The Good Man from Grand Rapids: Part II

In the first part of my blog about Gerald R. Ford, I primarily discussed his personal strengths and attributes. This is what the majority of the media and Gerry Ford's admirers have been dwelling on since Tuesday...but there was more to him than merely his honesty and humility. In fact, he was quite unique in regard to his brief tenure as President. Here are some fascinating distinctions about the man we called Mr. President for 895 days, from August 9, 1974 until January 20, 1977:

- He was the only man to ever ascend to both Vice President and President without being elected. Indeed, his dream was to become Speaker of the House, not President or Vice.
- Only four Presidents--William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, James Garfield, and Warren G. Harding --served briefer terms as U.S. President.
- He was faced with the task of properly ending the longest war in American history, not an enviable assignment.
- He was one of the few presidents--Lincoln, Carter, and Grant being notable others--who rose from obscurity and, at times, near-poverty to become the most powerful democratic leader on Earth.
- In 1976 Ford became the first President to approve female cadets at the nation's public military academies, a very bold and unexpected move.
- Upon his death on December 26, 2006, Ford died as the oldest U.S. President ever.
- Ford is still the only Eagle Scout to become President.
- He was married to his wife, Betty, for an incredible 58 years, despite her struggles with alcohol and breast cancer, and his own political difficulties.
- Despite being quite possibly the best athlete in Presidential history--an MVP center on two national title football teams at Michigan (1932-33)--Ford was unfairly portrayed by liberal operations like Saturday Night Live and Hollywood as a clumsy fool. Surprise, surprise.
- The bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence occurred during Ford's Presidency; this was a very special and thoroughly celebrated affair that helped boost the country's morale after Watergate and Vietnam.

In addition to these unique distinctions, Ford was actually able to accomplish a moderate amount in his 895 days as chief executive. On his insistence, American forces rescued around 237,000 pro-democracy Vietnamese refugees in 1975, saving them from certain death or persecution at the hands of the Communist regime. This was a major blow to the vengeful Viet Cong, onlooking China, and world Communism and tyranny. Around 140,000 of these refugees settled in the U.S., and have contributed greatly to our society in the past three decades. That same year, Ford deftly handled the Mayaguez crisis off the coast of Cambodia, in which 39 American hostages were successfully rescued by U.S. Marines despite heavy losses. This sent a clear message that failure in Vietnam did not mean America would lose its nerve in other international crises. In addition to this, Ford signed the historic Helsinki Accords with Brezhnev's Soviet Union, which furthered detente and led to internal changes within Eastern Europe that promoted greater freedom of expression and the planting of democratic ideas. This was one crucial step in the eventual downfall of the Soviet empire.

Finally, Ford was able to curb a great deal of the nation's severe inflation; he kept Dr. Henry Kissinger on as a very effective and influential, although controversial, Secretary of State; and he began placing more diplomatic pressure on South Africa's racist apartheid government, something no other President before him had done. Within a decade, that regime too would begin to collapse. It's too bad Gerry was not elected in 1976; these were not the actions of an incompetent dupe, as he has been so stupidly portrayed. Rather, they were the accomplishments of a loyal public servant who showed the same face in public as in private, a rarity in Washington and in life.

Quote of the Day: "I am a Ford, not a Lincoln. My addresses will never be as eloquent as Mr. Lincoln's. But I will do my very best to equal his brevity and his plain speaking." - Gerald R. Ford, December 1973, after being named as Nixon's new Vice President. These are the brief, plain words of an intelligent but humble man who knew himself and the seriousness of his new responsibilities. Within eight short months, he would be promoted even further by circumstances. Thank God it was him, and not Spiro T. Agnew...or anyone else.

The Good Man from Grand Rapids: Part I

Today is a sad day for my country, for my state, and for me personally. As of 10:00 p.m. yesterday, the 38th American President--Gerald Rudolph Ford, formerly of Grand Rapids, Michigan--is no more. A skilled politician, strong leader, successful lawyer, impressive athlete, and above all a good and decent man exhibiting the Midwestern, Protestant work ethic...he will be missed deeply, particularly in the Great Lakes State.

Gerald Ford may not have been the most dynamic or powerful or even successful President, but perhaps more than any other president since Lincoln and even Washington, he embodied integrity, honesty, and humility. This is saying an awful lot, considering he was faced by national crises more daunting than those faced by any other President besides Lincoln and FDR. Vietnam, Watergate, renewed Cold War tensions, and severe economic problems all faced him...and he handled each issue without sacrificing his honesty or classic West Michigan goodness. While in office as Congressman (1949-73), Vice President (1973-74), and President (1974-77), he displayed an integrity and decency rarely seen in American politics, but which symbolized all that is good in the potential and promise of America itself. He proved once and for all that the selfish paranoia of Nixon, the cavalier bravado of Johnson, and the immoral carousing of Kennedy--who was nonetheless Ford's good friend--did not have to be tolerated in the nation's highest office. What Bush has had to do to remove the stain of Clinton's sexual improprieties, so Ford needed to return America to the strong, moral 20th century certitude of Eisenhower, Truman, and Wilson...and he delivered.

Above all, he was a good husband, father, and friend. He loved people, trusted them as far as possible, and found joy in many classic staples of Americana: the Boy Scouts, football, military service, practicing the law, and representing the people first and foremost. Perhaps more than anything else, he thoroughly tolerated and embraced colleagues and even family members--including his beautiful, beloved wife of 58 years, Betty--with opposing viewpoints, while sticking to his own principles and creeds. This is a quality sorely lacking in our current American environment, thanks to both sides of the political aisle. While it is never necessary to compromise on issues of principle such as abortion and gay marriage, we must find common ground on the pressing matters of Iraq, national security, and illegal immigration. Two quotes spring to mind for me--first, that of Benjamin Franklin: "We must all hang together, or assuredly we will all hang separately"; and secondly, that of Lincoln: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Indeed it cannot. If we learn one thing from the life of Gerald R. Ford, it must be, in a word, unity. E pluribus unum, my friends, e pluribus unum.

A Sketch About Boz

There are two men I think about a great deal this time of year, for obvious reasons. The first is, of course, Jesus Christ--preacher, prophet, Redeemer of Humanity. (Oops, did I just offend you? If "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah" offends you, you...need...help.) This season, despite the bloodsucking efforts of retailers and advertisers and the vicious Soviet-style political correctness campaigns of the ACLU, is about Christ and Christ alone.

There is, however, a second individual I think of at great length this time of year, one I feel slightly more qualified to write about: my favorite author and literary idol, Charles John Huffam Dickens, the great English novelist and moralist. (He began his career with the pseudonym "Boz"...in fact, his first major work was a collection of his London newspaper stories called Sketches by Boz). This is largely because of his 1843 masterpiece A Christmas Carol, the dramatic and beautiful redemption story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. In addition, Dickens wrote a number of touching short stories and novellas related to Christmas, some of which I have read. There was once a time in my life when, every winter, I would either reread A Christmas Carol or read at least one of Dickens' other books--Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, even his travel narrative American Notes. In fact, I can remember feeling very disappointed one winter in high school when I finally failed to read an entire Dickens novel.

But this Dickens-Christmastime association is more than merely an attempt to enjoy the holiday season in style and tradition. After all, the very spirit and purpose of Dickensian literature is in line with the meaning of the season: generosity, compassion, love, peace, justice, morality, indeed salvation. Sure, this sounds quite sappy, especially for someone like me who rarely sheds a tear about anything. Dickens was a man who loved Britain and its heritage, but who acknowledged its many sins and shortcomings, and demanded change.

Dickens used his brilliant plots, genius in creating colorful characters with wonderful names (e.g. Chuzzlewit, Gradgrind, Pickwick, Pecksniff, Scrooge, and Mr. Bumble, to name only a few), and his God-given ability to write for the good of others. His legacy lives on even today, not simply in his cozy, convicting holiday tales, but in epic novels like A Tale of Two Cities and Barnaby Rudge, and in nonfiction social commentaries like American Notes. I think it is fair to say that, not only was C.D. the best British writer of the 19th century, but he was perhaps the second best crafter of the English language in its history...second only to Shakespeare, in my opinion. Who says second place is worse than last, given that company?

Quote of the Day: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charles Dickens, first paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities. Every part of that selection applies to our current national and international situation, as I suppose it would to any time in history. Like all his novels, ATOTC has universal meaning and appeal. Like every great philosopher, Dickens understood that human nature, for better or worse, never changes.

Lenin or Lennon? The Latter, Please.

When I began this blog, I promised to address topics beyond simply politics and history. I intend to keep my word on this point. Music happens to be one of my many infatuations, and I've been thinking about it a lot recently, as I often do.

Why, you ask? There are two reasons: first, the glorious and musical Christmas season that is upon us; and secondly, last Friday (December 8) marked the 26th anniversary of John Lennon's tragic murder in New York City by Mark David Chapman. I have my political and religious differences with Lennon, but he was an incredible musician and writer. His ideas certainly bordered on Stalinism, and I don't particularly care for his rather cavalier, spiteful approach to Christianity, especially his infamous Jesus comment. All that being said, I love his music. Paul McCartney--all his PETA antics and Heather Mills marriage aside--shall always be my favorite Beatle, but nonetheless I know that Lennon was unrivaled as a lyricist and musical innovator. In many ways he was the soul of the band, even if Paul was the mind and George Harrison the spirit of the Fab Four. (Ringo was...well, I'm still working on that. The comic relief, perhaps?) Without John the band would have lacked greatly in leadership, direction, and purpose. This is probably why, for better or worse, he became the most politically and socially vocal of the four. And, as so often happens in our world, his star burned the brightest, but fell the fastest--a la Mozart, Steve Prefontaine, John Keats, James Dean, you name it.

I certainly do not approve of Lennon's Leninist views...in fact, his beautiful ballad "Imagine" can be thought of as a more innocent, abbreviated version of The Communist Manifesto ("no religion too," "the world will be as one," etc.). Nonetheless, he was kind and considerate enough to use the democratic and artistic processes rather than Lenin's bloody, intolerant, despicable revolution. Despite a certain degree of hypocrisy when it came to the economic side of things--Lennon, after all, was rather rich--he lived up to his dogmas of peace, love, and music. His honest, genuine demeanor doesn't make the ideas of Communism any more palatable, but at least Lennon entertained and amused us with classic rock songs like "I Am the Walrus," "Back in the U.S.S.R." (that wasn't blatant Soviet fondness, was it?), and the bouncy although blasphemous "Ballad of John and Yoko." And who can forget "All You Need Is Love"? Indeed it is. R.I.P. John, we hardly knew ye.

Quote of the Day: "There's nothing you can do that can't be done/Nothing you can sing that can't be sung. There's nothing you can make that can't be made/No one you can save that can't be saved." - John Lennon, "All You Need Is Love" from The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, 1967. It was this simple, yet profound optimism and humanity that endeared Lennon's music and ideas to so many people. Whatever you might think of him personally, he was certainly a lightning rod in both music and society.