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REBELYELL
12-27-2006, 11:30
Being a peacetime vet.(76'-78')My commander in chief has passed on.Angel share for the Pres.!And a big WooooHooo for his memory.Thats all,I was just saddened by his passing REB:(

jesse
12-27-2006, 11:40
a good man

Footslogger
12-27-2006, 12:05
I have a pic of President Ford shaking hands with my Dad back in the 80's ...a real treasure. Interesting story infact (at least to me) ...Dad was playing a round of golf at a course in the Denver area. All of a sudden 3 - 4 golf carts came charging full speed down the fairway looking kind of official. My Dad backed off the fairway to allow the carts to pass. The last of 4 carts pulled up along side of him and to his amazement, it was Gerald Ford. President Ford got out of the cart and began apologizing to my Dad for interfering with his game. Naturally with 4 armed Secret Service Agents standing within a few feet of him my Dad just smiled and said ..."my pleasure, play through !!" Just so happened my Dad's golf partner had a camera and asked if he could take a pic of them. Pic was snapped and Ford proceeded on with his game.

Before pulling off though, President Ford gave Dad a mailing address and said that he'd be happy to sign/autograph it for him. Long story short ...Dad sent off the pic and got it back a few weeks later signed and sealed (presidentially speaking).

'Slogger

REBELYELL
12-27-2006, 13:29
The best non-elected pres!

Cuppa Joe
12-27-2006, 15:34
My father could have been a double for President Ford. At the time my parents were living in the DC area and my father had gone to a client's home. He rang the doorbell and the younger daugther opened the door, looked at him, and yelled, "Mommy, the Presiden'ts here"

I always got a chuckle out that.

ed bell
12-27-2006, 16:25
He really was a good man. Unfortunate that he took the helm right on the heels of a tough time. I saw him speak while sitting on my Dad's shoulders at Iowa State University in 1976. Chevy Chase had some nice words about him:http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-12-27T184601Z_01_N27443220_RTRUKOC_0_US-FORD-CHEVY.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

Footslogger
12-27-2006, 16:30
Only president so far in my lifetime that didn't have something to hide.

Might be the last ...

'Slogger

rafe
12-27-2006, 16:36
Only president so far in my lifetime that didn't have something to hide.


I'd put Carter in that league.

Footslogger
12-27-2006, 16:38
I'd put Carter in that league.

=========================

Agreed ...serious omission on my part.

'Slogger

Old Hillwalker
12-27-2006, 20:39
God Bless Gerald Ford, and condolences to Betty.

Desert Lobster
12-27-2006, 20:43
Jimmy had to hide his brother!

wilderness bob
12-27-2006, 20:58
Rebel Yell,
I have nothing but respect for the man. He was not my "Commander in Chief" while I served in the Army (I had everyone since then though, 78-04). I would have been honored to serve under him. Post Vietnam, post Nixon era, it was a difficult time for the country and the military back then. He did a good job. May he rest in peace. WB

rafe
12-28-2006, 00:50
Rather interesting photo in this (http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/12/27/ive-seen-that-movie-too/)article. That's Rummy on the left, Cheney on the right, Ford in the middle.

copythat
12-28-2006, 01:23
Ford said this in 2001 as he accepted the “Profile in Courage” award ...

“Courage is not something to be gauged in a poll or located in a focus group. No adviser can spin it. No historian can backdate it. In the age-old contest between popularity and principle, only those willing to lose for their convictions are deserving of posterity's approval.”

wise words, i believe.

copythat
12-28-2006, 01:27
Rather interesting photo in this (http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/12/27/ive-seen-that-movie-too/)article. That's Rummy on the left, Cheney on the right, Ford in the middle.

what a great photo!

(is it just me, or do other people think cheney looked an awful lot like bob newhart? "this is my boss, george bush, and this is my OTHER boss, george bush ...")

rafe
12-28-2006, 09:09
what a great photo!

(is it just me, or do other people think cheney looked an awful lot like bob newhart? "this is my boss, george bush, and this is my OTHER boss, george bush ...")


Odd, that, cuz I just love Bob Newhart. ;)

TJ aka Teej
12-28-2006, 11:29
History will remember him only as the man who pardoned Nixon.
The current trend toward hagiography is all well and good, but in the end the most important act of his entire life was to let Nixon off the hook.

Footslogger
12-28-2006, 11:35
[quote=TJ aka Teej;293134]History will remember him only as the man who pardoned Nixon.

=====================================

That and a rotten golf swing ....FOUR !!

Seriously though, I do believe that his legacy will include a reputation of honesty and integrity, both personally and professionally (politically)

'Slogger

Tipi Walter
12-28-2006, 11:58
History will remember him only as the man who pardoned Nixon.
The current trend toward hagiography is all well and good, but in the end the most important act of his entire life was to let Nixon off the hook.

And good old Tricky Dicky pardoned Lt William Calley so it all ties in together. I had a picture of the My Lai massacree on my locker in a USAF barracks in 1970 when I was in the service and I learned alot about the military, the government and my presidents from that one photo.

max patch
12-28-2006, 12:27
History will remember him only as the man who pardoned Nixon.


Its not often that TJ and I agree on political issues. I agree with his comment above.

I voted for Jimmy Carter because I felt strongly that Mr Ford should not have pardoned Nixon -- Nixon should have gone thru the court system and gotten whatever punishment he deserved.

The decision to pardon Nixon cost Ford the election.

Footslogger
12-28-2006, 12:33
The decision to pardon Nixon cost Ford the election.

===============================

My guess is that Ford knew that would be the outcome. I came out of military in '71 with some pretty bad juju as it related to Nixon but even in retrospect I am not convinced that "not" pardoning him would have led to a positive outcome (for anyone).

'Slogger

Tipi Walter
12-28-2006, 13:01
===============================

My guess is that Ford knew that would be the outcome. I came out of military in '71 with some pretty bad juju as it related to Nixon but even in retrospect I am not convinced that "not" pardoning him would have led to a positive outcome (for anyone).

'Slogger

I told the VA shrink that I couldn't live indoors, had to be out all the time and he said I had "tripwire syndrome" or some such spit and I let it pass. The really bad juju didn't hit until a few years after I got out but while I was in I made a short "To Get" list which I kept in my olive drab pocket. It was a real short list: "Kelty D4 pack. Boots."

Cookerhiker
12-28-2006, 17:18
I've been reading much about Ford's legacy since his passing. The Washington Post obituary was more than 2 full pages. Sure, everyone mentions the Nixon pardon. There's also a lot about inflation, energy prices, brokering the Egypt-Isreal ceasefire, the fall of View Nam, Ford's challenge from Ronald Reagan in the '76 primaries.

What I find missing from everything I've read is Ford's appointing John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court - this may have been his most lasting accomplishment.

copythat
12-28-2006, 18:20
I've been reading much about Ford's legacy since his passing. The Washington Post obituary was more than 2 full pages. Sure, everyone mentions the Nixon pardon. There's also a lot about inflation, energy prices, brokering the Egypt-Isreal ceasefire, the fall of View Nam, Ford's challenge from Ronald Reagan in the '76 primaries.

What I find missing from everything I've read is Ford's appointing John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court - this may have been his most lasting accomplishment.

you're right, lots of straight obits omit that, still, there are stories that address it head on, such as ...

http://tinyurl.com/ykygp5

RedneckRye
12-28-2006, 18:54
My Granny passed on Christmas Eve day, then James Brown, then Gerald Ford. Important deaths come in three's. I'm not a church going guy and my belief is skeptical at best, but I've got a picture in my mind of The Godfather Of Soul singing some awesome gospel tunes as Granny is dancing with Grampa again (finally) and giving it to President Ford about being a Michigan Wolverine. Granny was a Buckeye fan and it was Grampa that took me out into the woods to walk, trap, fish and hunt as a kid. It is his fault I'm hiker trash. Granny was always interested in my hiking, but she could never understand why I had to leave for so long and go so far away. I'd show her photos and try to explain mountains, but I don't think she ever "got" it (I don't think she ever left Ohio in her 84 years).
Its kinda hard to type when your eyes tear up!

Lone Wolf
12-28-2006, 19:00
Sorry to hear that redneck.

ed bell
12-28-2006, 20:42
I lost my grandma 14 years ago on Christms Eve. My prayers to your family RedneckRye.