Fare Thee Well, President Ford
In 1976, as a registered Democrat, I cast my first vote in a Presidential election for a Republican: Incumbent President Gerald Ford. That vote is, thus far, my only Republican vote. And it's a vote I do not regret.
I was 18. And I am quite sure that in part, I cast my vote because of the fatherly image Gerald Ford projected. To my eyes, he appeared to be calm, sure, strong, and paternal without patronizing. Ford spent 25 years in Congress and had built a reputation for honesty and integrity - rare commodities in the Nixon White House and characteristics the nation sorely needed in the aftermath of Watergate. And he had worked hard to help the country heal from the shock and disgust of Watergate. Some may have thought it wrong for President Ford to pardon Nixon. I did not. It was the smart move for the country.
Ford was an old-fashioned Republican - fiscally conservative and a a believer in small government.
And he wasn't really all that much of a klutz, though Chevy Chase (then of the SNL cast) had a field day with Ford's physical mishaps. But we shouldn't forget - the man was an athlete and an All-American. He had a great sense of humor - he played along with the joke. Ford was a quintessentially honest, intelligent, and gracious man and a rarity in politics - a modest man with a large amount of integrity.
Fare thee well, President Ford.
I was 18. And I am quite sure that in part, I cast my vote because of the fatherly image Gerald Ford projected. To my eyes, he appeared to be calm, sure, strong, and paternal without patronizing. Ford spent 25 years in Congress and had built a reputation for honesty and integrity - rare commodities in the Nixon White House and characteristics the nation sorely needed in the aftermath of Watergate. And he had worked hard to help the country heal from the shock and disgust of Watergate. Some may have thought it wrong for President Ford to pardon Nixon. I did not. It was the smart move for the country.
Ford was an old-fashioned Republican - fiscally conservative and a a believer in small government.
And he wasn't really all that much of a klutz, though Chevy Chase (then of the SNL cast) had a field day with Ford's physical mishaps. But we shouldn't forget - the man was an athlete and an All-American. He had a great sense of humor - he played along with the joke. Ford was a quintessentially honest, intelligent, and gracious man and a rarity in politics - a modest man with a large amount of integrity.
Fare thee well, President Ford.
posted by Bird | 4:41 PM
16 Comments:
I believe my first time voting was when Nixon ran for president the second time Or maybe the first. But I remember protesting and complaining about him. I didn't like anything about him. I didn't like his middle name, Millhouse. I didn't want a president with that middle name. Who do you think I voted for after I swore up and down I wouldn't in any way shape or form vote for? I voted for Nixon. Can you believe it?
Let's hope that other folks of such integrity will step up to be counted.
as a
canadian,
i remember
ford as a guy
without much memorable about him
i mean that in the best way as i think you have had your share of idiots that are memorable for all the wrong reasons (and canadians, too, we have had our share -- plenty)
but ford seemed to be decent, or at the very least not a total idiot -- not bad for a politician, imo
/t.
Thank you for imparting some of your great nations history on your blog. It is so interesting to see the changes that are being manipulated by those who do not put the 'good of the country first'.
It was good to read of the thoughtful way you voted back then and the respect you had for a decent chap no matter what his 'side' may have been.
When we forgive we ourselves are enriched so I agree with you about the pardoning of Nixon. It bouys,consolidates and raises a nation to a higher state.
Happy New Year dear Bird. You have been such a wonder to read and to relate to during this past politically difficult year.
I wish for you clear skies for your flight into the future.
We need more people of integrity and honesty to step up and provice some much needed leadership.
It is quite sad to contemplate the idea that most, if not all, of the current elected leaders believe themselves to be of such character.
Where did we all go wrong?
oops. It wasn't until after I posted this comment that I realized I had to wait for commment approval.
This is not a complaint. It is a comment on my senior moments. Besides, it is 4:25 AM after all.
lol.
btw, please feel free to dump all of these or only the most reprehensible, i.e., stupid. lol
/bark bark bark
that's right bird! fiscally responsible and small govt oriented! and the old fashioned dems were better too, willing to ACT not just preserve the legacy. narcissitic pricks the lot of em. its all too much about the players and not the nation...the people. i think the repubs lost the election due to their failure to defend with reason conservative ideals. which they abandoned! somehow the evangelicals hijacked the word conservative and it stopped meaning the definition youve provided here today.
grrrr. its enough to make ya thrash a rag dammit.
your comment beneath the black madonna: that particular icon is in a town on the edge of a lake in switzerland and she was blackened over the ages by candle soot, but i believe that there are many like that in the world which might be considered a wee tiny gentle natural miracle of transformation
yeah yeah i remember warning you about the SHB not threatening ...as i recall it.....but we had a fun and rocky courtship. i tracked you down girrrl and never left your side.
makes me remember, back in the day, the girl from australia who didnt like me...the bondi beach bolshevik??? whatever happened to her?
/grrrr
Appreciation and Farewell
Indeed Sir Ford was tried and true,
Coordinated in his youth;
And yet tis also true that oft
He said stuff wrong and fell a lot.
They say he somehow went to Yale
I think it’s where Bush also hales?
Not to compare the two except
You wonder how they passed their tests…
In any case compared to now
He seemed a genius anyhow;
And prosecuting Tricky Dick
Would have made the nation sick.
I still don’t get why those with clout
Have personalities like trout;
If we elect the best and brightest
I’m frightened of the rest of us.
But no, he wasn’t all that bad
And so his passing makes us sad
Nostalgic for the times of yore
When we were led by bores, not boors.
So snore to snore and sigh to sigh
Let’s share his slice of humble pie.
Ford spoke less of the Lord:
A placid pumpkin and a mighty gourd.
- Percy B. Silly
many thanks to all for the comments (percy, really,you must be more careful with that B word - it always gets you into trouble - i am still quite ruffled you know!)
my apologies for the moderated comments. i turned it on as an experiement - and now have turned it off and won't turn it on again!
k9 - not too rocky a courtship i fell for you with the first steamin' brown and the rap debate between you and Rev clinched it. i should dig up those old posts...hahaha!
LL;
you mean even that middle name didn't deter you?
i am worried sick about you.
my
middle name
is 'milhouse'
you know it would be
perfectly fine and cynical
to suggest that good ol' boy nixon got a break he didn't deserve from good ol' boy ford in yet another case of money and power saving the ass of money and power
highly doubtful that you or i would catch that same break
/t.
I suppose not, bird.
/t. I don't believe you.
Prithee, no! Your habits of close literary analysis are most admirable and yet the use of "boor" for alliterative effect in my response to your comment on my blog, where, as I stated, twas a great overstatment and it was merely the alliteration I could not resist;
and now, here, my use of the same word in relation to Bush - where, indeed, "boor," to me, is a tremendous understatement - it is coincidence my fine feathered finch.
I see no comparison between a Bird and a Bush. Tis said a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but this is entirely a different issue and even here, the value, in both cases, is clearly in the birds.
Such close, emotion-laden analysis of metaphor... I grow faint and must have seltzer water...
clearly,
this is a
case of a bush
in the blog
of a bird
but,
i babble
- ROCKY B.
Balboa! These dulcit double bees of thine are fine enough to please and ease an irritable ear. But what, then, of bees in bonnets? (A rhetorical question...)
I like almost everything about him... that is, everything but his criminal-enabling pardon... too many presidents have used it to help their friends, and I am including Clinton in that list...
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