Gerald Ford died December 26th at 93

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10949314/

Very sad. Think about the mess he walked into and how much he accomplished in his less-than three years in office. Some of his decisions were not popular at the time (main one of course being the pardoning of Nixon) but what he really felt were right for the country. History is showing that he did make a lot of right choices. Well, Bob Hope got his golf partner back...

I have to put in a plug for this book by David Hume Kennerly. He was Ford's official White House photographer, and the first to be given full access (he worked this out with Ford, a friend, before he was sworn in). This makes for a very interesting look into those days in our history. Think about it, a civilian given full access to anything he wanted to take pictures of. Would that have happened today (he being the first)?

NPR will play an interview with Kennerly this afternoon, or you can listen to it here although it's not uploaded as of this moment.

That's two. Deaths always occur in threes. Who will be the third?

Keep watching.

Imagine that...a likeable Republican... :D

Seriously, what won many over about ole' Jerry was how different he was from Nixon, and how he took office at a time when we desperately needed a change in perception about our President's character.

Sure, Ford became the brunt of jokes about being slow and uncoordinated (think Chevy Chase - and this an All-American football player we're talking about), but in reality he was well thought of as an honest, straight-forward, hard working man from the nation's heartland.

True, Ford's pardon of Nixon may well have cost him the 1976 election, but at that point the country was more than ready for a new direction, so I think any Republican would have had difficulty winning.

Ironically, it was Ronald Regan's attack from the political right in the primaries that divided the party that year, but also set the stage for his (Regan's) eventual landslide victory four years later.

BTW, one of the best politcal campaign signs I ever saw (and quite the collectible I'd imagine) was Re-elect President Ford. An honest mistake I suppose, considering he was already in office, but obviously he was never elected in the first place...

I was 3 months too young to vote for him in 1976, but would have. David Hume Kennerly was one of my photographic mentors, if you can call someone that having never met them, I loved the work and really appreciated the access that he had with the president.

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Originally Posted by Asylum Steve

True, Ford's pardon of Nixon may well have cost him the 1976 election, but at that point the country was more than ready for a new direction, so I think any Republican would have had difficulty winning.

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Agreed. I did see him speak when he was in town as President. Being about six I don't remember much of it :) but he's the only one I've personally seen. Interesting about the campaign slogan - minor oversight! :D

I just had a chance to listen to the interview myself and it shows Kennerly's great sense of humor. I've met him as well and spoke with him briefly. It was very interesting hearing more stories along those lines; I have two of his books and hope he never puts the camera down.

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Originally Posted by walterick

Who will be the third?...

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Ford was the third. Peter Boyle died a couple of weeks ago...

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Originally Posted by Asylum Steve

Ford was the third. Peter Boyle died a couple of weeks ago...

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Holy crap! :D You're right...

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Originally Posted by another view

Holy crap! :D You're right...

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One of my favorite moments from Everybody Loves Raymond was a Halloween episode, where Boyle is dressed up as Frankenstein. Took me a few moments to make the connection... :D

That's right! I forgot about him too...

Well, that makes 3 then!

... or maybe the third was Saddam?...