for those younger Mudcatter's who might not understand why Ford was such a balm to the country. Only problem with this timeline is that if he died in California then he died on Dec. 26, not Dec. 27. SRS Dates in the life of Gerald Ford By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS July 14, 1913: Leslie Lynch King Jr. born, Omaha, Neb. After his parents divorce and his mother remarries, he is adopted by his stepfather and takes his name: Gerald R. Ford. 1935: graduates from University of Michigan, where he had been a star football player. 1941: graduates from Yale University law school. 1942-46: in U.S. Naval Reserve, including service aboard aircraft carrier in the Pacific. Oct. 15, 1948: marries Elizabeth "Betty" Bloomer Warren. They have four children: Michael Gerald, born 1950; John Gardner, born 1952; Steven Meigs, born 1956; and Susan Elizabeth, born 1957. Nov. 2, 1948: elected to U.S. House of Representatives after defeating incumbent in Republican primary. In Congress for nearly 25 years, including stint as House minority leader. 1963-64: serves on Warren Commission that investigated assassination of President Kennedy. Dec. 6, 1973: confirmed as vice president after resignation of Spiro Agnew. Aug. 9, 1974: becomes president after resignation of Richard Nixon. Sept. 8, 1974: gives Nixon an unconditional pardon. Oct. 17, 1974: goes before a congressional committed to discuss pardon; first sitting president to testify under oath in such circumstances. Nov. 23-24, 1974: summit in Vladivostok, U.S.S.R., with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev. They reach tentative agreement to limit the number of nuclear weapons. April 30, 1975: Saigon falls, ending the Vietnam War. May 12, 1975: The White House announces the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters. Two days later, U.S. forces raid a Cambodian island and recapture. All crew members are released safely by Cambodia, but some 40 U.S. servicemen are killed. July 30-Aug. 2, 1975: Ford among leaders of 35 nations meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on European security. Ford, Brezhnev report progress on strategic arms issues. Sept. 5, 1975: Charles Manson follower Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme arrested after aiming a semiautomatic pistol at Ford in Sacramento, Calif. Sept. 22, 1975: Activist Sara Jane Moore arrested after firing a gun at Ford in San Francisco. In both attempts, Ford was unhurt. July 4, 1976: Ford is president as nation pauses to mark its Bicentennial. Nov. 2, 1976: defeated by Jimmy Carter in quest for a full term as president. Jan. 20, 1977: Leaves office; Carter is inaugurated. April 1978: Ford and his children stage "intervention" to persuade his wife, Betty, to seek treatment for abuse of medication, alcohol. The successful treatment leads to founding of Betty Ford Center. Oct. 27, 1999: Ford and his wife presented with Congressional Gold Medals. August 2000: Suffers small stroke while attending the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. May 21, 2001: Wins John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for pardoning Richard Nixon. Sept. 14, 2001: Former presidents Ford, Carter, Bush and Clinton attend prayer service at National Cathedral in Washington after the Sept. 11 attacks. The Rev. Billy Graham is among the speakers. June 11, 2004: Joins President Bush and former Presidents Carter, Bush and Clinton at the funeral in Washington of former President Reagan. Nov. 12, 2004: Attends groundbreaking ceremony at the University of Michigan for the new home of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. January 2006: Spends 12 days in a California hospital for treatment of pneumonia. August 2006: Undergoes treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, receiving a cardiac pacemaker and angioplasty. Dec. 27, 2006: Dies at age 93, according to his wife, Betty. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 2006 From: GUEST,Dale Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:48 AM Maybe not one of the best presidents, but a good and honest man. He and Jimmy Carter were the only two in my memory that I would care to sit down to a conversation with. They would treat you with respect. That counts for a lot. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Joe Offer Date: 27 Dec 06 - 02:22 AM I don't think a Nixon trial would have done the country any good, so I'm glad Ford gave him a pardon. Nixon left the presidency in well-deserved shame, and that was enough. Gerald Ford was a decent, reasonable man who cared for his country more than he cared for any particular ideology. I wish we had more politicians like him and Jimmy Carter. I think he WAS one of the better presidents of my lifetime. He did his job, qand served his country. May he rest in peace. -Joe Offer, born in Michigan- |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Slag Date: 27 Dec 06 - 03:05 AM So Gerry bogeyed the 19th hole! We saw it coming. Dick Nixon hand-picked Mr. Ford (Oddly the same name as that theater of the absurd where Lincoln [ whose secretary's name was Kennedy {which is Irish for "Ugly Head"} and whose VP was Johnson] was de-selected in his booth by a man named Booth) to which Ford said "Pardon Me?" and to which Millhouse ( that's Tomlin-ese for "Tricky Dick") replied "No, No, No! Pardon ME!" All of which unfortunately lead poor Mr. Ford to believe he actually was a President of the people. This lead him to run for said office at the end of his appointed term. Unfortunate because the "Reagan Phenomenon" was just beginning to gain mommentum. And unfortunately most Republicans cannot see beyond the scope of expediency and short-range weather forecasting. This not only set Reagan back four years he could ill afford but in an understandable gut-reaction against the blatant move to subvert justice by Ford's egregious pardoning of Nixon (kinda reminds me of Clinton's "pardoning binge") Jimmy ( "Mr. Peanut") Carter was swept into office. In my humble but very accurate opinion, Carter was the stupidest person to ever occupy that position but that is mass for another Super Nova. By the time Mr. Reagan reached the Office of President he was in his prime and perhaps a little beyond. Enter the nutcase ( did anyone ever determine Hinckley's party affiliation???) who decided to win Jodie Foster's undying love by assasinating the President. No theater, no clever name juxtapostion, just a Squeaky, cowardly street shooting. Dutch was taken down a few notches by that experience. Toward the end of his second term we all knew that he was not functioning up to his own par. I believe the early signs of Alzheimers was there but with Nancy's help he made it through. Meanwhile Gerry was trying to make par without injuring too many spectators. In fairness I suppose that Ford was about as adequate as any other politician for the office. He was average. But he never would have been there but for Nixon's foibles and follies and felonies. Dick needed an Ace-in-the-Hole and he got one in Ford, the incidental President, the ad hoc President with but one real mission---Pardon Nixon. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Barry Finn Date: 27 Dec 06 - 03:06 AM I'd have to agree with Dale & Joe. He was a decent man, thogh he was somewhat less as a president. I didn't think he did much in the way of forewording our nation but at least he did nothung to help drag it down farther than it had already been "drugged". That's the best I can say, his worst was, & here I have to disagree with you Joe, he pardoned Nixion instead of tried him. I believe if he had Bush today wouldn't have been as cocky to have tried to sell us a war. Still his heart, like Carter's was always in the right place & not in someone's pocket. Barry |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Barry Finn Date: 27 Dec 06 - 03:21 AM I'll tag this on to my above post after reading Slag's. Reagan put the nation back in the saddle again, back about 60 years with his 'trickled down economics'. We were a nation on horse back again with hin at the reigns. Carter on the other got our hostages (yes it was really him) out with out the blood letting that's been seen since. As for being an idiot, he the only pres that's been awarded the Noble Peace Prize for peace. If he'd been allowed to run the peanut factory that he was voted into he'd have been a shoe in for a 2nd term & would've done the country as great a service as he's done since then for the world. It's a shame that the dems weren't stronger in those times when the slam of spin took Ronny out of the 'B' flicks & put him on Prime Time. He was nothing but a Contra cartoon. Barry |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Slag Date: 27 Dec 06 - 04:50 AM I'm debating on whether to debate with a semi-literate. Your grammar and spelling are atrocious, Mr. Finn. You misquote me and present such simplistic nonsense that I doubt you could even begin to understand what I am communicating. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: catspaw49 Date: 27 Dec 06 - 05:18 AM Let's not forget he was another of those stellar members of the Warren Commision either. Ford was nothing if not obliging and perhaps it would have been better had he been nothing. There is no doubt in my mind that we owe the likes of Dubya to the fact that there was no trial of Richard Nixon. Ford established a terrible precedent for the Office that will continue to hold power over the quality of men who have it. That it was a Nixon plan is very probable but it was the obliging and loyal Ford who put it in motion. Although there is much to be said for loyalty, it is a poor substitute for duty. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST,Number 6 Date: 27 Dec 06 - 07:53 AM Correct spaw. Very good. Why do you think Nixon chose him as VP. biLL |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: katlaughing Date: 27 Dec 06 - 09:04 AM Slag, before you slag off on anyone about their grammar or spelling consider there are several on this forum who have various degrees of dyslexia; their written word has nothing to do with their intelligence, like Einstein. It is quite easy to read Barry Finn's postings and understand exactly what he means. As to Ford, I agree with Barry and Spaw. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Sorcha Date: 27 Dec 06 - 09:11 AM Well, at least it gives 'them' something else to talk about for a while. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: kendall Date: 27 Dec 06 - 09:23 AM There is no doubt in my mind that if Ford hadn't pardoned Nixon, the congress would have been tied up conducting a vendetta instead of running the country. Ford and Carter; both good men, both not so good presidents.However, neither one was as bad as Harding, Grant or Pierce. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: katlaughing Date: 27 Dec 06 - 10:24 AM None of them were as bad as Dubya. the congress would have been tied up conducting a vendetta instead of running the country. you mean like they tied themselves up over Clinton... |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: SINSULL Date: 27 Dec 06 - 10:36 AM Sorry. Nixon was the worst criminal (political criminal) this country has ever seen and Ford let him walk. He was a traitor. The pardon was so broad that had it been discovered (Hyperbole here) that Tricky Dicky had been murdering little boys and hiding their bodies in the Rose Garden or god forbid banging pages, he could not have been tried. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Ron Davies Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:25 PM Slag--Carter "the stupidest"? Proof please. Character assassination of the poster does not qualify. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: SINSULL Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:27 PM Have to admit Ron after Carter was attacked by a vicious swimming rabbit, I had to wonder. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: WFDU - Ron Olesko Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:27 PM That's not true Sinsull. Ford gave Nixon a pardon for crimes against the United States. If Nixon were guilty of "murdering little boys" or spitting on the sidewalk, he could have been prosecuted. At the time I felt strongly that the pardon was a huge mistake. I wanted to see Nixon get what was coming to him. In retrospect, I think Ford did the right thing. It was good to see Nixon live out his life as a tired old man with the shadow of his deeds always present. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: wysiwyg Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:28 PM OK, let's find some more dead people to diss. How very thoughtful! ~S~ |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:34 PM If Ford craved a continued career as president all he needed to do was to let Nixon stand trial. Perhaps he did want to be president longer, he did run, after all. But in pardoning Nixon he did what he felt needed to be done at the time, for the greater good. Most of us didn't understand that, and it did cost him that second term. Unlike those who run now, Ford knew that being president shouldn't be a popularity contest. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Ron Davies Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:36 PM Also, when attacking somebody else's literacy, don't forget to look in the mirror--"juxtapostion" (sic), "assasinating" (sic), "this lead him" (sic). Otherwise you may just undercut the impression you are seeking to leave. Glass houses.... Waiting eagerly for the proof I'm sure you have. And don't bother to cite the botched attempt to recover the hostages in Iran. Our current Mr. Bush nd his "intelligence services" can more than hold their own with this incident. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Joe Offer Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:44 PM "Ford let him walk." I dunno, I would think the very worst punishment possible for Nixon was to be forced out of the White House in shame, his tail between his legs. A trial would have made him a martyr in the eyes of many. It would have given him a chance to defend his "legacy," just as Saddam has tried to do in his trial. And it would have torn the country apart. Better that Nixon was pardoned and forgotten. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Ron Davies Date: 27 Dec 06 - 12:53 PM "and his intelligence services" |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: SharonA Date: 27 Dec 06 - 05:03 PM I graduated high school the year that Nixon resigned and was, virtually immediately, pardoned by the man he'd appointed (to do so?). One of the legacies Ford left was a generation -- mine -- disillusioned by and disgusted with the government that, for the previous 12 years, we'd been taught to respect. In the face of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, it was difficult to absorb that teaching in the first place, but Ford taught me my first lesson of my college years about cronyism in the nation's capital. Perhaps if he had waited for more than just a month before declaring that he "could not govern" unless Nixon was pardoned (it's not as if he gave the alternative much of a chance!), it would at least have looked less as if he'd been put in office only to perform that one act. I think that, if he really felt as strongly about the pardon as a "healing" measure as he said he did, he should have waited until he'd been elected to office. By then, of course, Nixon might have been put on trial, but I disagree with the contention that that would've torn the country apart. I think that letting the nation see that even its president was not above the law would have done more to heal it. Besides, a person is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty around here, so giving Nixon a pardon before a trial seems like an unfair condemnation of the man under our justice system! By all accounts, Gerald Ford was supposed to have been a nice guy, and probably had no malicious intent in pardoning Nixon, but in my opinion, granting that pardon was more foolish than courageous. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Deckman Date: 27 Dec 06 - 05:29 PM There once was a President named Ford, Who always appeared to be bored, When Nixon he pardoned My thoughts they did harden, And most of us were quite floored! (bad doggeral) Bob(deckman)Nelson |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: dick greenhaus Date: 27 Dec 06 - 06:17 PM The oddest thing, to me, was that Nixon appointed a rather likeable (if not terribly effective) man like Ford to be VP. At the time it was widely felt that Agnew was Nixon's shield against impeachment (much as Cheney is for Bush). The most notable quote of the eara , IMO, was from LB Johnson, who commented that Ford had spent too many years playing football without a helmet. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 06 - 06:34 PM I am in complete agreement that Ford was wrong to pardon Nixon. Because it was politically expedient (even if you prefer to call it "healing the nation"), didn't mean it was the right thing to do. He also lied about it. As he lied about not planning to run for president. As he lied about there not being a quid pro quo. Just because he died, doesn't change the facts. Yet, people always feel they have to say nice things about corrupt politicians, even when they die. And sometimes, even before they die, as was the case with the Redeemed Nixon (tm). Nixon should have been brought to trial. His offenses were the most egregious that ever came to public light about a sitting president. We owed it to ourselves and our constitution to see it through to the end. Not do the politically expedient thing, which was to pardon him. That was no act of courage, regardless of his Kennedy courage award*. *Courage like cheating on one's wife, leaving a woman to drown in the car, getting your nephew off the hook for rape, having your marriage annulled after having children, just so you can remarry in the Catholic church, etc etc in the Kennedy "courage" tradition? Not that I'm cynical about the Kennedys, or anything. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Bobert Date: 27 Dec 06 - 06:45 PM Okay, he was better than most of his crooked Repuib pals, like both Bushes, Reagan and Nixon but he was still a crook... I didn't buy his BS explanation for pardoning Nixon at the time and to this very day don't buy into any of the revisionist's attempt to sanitize this repugnant chapter on American history... He was wrong then and no matter hjow much ink the revisionists spill, he'll always be wrong... If Bill Clinton wasbn't above the law over a danged blow job than Nixon shouldn't have been for all the ****very illegal**** crap he did... Cant' have it both ways... Bobert |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Greg B Date: 27 Dec 06 - 06:55 PM Even some of Gerald Ford's sharpest critics at the time now concede that the pardon of Nixon was an act of tough-minded courage that allowed the nation to move on. One of them, on NPR today, said that after watching the OJ Simpson and Monica Lewinski media circuses, Ford's foresight was impressive. Can you imagine if it hadn't been Ford--- if Spiro Agnew had succeeded Nixon? They blame him for losing the election due to the pardon, but as Bob Dole pointed out, the economy was in a mess during the '76 election in which he ran with Ford, as well. And let's face it, Watergate was still in the forefront of people's minds. What I find interesting is the lavish praise being heaped upon Ford. I can't help wondering if the disillusionment with Dubya doesn't make people sentimental for a nice guy, a clear thinker, and a proponent of a more genteel form politics in which he could be close friends with, for example, Tip O'Neil and get work done in Congress. It seems to me that people who blame Ford for their disillusionment seem to forget who started the situation--- Nixon and his CREEP henchmen. It also seems to me that, 30-odd years later, those who are unable to revise their disillusionment aren't a bit 'stuck' and perhaps are looking for an excuse to remain so--- after all, if you remain firmly opposed to everything, then you can avoid claiming any real responsibility. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 06 - 06:58 PM Lest we forget, Ford was the man who gave Rumsfeld, Cheney et al the chickenhawk neocons their first big government gig--just as Saigon was falling. Which is why the Dubya Chickenhawk Brigade insisted upon invading Iraq: they wanted to prove how right they were about Vietnam. And we now we know. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 06 - 06:59 PM Gee Greg B, thanks for parroting what they just said on NBC and CNN... Just because they are saying nice things about the Nixon pardon on TV doesn't make the pundits right, now does it? It just makes it the propaganda line of the day. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 06 - 07:02 PM And Greg, you are also forgetting someone else who "started it"--JFK & LBJ are the ones who got us into Vietnam. What is just bizarre about the reporting about Ford right now is how little they are mentioning Vietnam. Ford is the US president who presided over the fall of Saigon, and the economic crisis that occurred because of the war. Guess they don't want us to know what's really coming...as if we don't already know. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Ron Davies Date: 27 Dec 06 - 07:07 PM "Nixon was the worst criminal"---if you don't think that using a despicable propaganda campaign to START an unneccessary and unjustified war--and another such campaign to be elected in 2004-- tops Nixon-- including as political criminal, you need to do a little more reading. Start with obituaries of "Coalition" soldiers--and Iraqis. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 06 - 07:19 PM There is a very long list of murderers who have inhabited the White House though, Ron. Not just Dubya. Nixon rises above them all--he both unnecessarily oversaw the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people in SE Asia, AND committed unprecedented political crimes to insure he kept his hold on power. Of the two presidents, Dubya and Nixon, I think it's really easy to tell which one history will view with the most contempt: the one that paved the road to hell, so Dubya could so easily lead us all down it and into Iraq, the gutting of the Bill of Rights, etc. Had Ford not pardoned Nixon, and had Nixon stood trial, I sincerely doubt the neocons would be getting away with what they are getting away with today. And as to the Warren Commission, Ford is known to have doctored the report to "prove" the single shooter theory he preferred (source: 1997 Assassination Records Review Board report). Ford's death is conjuring many a ghost, and many a ghostly echo of the current administration's footsteps in the halls of power. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 06 - 07:40 PM WARNING: folk-related content! And I'll bet no one on PBS or the History Channel mentions that Squeaky Fromme's first claim to fame was as a folk dancer who even performed at the White House. Wry grin. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: michaelr Date: 27 Dec 06 - 08:10 PM Wizzy -- being dead is no protection from having truth told about you, nor should it be. De mortuis nil nisi bene is a load of crap. Cheers, Michael |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Peace Date: 27 Dec 06 - 08:19 PM I recall Gerald Ford in an address to the nation. He said, "Remember, I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln." Would we had some wit in the White House now. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: GUEST Date: 27 Dec 06 - 08:22 PM Aye. I'm left with this strange longing to know: what would Hunter do? |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Cruiser Date: 27 Dec 06 - 10:13 PM Slag stated: "I'm debating on whether to debate with a semi-literate" Slag-Off Slag. This is an Internet forum not an English Class. You owe Mr. Finn an apology. I understand you are a welder. I was an expert welder and well educated. I doubt you were both and I still do not criticize your writing, although I easily could, as others already have. Be fair. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Greg B Date: 27 Dec 06 - 10:35 PM Though I hesitate to debate with people who style themselves only as 'Guest,' I'd point out that some of the better thinkers around turn up on CNN and NPR...though maybe not Fox. Another interpretation regarding Cheney and Rumsfeld is that they observed Gerald Ford, and how his decent and genial style failed to sustain him in the halls of power, and resolved to adopt a more polarizing and confrontational style. And if you look carefully, you'd see that Ford did precisely what the left are calling on Dubya to do...disengage from a futile effort to determine the outcome of a guerilla-powered civil war. You can't at once castigate Ford for the 'fall of Saigon' and then turn around and advise Dubya to cut the losses in Baghdad. Unless, of course, you're the type who has established that everything that 'they' do is wrong, and 'you' know the better way, only that they won't elect you even if you do come out of the pub three hours earlier than usual. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Cruiser Date: 27 Dec 06 - 10:39 PM Mr. Ford was a political coward for giving Nixon a pardon. That action was a simple case of he gave me a job so I will help him now. Ford was that simplistic. He was a bad president and it is nonsense that he brought the county back together and healed the Nation's wounds. BTW, I voted for Nixon. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Slag Date: 27 Dec 06 - 10:47 PM Yes R%on, we all make speed errors and some misspelllings in our posts but when you see it occurring with great regularity and coupled with misquotes and mischaracterizations and rank dismissal of cogent arguemnt then in MY considered opinion there is either stupidity or outright dishonesty afoot. Your bias preceeds you and makes your response unnecessary. I'll just assume you disagree and we can let it go at that. Jimmy's stupidity? How about his shock! Shock! that Communist Russia was NOT honest? How about his non-response to an act of war against our embassy in Tehran. Oh wait! There WAS that "Debacale in the Desert"! I don't know who masterminded that strategic wonder but it ultimately had Carter's stamp of approval on it. Wasn't Carter an ex-military man? Something about the Navy and a submarine? Maybe he should have sent a sub in, instead of a chopper. Speaking of egregious pardons, his first day in office he pardoned all the sniveling little draft dodgers, cowards and traitors who left the country or went into hiding rather than do their duty or take an upfront, in-your-face stand against the Viet Nam Police Action! And he was awarded the No-balls Peace prize? For making Peace???? Really? We are still benefitting from that one. That's the only Nobel prize that is entirely subjective and without merit (in Carter's case, that is). He nearly single-handedly destroyed this nation's economy along with many of the world's economies with his insane fiscal policies and double digit inflation. There are very few of either party who would disagree with that statement. It's a fact. Yes and his personal prowess and bravery were fittingly demonstrated when he shrieked out and struck out with a wooden oar at the poor little jackrabbit which was trying to clamber aboard his dinghy to keep from drowning. How did that end? Did he have the Secret Service agents shoot the rabbit? I forget. It was icing on the cake. Those are just some of the "high"lights of this man's tenure in office. More on Trick Dick and Ford later! |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Barry Finn Date: 27 Dec 06 - 11:36 PM There you go again Slag, shagging my name because of my shortcomings rather than taking on the issue. So whose dishonesty is afoot here? It seems that the distaste in your mouth is of your own doing & yes we can let it go at that. Jimmy's pardons were a perfectly well timed blessing to a nation that was split & did a lot to heal. As for that "Debacale in the Desert". I remember it well. My sister & my future Brother-in-law were both in that desert at the time & what had the potential for being a blood bath as the war against our embassy in Tehran would have been under todays logic came to be a lesser note in history than had we invaded. If only Jimmy were in office 6 yrs ago. "No balls" peace prize. Really. Let's see another state's man in this nation take on the tasks & risks he's taken & see how many can walk in his shoes. We haven't got one person that that we can put in office that holds a candle to him! And as for "all the sniveling little draft dodgers, cowards and traitors who left the country or went into hiding rather than do their duty". You must be joking! Where were you? Where are you coming from? In this day & age that's what you think & care about? That's how you still feel? No wonder there's an awful taste left in your mouth. Please tell me again about my short comings. Wow! Good-bye Slag Barry |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: Slag Date: 28 Dec 06 - 01:49 AM Mr. Nixon was a great disappointment to me. He, in essence, turned his back on the people of Taiwan when he made his overture to Mao Tse Tung and Red China. That and he was far less aggressive in Viet Nam than he lead the voters to believe he would be. From the day he made his "You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore!" statement, he was dead meat as far as the US press was concerned. The press hunted, stalked, baited and relentlessly harrassed the man. No wonder he was paranoid. And he was paranoid! That group of genius operatives known as the "Plumbers" were a reflection of his paranoia. By all accounts Nixon was not a stupid man and I would like to believe that about him but the Plumbers were still using lead to make their joints water tight. Nixon's great sin was trying to be loyal to this loyal but misdirected crew and he ended up obstructing justice. Exit Mr. Nixon and good riddance. Exit the Plumbers and good riddance. I took a wait-and-see attitude toward China. I still have a wait-and-see attitude toward China. If our infussion of capital and American Debt into their economy can corrupt and hopelessly ensnare their version of Communism, so be it. It beats ICBMs at 30,000 paces. What about Taiwan? Wait and see. It may all work out yet. Well, did affable, Good Ol' Gerry heal or hurt our nation? Like I said before. He was OK. He was average. A relatively smart fellow, a jock, a nice guy. I'd rather have him for me than against me. Do we want average? Is Mc Donald's successful? Is that what you want? Hugh Grant and Julie Roberts? Yeah, why not? Let's just ignore the termites gnawing away at the foundation of our nation. Whatever happens, will happen. Life is so much easier when you have no firm convictions, no real "right" or "wrong". Just what the majority believes. Hey, that's what democracy is, isn't it? Just give me a lobotomy and sink me into the middle of that great Bell-Shaped Curve! Does anyone remember that issue of National Lampoon Magazine that had the centerfold of Gerald Ford with the ice cream cone stuck into the middle of his forehead and that great big old grin on his face? Or is that before your time? Yeah, I really miss those days. Good ol' Jimmy swattin' them rabbits, Gerry trippin' down the gantries, the smell of tear gass. What was I doing when all those brave kids were headed off to Canada? I was in Tech School at Shepard AFB. My lottery number came up #8. Too late! I was already in and serving my country. |
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Subject: RE: Obit: President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 26, 2006 From: catspaw49 Date: 28 Dec 06 - 06:52 AM And if your number had been 350? Yeah, I'm sure you'd have gone along and enlisted huh? Doing your duty and all that...............Wouldn't want to risk being labeled a sniveling coward and traitor..............Yeah, sure.....You'd have been there anyway. It's just kinda' odd you should mention your lottery number. Spaw |
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