Former Pres. Gerald Ford has died

*Raph's Girl* · 12-27-2006, 04:32 AM

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford, who was swept into office after the Watergate scandal and later pardoned
Richard Nixon, died at age 93, his widow said on Tuesday.

"My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, has passed away at 93 years of age," Betty Ford said in a statement.

"His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."

A former Republican congressman, Ford took office vowing, "Our long national nightmare is over." He served for 2 1/2 years with a style often mocked as bumbling until he lost the 1976 U.S. presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Ford, the oldest living U.S. president, had been ailing and largely out of the public eye for several years.

He was the only U.S. president who was not elected to either the presidency or vice presidency. He was appointed vice president in 1973 after Nixon's vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned to avoid prosecution on corruption charges.

When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, to avoid impeachment in the scandal over a politically motivated burglary of Democratic Party offices in the Watergate complex in Washington, Ford became president.

One month later, on September 8, 1974, Ford stunned the nation and stirred enduring controversy by granting Nixon "a full, free and absolute pardon" for any crime he may have committed in office.

That set the paradoxical pattern for the fill-in presidency of this rough-hewn politician who had served 26 years as a congressman from Michigan.

"President Ford was a great American who gave many years of dedicated service to our country,"
President George W. Bush said in a statement. "With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency."

Ford's pastor, Rev. Robert Certain, said the former president died Tuesday at home in Rancho Mirage, where his wife and three sons had celebrated Christmas the day before.

"They gathered for Christmas but it was anticipated it would be soon," he said in an interview. "I wouldn't be surprised if President Ford chose to exit after Christmas."

Ford's death leaves three living former presidents including George H.W. Bush, Carter and Bill Clinton. Bush is oldest at 82, a few months senior to Carter.

TWO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Ford's mini-term as 38th president included two assassination attempts; the fall of Vietnam; Cambodian seizure of a U.S. freighter, which prompted him to "send in the Marines;" constant fights with Congress; and a penchant for stumbling, head-cracking clumsiness that made him a butt of jokes.

Critics ridiculed his occasional clumsiness with barbs such as "he can't walk and chew gum at the same time."

Ford revived questions about his intellect and grasp of issues with a notorious gaffe in a televised campaign debate against Carter in 1976. He asserted in defense of his foreign policies that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe."

He fell just short in his fight to overcome a 30-point Carter polling lead and lost one of the closest elections in U.S. history.

Gerald Rudolph Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14, 1913. His name then was Leslie King but his parents were divorced soon after his birth and he later took the name of his stepfather, Gerald Ford Sr.

A Navy officer in World War II, Ford married Betty Bloomer in 1948. Mrs. Ford became a national figure in her own right, first as an outspoken first lady and then as a crusader against drug and alcohol addiction.

Certain said funeral arrangements would be finalized on Wednesday, but that Ford's body would be sent to Washington before burial in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Raph's Girl note: Ford was actually a cool guy....I wonder if they'll acknowledge his death on "The Simpsons" since he was one of their neighbors??

*Katie* · 12-27-2006, 08:13 AM

I fear history will remember him in mixed ways. He was a down to earth genuine guy...one of the few presidents like that in the modern era...who came to office in a most unusual way. The only of our presidents who was not elected by the people, but appointed after Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon were disgraced.

Then, in an attempt to move past the mistrust of the past, pardoned Nixon, thus killing his popularity among the people and effectively ending his presidency.

EDIT: I found this interesting article on Presidential funerals that might be of interest. From CNN:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- -- The modern presidency operates as if by script, with carefully chosen crowds, painstakingly shaped words and backdrops picked for just the right effect.

As in life, so, too, in death.

The funeral of an ex-president follows rituals soaked in tradition and specified right down to the exact speed of a procession, 20 miles per hour. That doesn't mean one president's funeral is like another's -- far from it -- and Gerald Ford's may not have the full-throated grandeur of Ronald Reagan's in June 2004.

Planners are guided by the wishes of the family and any instructions from the president himself on how elaborate the events will be, how much of it takes place in Washington and more. Ford's collegial character and unassuming style in the White House are expected to be reflected in his presidential funeral arrangements, details of which have yet to be announced.

The Military District of Washington and the family will detail funeral plans, which are expected to involve a small private ceremony in Palm Desert, California, and an opportunity for the public to pay respects there before the body is flown to Washington for a period of public mourning in the capital.

"Until the family has had a chance to meet with our commanding general and go over the events of the next days, we will not know what that schedule will be," said Barbara Owens, state funeral planner for public affairs for the Joint Task Force, National Capital Region in Washington.

Presidents are typically involved in their own funeral planning, she noted early Wednesday, and "they can choose to have a simple funeral; they can choose to have a full honor funeral. It simply is up to the family."

Ford's presidential museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he is expected to be laid to rest on the grounds, announced that its lobby would be open 24 hours a day starting Wednesday and until further notice, while the rest of the museum would be closed during this period.

What happens in Washington, particularly, unfolds according to guidelines that go back to the mid-1800s and have been shaped here and there over time.

If a chosen ceremony requires mourners to be seated, for example, seating arrangements are detailed with precision. The presidential party is followed by chiefs of state, arranged alphabetically by the English spelling of their countries. Royalty representing chiefs of state come next, and then heads of governments followed by other officials.

Reagan's state funeral was the first of its kind in more than 30 years, since Lyndon Johnson died in 1973. The president, former presidents and a president-elect are all entitled to a state funeral, but the family decides if they actually get one, or just how involved it will be.

Richard Nixon's family, acting on his wishes, opted out of the Washington traditions when he died in 1994, his presidency shortened and forever tainted by Watergate.

The rules and what actually happens are based on what has come before.

John F. Kennedy's funeral services were modeled after those of Abraham Lincoln, at the request of the new widow, Jacqueline, in her first public statement after the assassination. Historians pored over musty documents by flashlight in the middle of the night as the stunned country waited for a plan -- the Library of Congress' automatic lights could not be rigged to come on after hours.

Reagan was the 10th president to lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Like the great majority of presidents, Ford served in Congress, and a public viewing is expected in the Rotunda after President Bush and other dignitaries pay their respects to Ford there. Reagan and Jimmy Carter did not serve in Congress.

Eight presidents have had funeral processions down Pennsylvania Avenue, including all four sitting presidents to die by assassination -- Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and Kennedy.

Two presidents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Kennedy and William H. Taft. Reagan was buried on the hilltop grounds of his presidential library in Simi Valley, California., in a dramatic sunset ceremony capping a week of official public mourning.

Only sitting presidents and their immediate family have ever laid in the White House for viewing.

Ex-president John Adams didn't even lay in the White House, though his son, John Quincy Adams, was the sitting president at the time of the death. The older Adams died on the same day as Thomas Jefferson -- July 4, 1826 -- possibly complicating his chances for a White House viewing.

The Capitol has a more expansive policy for laying in state. Congressman Henry Clay, in 1852, was the first to lay in the Capitol Rotunda. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover laid in the Capitol in 1972. Police officers killed in 1998 while protecting the Capitol also lay in state there.

The first presidential state funeral was for William H. Harrison, who in 1841 became the first president to die in office, just 30 days after his inauguration.

Before Harrison, the funerals of former presidents were accompanied by little pomp in the capital. There were numerous ceremonies across the country for George Washington after his death December. 14, 1799, but his actual funeral was a local affair in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

He was a good man who did alot to help others. God rest his soul, he deserves it.

12-27-2006, 04:32 AM	#1
Raph's Girl Dierna Soul, Reporter Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Jakku Posts: 10,831	Former Pres. Gerald Ford has died Former U.S. President Gerald Ford, who was swept into office after the Watergate scandal and later pardoned Richard Nixon, died at age 93, his widow said on Tuesday. "My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, has passed away at 93 years of age," Betty Ford said in a statement. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country." A former Republican congressman, Ford took office vowing, "Our long national nightmare is over." He served for 2 1/2 years with a style often mocked as bumbling until he lost the 1976 U.S. presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter. Ford, the oldest living U.S. president, had been ailing and largely out of the public eye for several years. He was the only U.S. president who was not elected to either the presidency or vice presidency. He was appointed vice president in 1973 after Nixon's vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned to avoid prosecution on corruption charges. When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, to avoid impeachment in the scandal over a politically motivated burglary of Democratic Party offices in the Watergate complex in Washington, Ford became president. One month later, on September 8, 1974, Ford stunned the nation and stirred enduring controversy by granting Nixon "a full, free and absolute pardon" for any crime he may have committed in office. That set the paradoxical pattern for the fill-in presidency of this rough-hewn politician who had served 26 years as a congressman from Michigan. "President Ford was a great American who gave many years of dedicated service to our country," President George W. Bush said in a statement. "With his quiet integrity, common sense, and kind instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency." Ford's pastor, Rev. Robert Certain, said the former president died Tuesday at home in Rancho Mirage, where his wife and three sons had celebrated Christmas the day before. "They gathered for Christmas but it was anticipated it would be soon," he said in an interview. "I wouldn't be surprised if President Ford chose to exit after Christmas." Ford's death leaves three living former presidents including George H.W. Bush, Carter and Bill Clinton. Bush is oldest at 82, a few months senior to Carter. TWO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS Ford's mini-term as 38th president included two assassination attempts; the fall of Vietnam; Cambodian seizure of a U.S. freighter, which prompted him to "send in the Marines;" constant fights with Congress; and a penchant for stumbling, head-cracking clumsiness that made him a butt of jokes. Critics ridiculed his occasional clumsiness with barbs such as "he can't walk and chew gum at the same time." Ford revived questions about his intellect and grasp of issues with a notorious gaffe in a televised campaign debate against Carter in 1976. He asserted in defense of his foreign policies that "there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe." He fell just short in his fight to overcome a 30-point Carter polling lead and lost one of the closest elections in U.S. history. Gerald Rudolph Ford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on July 14, 1913. His name then was Leslie King but his parents were divorced soon after his birth and he later took the name of his stepfather, Gerald Ford Sr. A Navy officer in World War II, Ford married Betty Bloomer in 1948. Mrs. Ford became a national figure in her own right, first as an outspoken first lady and then as a crusader against drug and alcohol addiction. Certain said funeral arrangements would be finalized on Wednesday, but that Ford's body would be sent to Washington before burial in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Raph's Girl note: Ford was actually a cool guy....I wonder if they'll acknowledge his death on "The Simpsons" since he was one of their neighbors?? __________________

12-27-2006, 08:13 AM	#2
Katie Just...way too serious. Join Date: May 2005 Location: purgatory Posts: 3,519	I fear history will remember him in mixed ways. He was a down to earth genuine guy...one of the few presidents like that in the modern era...who came to office in a most unusual way. The only of our presidents who was not elected by the people, but appointed after Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon were disgraced. Then, in an attempt to move past the mistrust of the past, pardoned Nixon, thus killing his popularity among the people and effectively ending his presidency. EDIT: I found this interesting article on Presidential funerals that might be of interest. From CNN: WASHINGTON (AP) -- -- The modern presidency operates as if by script, with carefully chosen crowds, painstakingly shaped words and backdrops picked for just the right effect. As in life, so, too, in death. The funeral of an ex-president follows rituals soaked in tradition and specified right down to the exact speed of a procession, 20 miles per hour. That doesn't mean one president's funeral is like another's -- far from it -- and Gerald Ford's may not have the full-throated grandeur of Ronald Reagan's in June 2004. Planners are guided by the wishes of the family and any instructions from the president himself on how elaborate the events will be, how much of it takes place in Washington and more. Ford's collegial character and unassuming style in the White House are expected to be reflected in his presidential funeral arrangements, details of which have yet to be announced. The Military District of Washington and the family will detail funeral plans, which are expected to involve a small private ceremony in Palm Desert, California, and an opportunity for the public to pay respects there before the body is flown to Washington for a period of public mourning in the capital. "Until the family has had a chance to meet with our commanding general and go over the events of the next days, we will not know what that schedule will be," said Barbara Owens, state funeral planner for public affairs for the Joint Task Force, National Capital Region in Washington. Presidents are typically involved in their own funeral planning, she noted early Wednesday, and "they can choose to have a simple funeral; they can choose to have a full honor funeral. It simply is up to the family." Ford's presidential museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he is expected to be laid to rest on the grounds, announced that its lobby would be open 24 hours a day starting Wednesday and until further notice, while the rest of the museum would be closed during this period. What happens in Washington, particularly, unfolds according to guidelines that go back to the mid-1800s and have been shaped here and there over time. If a chosen ceremony requires mourners to be seated, for example, seating arrangements are detailed with precision. The presidential party is followed by chiefs of state, arranged alphabetically by the English spelling of their countries. Royalty representing chiefs of state come next, and then heads of governments followed by other officials. Reagan's state funeral was the first of its kind in more than 30 years, since Lyndon Johnson died in 1973. The president, former presidents and a president-elect are all entitled to a state funeral, but the family decides if they actually get one, or just how involved it will be. Richard Nixon's family, acting on his wishes, opted out of the Washington traditions when he died in 1994, his presidency shortened and forever tainted by Watergate. The rules and what actually happens are based on what has come before. John F. Kennedy's funeral services were modeled after those of Abraham Lincoln, at the request of the new widow, Jacqueline, in her first public statement after the assassination. Historians pored over musty documents by flashlight in the middle of the night as the stunned country waited for a plan -- the Library of Congress' automatic lights could not be rigged to come on after hours. Reagan was the 10th president to lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Like the great majority of presidents, Ford served in Congress, and a public viewing is expected in the Rotunda after President Bush and other dignitaries pay their respects to Ford there. Reagan and Jimmy Carter did not serve in Congress. Eight presidents have had funeral processions down Pennsylvania Avenue, including all four sitting presidents to die by assassination -- Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and Kennedy. Two presidents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Kennedy and William H. Taft. Reagan was buried on the hilltop grounds of his presidential library in Simi Valley, California., in a dramatic sunset ceremony capping a week of official public mourning. Only sitting presidents and their immediate family have ever laid in the White House for viewing. Ex-president John Adams didn't even lay in the White House, though his son, John Quincy Adams, was the sitting president at the time of the death. The older Adams died on the same day as Thomas Jefferson -- July 4, 1826 -- possibly complicating his chances for a White House viewing. The Capitol has a more expansive policy for laying in state. Congressman Henry Clay, in 1852, was the first to lay in the Capitol Rotunda. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover laid in the Capitol in 1972. Police officers killed in 1998 while protecting the Capitol also lay in state there. The first presidential state funeral was for William H. Harrison, who in 1841 became the first president to die in office, just 30 days after his inauguration. Before Harrison, the funerals of former presidents were accompanied by little pomp in the capital. There were numerous ceremonies across the country for George Washington after his death December. 14, 1799, but his actual funeral was a local affair in Mount Vernon, Virginia. He was a good man who did alot to help others. God rest his soul, he deserves it. __________________ THE WORLD IS JUST AWESOME Last edited by Katie; 12-27-2006 at 08:28 AM.