Joey Balls Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 I always had a political soft spot in my heart for Gerry Ford....much more so than a goofball cowboy like Ronnie Reagan and his sycophants. Not easy being all that Gerry Ford was...and then accidently stumbling on the Presidency...are you kidding me! If Gerald Ford would be running for office today as a Republican he would have been neutered right off the bat. Where the loopy christian right rules over the current sad GOP, Ford was pro-choice back when...and I'm sure he probably had issues with the nutty gun culture that is another republican push button issue that never fails to ignite "THE BASE"! That is why it was so funny/sad watching Fox News this afternoon, and their stumble footed attempt (Michele Malkin-tee-hee) to try to "eulogize" him for the sole reason that he was a Republican. That out of the way let's aprreciate the memory of Ford....a President that I'm sure we can all agree led us out of a dark period where the citizens of this Nation didn't know who to trust. Gerald Rudolph Ford 1913-2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 RIP Gerry Don't think this is the time or place to use Ford to badmouth any goofball presidents past or present. There's plenty of time to do that later Tho I didn't experience his Presidency, from what I've read, seen, and heard from those who have I think Mr Ford was the right man in the right place at the right time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 RIP Gerry Don't think this is the time or place to use Ford to badmouth any goofball presidents past or present. There's plenty of time to do that later Tho I didn't experience his Presidency, from what I've read, seen, and heard from those who have I think Mr Ford was the right man in the right place at the right time Why? I know this has always been said... But, honestly... To "just move" on has always been a personal peeve of mine. Americans couldn't trust anyone... NewsFlash, they still don't. So what did he accomplish? Restoring faith back in government? 30+ years ago was the right time to tear things down and build it back right again... Not restore prior the status quo... It was a painful time... Sure he eased the pain... Did we as Americans really need the pain to be eased? And don't give me some the Russians were gonna invade/bomb us crap... Or pulling out of Vietnam stuff... I was 7-8 years old at the time... So I guess I may have thought I was invincible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 Why? I know this has always been said... But, honestly... To "just move" on has always been a personal peeve of mine. Americans couldn't trust anyone... NewsFlash, they still don't. So what did he accomplish? Restoring faith back in government? 30+ years ago was the right time to tear things down and build it back right again... Not restore prior the status quo... It was a painful time... Sure he eased the pain... Did we as Americans really need the pain to be eased? And don't give me some the Russians were gonna invade/bomb us crap... Or pulling out of Vietnam stuff... I was 7-8 years old at the time... So I guess I may have thought I was invincible... i dunno, i just know what I was told. All the carp spewed out from the media i take with a grain of salt. My dad however thought Ford was what the country needed at the time (voted for him in 76). My dad is a stereotypical Reagan Democrat (voted for RWR in 80 and 84), so the righties can sh-- on him for being a Democrat and the lefties can sh-- on him for liking Reagan. i don't care, i value his opinion means more than anyone on PPP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 i dunno, i just know what I was told. All the carp spewed out from the media i take with a grain of salt. My dad however thought Ford was what the country needed at the time (voted for him in 76). My dad is a stereotypical Reagan Democrat (voted for RWR in 80 and 84), so the righties can sh-- on him for being a Democrat and the lefties can sh-- on him for liking Reagan. i don't care, i value his opinion means more than anyone on PPP True. People just don't like change and upheaval... Carter took on the Washington scene and was owned... What better time to take on that scene in recent history than Ford "the common man"... Being an outsider, could he have changed alot? I don't know? All I know is that he is "described" as a "good soldier"... What better selection could Nixon have made when Agnew resigned? Nixon had to know the possible future and a possible resignation loomed... He was knee deep in it! I am jaded and tend to deconstruct a lot of what is being forced down our throats... By no means does this take away what I feel for Gerald R. Ford... He was a good man. To me "healing" isn't about making it go away... It is about dealing with your problems in an upfront, in your face way... Decorum is sometimes a detriment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 RIP Gerry Don't think this is the time or place to use Ford to badmouth any goofball presidents past or present. There's plenty of time to do that later Tho I didn't experience his Presidency, from what I've read, seen, and heard from those who have I think Mr Ford was the right man in the right place at the right time That's not stopping Ford himself from bad-mouthing certain goofball presidents. Ford disagreed with Bush on invading Iraq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungee Jumper Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 That's not stopping Ford himself from bad-mouthing certain goofball presidents. Ford disagreed with Bush on invading Iraq To wit, I say: so what? Lots of people disagree with Bush on Iraq. I disagree with Bush on Iraq. I don't see why this should be news just because Ford is dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 That's not stopping Ford himself from bad-mouthing certain goofball presidents. Ford disagreed with Bush on invading Iraq He's hardly "badmouthing" Bush. NY Daily News Ford was a few weeks shy of his 93rd birthday as we chatted for about 45 minutes. He'd been visited by President Bush three weeks earlier and said he'd told Bush he supported the war in Iraq but that the 43rd President had erred by staking the invasion on weapons of mass destruction. "Saddam Hussein was an evil person and there was justification to get rid of him," he observed, "but we shouldn't have put the basis on weapons of mass destruction. That was a bad mistake. Where does [bush]get his advice?" Ford was predictably defensive about Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, his two White House chiefs of staff. Asked why Cheney had tanked in public opinion polls, he smiled. "Dick's a classy guy, but he's not an electrified orator." But he didn't like Bush's domestic surveillance program. "It may be a necessary evil," he conceded. "I don't think it's a terrible transgression, but I would never do it. I was dumbfounded when I heard they were doing it." Those are really even-handed quotes. It's too bad the media is trying to spin them into secret, vehement anti-Bush rhetoric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 Nice post, Joey. The one thing I can always count on from you liberals: Whether it's the death of a Republican president, or the death of 3000 people on American soil at the hands of terrorists, you'll never, ever pass up an opportunity to bypass mourning and be first in line to open your mouth in hopes of convincing the world that everyone sucks but yourself. Outstanding job. You do your party proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 RIP Gerald Ford / Leslie King Jr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Nice post, Joey. The one thing I can always count on from you liberals: Whether it's the death of a Republican president, or the death of 3000 people on American soil at the hands of terrorists, you'll never, ever pass up an opportunity to bypass mourning and be first in line to open your mouth in hopes of convincing the world that everyone sucks but yourself. Outstanding job. You do your party proud. WTF? Wow, how the pious on family values speaks out on "How to Mourn"... NewsFlash... Everybody has a sucky side to them... But, far be it me to try and convince anybody, I think most already know it... Myself included... If they don't know it? What else can I say?... They live in peace and that is something I can aspire to... Take the Irish approach and lets talk trash about every son of B word that ever lived... Again, including you and me... In the end you find where one's virtures are/were... What is the big problem?... Myself, I can mourn and then move on and discuss... Now I don't expect you to take that approach if you can't... Just the courtesy of not being offended openly, and if so offended... Move on... And if I offended anyone? Sorry... I wouldn't thought this place would have such hurt feelings... Actually, it is quite the opposite of what you wrote... I am a firm believer that one can't convince another that "they suck"... And as usual, that feeling usually starts from within. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UConn James Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 To wit, I say: so what? Lots of people disagree with Bush on Iraq. I disagree with Bush on Iraq. I don't see why this should be news just because Ford is dead. I dunno. It's a former president --- someone who has worn that heavy crown, as Shakespeare wrote --- of his own party that's finally allowing his view to be aired. To me, either he should have said this publicly back then or he shouldn't have allowed it to be aired. To be critical of the Current Occupant's decisions only after he has the burden of defending his views removed is a bit of a cheap shot. And it's also in stark contrast to what GHWB said a couple of months back that I read in Time magazine when I was at the dentist. This was about the same time as he got all weepy at the speech for Jeb (and you could so tell he was also referencing GWB in it too). The article said he was getting weepy talking about No. 43's decisions and then the man spent about three column inches saying that he wouldn't speak about what he thinks of Iraq, and that it wouldn't be good for his son, and that, no, by gum, I'm not going to tell you how I would have done things differently b/c it wouldn't be good for him.... That whole thing was very odd. He's hardly "badmouthing" Bush. NY Daily News Those are really even-handed quotes. It's too bad the media is trying to spin them into secret, vehement anti-Bush rhetoric. "Pugnacious" is even-handed? Cheney developed a "fever" about terrorism and Iraq? In that entire piece, Ford first said how great the guy was, then proceeded with a swift jab. Ford was a man who knew and practiced great decorum, and keeping what you really felt very close to the vest. He almost cut the "long national nightmare" line b/c he thought it was too strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molson_golden2002 Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Why? I know this has always been said... But, honestly... To "just move" on has always been a personal peeve of mine. Americans couldn't trust anyone... NewsFlash, they still don't. So what did he accomplish? Restoring faith back in government? 30+ years ago was the right time to tear things down and build it back right again... Not restore prior the status quo... It was a painful time... Sure he eased the pain... Did we as Americans really need the pain to be eased? And don't give me some the Russians were gonna invade/bomb us crap... Or pulling out of Vietnam stuff... I was 7-8 years old at the time... So I guess I may have thought I was invincible... I guess Dick disagrees with you: WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney hailed former U.S. President Gerald Ford at a state funeral on Saturday for pardoning Richard Nixon, his disgraced predecessor, and helping to heal the nation after the Watergate scandal. Ford, the 38th president who died on Tuesday at age 93, steered the United States through "a crisis that could have turned to catastrophe," said Cheney, chief of staff in Ford's White House 30 years ago and an honorary pallbearer at the ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. Cheney spoke after it emerged that Ford, a moderate Republican, had said in an interview with journalist Bob Woodward that he disagreed with President George W. Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. The report was published in The Washington Post two days after Ford's death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molson_golden2002 Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 To wit, I say: so what? Lots of people disagree with Bush on Iraq. I disagree with Bush on Iraq. I don't see why this should be news just because Ford is dead. It just adds more weight to the argument that Iraq was one of the stupidest things this nation ever did. That cannnot be pointed out enough. Many people saw this coming, more thought at the time it was a great thing to do, and some idiots still hold that view. Square pegs do not fit into round holes, no matter how much sexy military power you have behind it. No matter how much you wrap the operation in the flag and call those who point out the truth traitors, it was still a very dumb thing to do. Smart men saw that, smart men like Ford. Again, as I have stated before, the South now owns the GOP and we see that in its policies both foreign and domestic. Ford's opposition to the war shows this great change that has taken place in our political parties, a moderate like himself would never make it into the leadership of the GOP today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Ford. I guess if Agnew and Nixon had behaved I would never know your name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I guess Dick disagrees with you: Dick says... "a crisis that could have turned to catastrophe" What would have been the catastrophe? Death of the GOP? By pardoning Nixon, didn't Ford maintain the same political establishment in Washington?... Who knows what would have played out if Nixon wasn't pardoned? A lot of players during the last 30 years were probably spared... That same establisment would devour Carter (not that I advocate his Presidency... I see him early on as the "change agent"...), see the rise of Reagan, Bush I, Clinton (still part of that establishment), and Bush II. Aren't we in a heap of mess today because of it? I see it as a real pivotal point in history... Yes, it really would have tore the country up... In the long run we would have been better... Happy New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clinton, Bill Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Dick says... "a crisis that could have turned to catastrophe" What would have been the catastrophe? Death of the GOP? By pardoning Nixon, didn't Ford maintain the same political establishment in Washington?... Who knows what would have played out if Nixon wasn't pardoned? A lot of players during the last 30 years were probably spared... That same establisment would devour Carter (not that I advocate his Presidency... I see him early on as the "change agent"...), see the rise of Reagan, Bush I, Clinton (still part of that establishment), and Bush II. Aren't we in a heap of mess today because of it? I see it as a real pivotal point in history... Yes, it really would have tore the country up... In the long run we would have been better... Happy New Year! You know too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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