Learned a few interesting things about Gerald R. Ford over the weekend. Dare I say it, I even started to like the man.Disappointed with the direction the Republican Party has taken under the Bush administration, Ford himself was against the war and was not a proponent of letting faith inform policy.
I was especially pleased to learn that Mr. Ford was respected for being a man of the House first and a Republican second. He promoted a spirit of cooperation in Congress and was more concerned with uniting our country in the midst of the Vietnam War than with finding more issues to deepen the schism between the people and our government.
It's interesting what hours and hours of funeral coverage will teach you about a man. Some great things have been rightfully said about him, but they were also marred, for me, by watching Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld serve as pallbearers - they're the antithesis to cooperation and unification.
Quickie point: interesting that Certain (interesting name, that) made a point of injecting the Episcopalian brouhaha about sexuality and women in the clergy into his homily. He made it sound like Ford was ok with gay clergymen and female clergy.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned to hear what the break-aways have to say about that.
Ford was no friend to Israel, but certainly he did a heck of a lot towards consiliation via his pardon.
ReplyDeleteNot a great president, or even a good one, but rather, a mediocre president. Still, I guess that's the best you can hope for, nowadays.
My rist comment trashed GRF for pardoning Nixon, but after all the the days follow the fuernal, i felt I got to known the mane and he as aahead of his name, whic probably mean losting the 2006 electonis. We have to realize that our founding father did not intent for the preseident to the man of the people, Most under enderedcated, ingoarnat and afraid of anyone from intellegice. I take bad what I said about he pardon. Also Nixon went free. Anoter 2 yeasr of hearings and poteail jail would have sent he nation until s spiral of defresson. Truly ad was thinking ahead with a peacful bi-partisan eye on the country. Sometimes you have to make the lesser of two evils. I sincerely hope that will all that has been learned over the two week, the the current administration will realise that it they plan Iraq smart - nice guys should finsih last...I subscribe to the pact that we should pick very SMART Expericned people for the President and not some family with a lot of money that can distate what they was because they have Haliburton, Enron and all these greedy losers who are doing a find job at brining down the country. I hope Bush goes down as on the worst presidents of our time. I never through I'd like a day to see such a bafoon in the whilte hours
ReplyDelete"Bipartisan" to liberals means that Republicans bend over and lube up. To whit Ford handed over a lot of Executive control to the libs in Congress and Bush has been trying hard to get it back.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think they've been squealing like Ned Beatty claiming Bush is trying to take too much power? They stole it, they think it's theirs.