Gerald R. Ford, Dead at 93 When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts." It was indeed an unprecedented time. He had been the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, was succeeding the first President ever to resign. Ford was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. Gerald Ford died last night at the age of 93 from a previously diagnosed medical condition. Hotwater
Pardon me for saying so (pun intended!) but I don't mourn him. Nixon should have done hard time. It's now official, George W. Bush is the goofiest living president.
I agree Nixon should have done hard time. Isn't it ironic that Gerald Ford was viewed as a stumbling idiot and yet he was probably the most athletic president in history. Hotwater
Yeah the man was great - the only president to give us all a laugh by jumping off the steps of a plane to headbutt the tarmac. It eclipsed his political acheivements and showed us that presidents can make us laugh as well as fire rockets at other countries and burn people to death with napalm It could only be rivalled if Bush came through the plane doors with a few pencils sticking out of his ears and nose before jumping on top of the reporters as though he was crowd surfing like a rockstar and then crushing an empty beer can on his head
Sorry, but it wasn't Ford that got us out of Vietnam. The US withdrew from Vietnam a year before he took office. It was Nixon that got us out of Vietnam, although it took him four years to do it. Ford simply refused to get us re-involved in the place when the North Vietnamese started to overrun the South. And Nixon should have done hard time. It didn't help the confidence that people are supposed to have in their government when a kid could sit in the penitentiary for years for possessing one joint, but the worst thing that happened to Nixon was that he was more or less forced to resign and spend the rest of his life on his comfy ranch.
That's true Charise, but under the peace treaty that Nixon signed the US still had an obligation to reenter the conflict should the North Vietnamese not abide by the treaty. And they broke it on more than one occassion.
But Ford stopped the intercession in South East Asia for good during his term. Certainly he was being prodded by a democratic congress. Don't get me wrong he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but neither did he continue to kill our children for a goal that meant nothing to the US citizens.
Bush said that his "prayers" :lol: and condolences are with the Ford family. I'm surprised that he even knew who Ford was. Maybe some of his advisors told him.
Interesting stats as of Sept 28, 2005: Seems the Bushes aren't very charitable compared to the others.
I could be wrong but I think Bush attended the Betty Ford addiction clinic for alcohol addiction. As presidents go - I think Ford might have been one of the more charitable from what I can tell. Then - again he didnt really have a personal mandate from the people as he wasnt voted in but assumed the presidncy, so as a caretaker it was never likely he would have felt able to pursue strict policies - preffering instead to merely have a neutral effect possibly
He wasn't so bad. I don't agree with everything he did (like signing the Metric Conversion Act of '75), but all in all he didn't screw around too much. He's actually prob'ly one of the better recent presidents.
Well, Captain Kangaroo kicked the bucket, then Mister Rodgers, then Mme. Chiang Kai Shek (Song Mei Ling) at the age of 106-I figure the end of the world couldnt be far away...:Angel:
I was just listening to NPR, and the anchor said, "President Bush will lie in state today..." and then he caught himself and replaced "Bush" with "Ford". Well, there's always hope.....
actually a guy named Mr Adams that lived down our street died on christmas day, and in the obits column of the local paper I see about 20 others did as well so I definitely thin the end of the world is about to happen.
I thought he did that already. He couldn't get through those doors at the press conference in China. Cheney and Rummy go back to the Ford/Nixon administration, so Bush should know at least some of them. About the only other funny thing Ford did was appear on video on Saturday Night Live and say, "I'm Gerald Ford, and you're not." after Chevy Chase did his usual line. Ford's press spokesman was the guest host on that episode of SNL. http://www.kipnotes.com/Gerald%20R.%20Ford.htm There were actually diplomacy meetings at the White House back then with people like Sadat and Arafat. .
