Farewell, Mr. President

Yet another famous person died this week, former President Gerald R. Ford.  I liked ol’ Gerry myself—he wasn’t such a bad guy (even for a Republican), and I almost got to shake hands with him too.  My dad and I went to see him speak at the dedication of Harry Truman’s statue at Independence Square in ’76.  We got within about ten feet of him, but there were too many people in front of us before the Secret Service boys whisked him away.  I still have my WIN (Whip Inflation Now) magnet on my coolerator (fridge), come to think of it!

I think Chevy Chase’s lame Ford "imitation" pratfall bits on "Saturday Night Live" gave Gerry a bad rap that he didn’t really deserve (and it gets old real quick when you watch the "SNL" DVDs now).  And since he was only in office two years and change—spending almost all of that time cleaning up after The Big Dick—it’s really hard to get a good read on how good a President he was, but he can rest in peace secure in the knowledge that he’s light years ahead of Dubya in the all-time standings!  Bon voyage, Gerry…