Our Short National Nightmare

Slate ^ | 12-29-06 | Christopher Hitchins

[nancyvideo]

One expects a certain amount of piety and hypocrisy when retired statesmen give up the ghost, but this doesn't excuse the astonishing number of omissions and misstatements that have characterized the sickly national farewell to Gerald Ford. One could graze for hours on the great slopes of the massive obituaries and never guess that during his mercifully brief occupation of the White House, this president had:

1. Disgraced the United States in Iraq and inaugurated a long period of calamitous misjudgment of that country.

[nancyvideo]

Wow. I wasn't aware of this....

[Tribune7]

Wow. I wasn't aware of this...

Blaming Ford for this is a pretty cheap shot considering the dominance the radical left had in the U.S. media and in Congress.

I'm suprised Hitchens didn't bring up the boat people and the conquest of the Khmer Rouge.

,

[laconic]

Christopher Hitchens' Trotskyite beliefs are never far under the surface.

[Carry_Okie]

You may choose, if you wish, to parrot the line that Watergate was a "long national nightmare," but some of us found it rather exhilarating to see a criminal president successfully investigated and exposed and discredited.

I'll wait for Slate thumping for Clinton on treason charges before I buy a word of this.

[oh8eleven]

... we still do not even know why the burglars were originally sent into the offices of the Democratic National Committee.
More importantly, we still don't know why OJ Clinton sent Sandy Burglar into the National Archives.

[kerryusama04]

Such class, such dignity.

[alisasny]

Its a no win situation. If you look at if Ford had done the opposite on Hitchens screeds what would the result have been?

Frankly not much different in the long run.

What came after Ford is the reality of things. And just imagine had Reagan won the nomination and lost to Carter how history would be so different.

Armchair quarterbacking for cash ( making money on op- eds) is good sport but not reality.

[AZRepublican]

I see now where the term "rag" comes from.

[SubMareener]

Yes, but he is such a fun guy to party with!

[weegee]

They never lost sleep over LBJ's crimes in office. Nor Bubba Clinton's.

It was "exhilarating" because they find glee in others misery.

[saveliberty]

Reagan's contingent in the 1976 Republican National Convention argued vigorously with Ford and contested him especially on foreign policy.

Hitchens is an enjoyable read, even when he has a personal axe to grind.

[Wormwood]

Once again Hitchens writes things that are crass, poorly-timed, and uncomfortably true.

[zook]

I'm sympathetic to Hitchen's portrayal of Ford. Yes, he served his country, was a decent man, but was at best an undistinguished congressman, speaker, and chief of state.

[BenLurkin]

"More importantly, we still don't know why OJ Clinton sent Sandy Burglar into the National Archives."

Bears repeating.

[Pharmboy]

Geez...Ford's body is hardly cold yet. Hitchens could have waited at least until the 30 day National Mourning period was over...what was the rush?

[Admin Moderator]

The title you created had to be changed to the original published title.

Please do not alter titles. Thanks.

[Clara Lou]

Well put, IMO.

[zook]

Maybe because in 30 days everyone will have forgotten all about him.

[yoe]

The world is like a Chess Board - Henry Kissinger as the pawns.......often on the other side. Who ever elected Kissinger or Dick Morris?

[SeeSalt]

"The Ugly Truth About Gerald Ford"


Consider the source!