Thoughts on President Ford

Quietly, I watched the video feed of President Ford's flag draped coffin taken from the hearse by honor member of the Third United States Infantry, The Old Guard, accompanied by Ruffles and Flourish, Hail to the Chief and a 21 gun salute and placed onboard Air Force One.

The official memorial page for President Ford can be found here.

I have always found myself in awe of the tribute paid to a former President upon their death, they have earned every moment. The office of the President is not for the meek, as past President’s have often discovered. I cannot help but notice their fast aging process a few years after taking this high office as the stress of it begins to make itself publically known.

President Ford always tended to attract bad media attention, from his pardoning of President Nixon to his well played falls that become comic fodder for the comic, Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live.

I recall reading a book that stated President Ford never wanted the office of the Presidency, but prior to that, actively sought the Speaker of the House position. When the Presidency was handed to him under the extreme circumstance of Watergate, illegal entry, burglaries and the brilliant reporting by Woodward and Bernstein President Ford rose to the occasion and the needs of his country.

I have brought this up not only to mourn the passing of a President, but to point out something that struck me while watching the events this morning. I have witnessed the passing of many President’s and although always somber moments, they have always reminded me that it matters not if we supported the person during their administration or that we were a member of their party. What mattered was they served their nation in its highest office and now they were only a name it its history.