President Gerald R. Ford - RIP

Bright Scouter

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On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country,,,

So begins the Scout Oath. And I believe that President Ford, Eagle Scout class of 1927, lived his life by those words.

We HAVE lost a good and honorable man.
 

bitslammer

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I'm a bit young to rememebr much of his tenure but what I did see later on was that there were few people that ever spoke negatively of him. I suppose the worst thing I can recall him doing was hitting really bad golf shots on the pro-am tournaments. The crowds were never safe but he always took it in stride.
 

James S

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I was very young when he took over, I remember specifically watching Nixon's resignation speech with my family though. And I remember how upset my grandmother was when Ford declined to run again at the next election.

Many of our elder statesmen it seems go a little goofy and start writing strange things in books, but Ford never seemed to succumb to that.
 

chmsam

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Maybe Chevy Chase should be a pall bearer.

I have heard it said that Gerald Ford did nothing when nothing was exactly the right thing to do -- this in reference to his pardon of Nixon. He got the nation to move on when it was a very difficult time and personally took the heat for it. Actually, he helped the nation out of really bad economic times (gas shortages and prices that caused the regulation of which days of the week you could fill up among other things -- if you think the pump prices are bad today, imagine using a system like that now).

Yes, he was an eagle scout, but also an adopted child. To partially dispel a myth, I believe he was a 13 handicap golfer well into his 80's. A college football star, too.
 

cheapo

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i read a book on him. he led a very interesting life. first eagle scouter... something to be proud of, for i myself will not accomplish that enormous feat.

-David
 

Bright Scouter

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Actually, he was never formally adopted. His parents divorced when he was 5 months old and his mother remarried. He was renamed after his step father two years later. His original name was Leslie Lynch King, Jr. But he was raised as if he had been officially adopted.
 

benchmade_boy

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cheapo said:
i read a book on him. he led a very interesting life. first eagle scouter... something to be proud of, for i myself will not accomplish that enormous feat.

-David
my bother is an eagle scout, he worked long and hard to get there.
 

James S

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The way I remember it, he did run. He lost to Carter in the next election.

Interesting, how clear one can remember things that turn out to be wrong ;) Well, I was only 6 at the time so I suppose one might imagine it was interesting I could remember it at all :D

I tried posting this earlier, and now your message says it was edited by me, but I didn't mean to edit it... did I mess it up? it still says the same thing it did before I messed it up...
 

Empath

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James S said:
I tried posting this earlier, and now your message says it was edited by me, but I didn't mean to edit it... did I mess it up? it still says the same thing it did before I messed it up...

You probably hit the "edit" of the wrong post. It can happen. I put it back the way it was (I think). :)
 

cheapo

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benchmade_boy said:
my bother is an eagle scout, he worked long and hard to get there.

4 of my brothers are eagle scouts including cornkid... and my other brother is still in scouts... i'll be the only one of us that doesnt make eagle scout.... that makes it so much harder for me to get into UVA.

-david
 

TedTheLed

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I would have liked to be an eagle scout like my brother but the the boyscout troop I was in turned out to be the FAKE boyscouts..
I found this out after my troop had been operating for years in the church next door on 26th street and 9th avenue in Manhattan -- for some reason I couldn't get the leader to give out any merit badges..no matter how many knots we tied..no stinking badges.. as I told you; fake boyscouts..oh well..
so that's why I never became a president.
 

Josey

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It's been weird to watch the mainstream media shower Ford with plaudits (the president who restored civility, integrity and honor to the White House) while the alternative press points out his shortcomings (approving the Indonesian genocide in East Timor, where one-third of the population was killed).
 

icecube

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Josey said:
It's been weird to watch the mainstream media shower Ford with plaudits (the president who restored civility, integrity and honor to the White House) while the alternative press points out his shortcomings (approving the Indonesian genocide in East Timor, where one-third of the population was killed).

Yes, that piques my interest too.

"brought trust back to the White House" was heard the radio goin' home.

Don't be mean to be a smart@$$, but...Yeah, really. Like we all trust government officials. They're probably pampering him to distract attention or give us something to chew on...:tinfoil::grin2:
 
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