Photo memories of Gerald Ford (vanity)

Yahoo! News Photos ^ | 12/27/06 | staff

[redstates4ever]

"Portrait of Gerald R. Ford, named Leslie Lynch King, Jr. until 1916, around ten months old." "A photo provided by the Gerald R. Ford Library shows Gerald Ford a student in elementary school in 1923." "A photo provided by the Gerald R. Ford Library shows Gerald Ford in 1936 as a ranger at Yellowstone National Park." "A photo provided by the Gerald R. Ford Library shows Navigation Officer Gerald Ford using a sextant aboard the USS Monterey in 1944." "A photo provided by the Gerald R. Ford Library shows Gerald Ford as a naval officer in 1945." "Former US President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford sit in the backseat of a car following their marriage in Grand Rapids, Michigan in October 1948." "Rep. Gerald Ford, R-Mich., is shown in an August 1964 file photo as he served as a member of the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy." "President Gerald R .Ford often sits with his dog Liberty, a golden retriever, in the Oval Office." "President Ford skiing at Vail, CO. December 1974." "Former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford talks with his Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld (L) and Rumsfeld's assistant Richard Cheney (R) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington in this April 28, 1975 file photo." "President Ford plays golf during a working vacation on Mackinac Island in Michigan July 13, 1975." "Former President Gerald R. Ford and Betty Ford acknowledge applause after they both received the Congressional Medal of Honor during a ceremony in the rotunda of the Capitol in Washington in this October 27, 1999 file photo."

[daisyscarlett]

Great post. Thanks.

RIP Mr. President. A great American.

[defconw]

My grandma from Henry County Ohio was one of his biggest fans and county campaign chairwomen. She never forgave Reagan for undermining him in 1976. My grandma was right. Jerry Ford was a good man and the real deal.

[Dems_R_Losers]

I still have my "President Ford '76" T-shirt, poster, buttons, and bumper stickers. Ford was the first President I campaigned for. Meeting him at the 1976 Republican National Convention was one of the highlights of my life. I still cannot belileve the people oif this country turned this great man out of office in favor of that moron Jimmy Carter. How different the world might be today had that not happened!

RIP President Ford. I will never forget you.

[defconw]

I don't have one, but I still remember the WIN buttons. I have no idea why or how Jimmy Carter came to office, but it was a huge mistake, HUGE!

[meg88]

Nixon's funeral, also a record for most POTUS and FLOTUS at one event.

[defconw]

I wonder how many kittens the secret service had that day?

[UKRaddell]

Fantastic photos; cheers for posting them.
Condolences from this side of the pond.

[Democratshavenobrains]

The Left never forgave Ford for letting Jimmy Carter and all his stupidity be elected. If it wasn't for Carter, the 80's might have been a lot more socialist.

[AnnaZ]

Clearly a man with extraordinary physical and athletic skills and yet the left lampooned him as a stumbling, bumbling fool.

That was one of my first comments this morning.

The media is/has always been evil.

[GretchenM]

Best of the Web Today - December 27, 2006

By JAMES TARANTO

Gerald Ford, RIP

Gerald Ford, the only president never to be elected to either that office or the vice presidency is dead. Ford, 93, breathed his last in Rancho Mirage, Calif., last night; the proximate cause of death is undisclosed, but it "followed a year of medical problems," the Associated Press reports.

In 1973, when Spiro Agnew resigned, Ford became the first vice president appointed under the 25th Amendment. The following year he ascended to the presidency when Richard Nixon, facing impeachment over the Watergate scandal, called it quits. Ford pardoned Nixon, declaring "our long national nightmare is over," then sought election is his own right in 1976. He narrowly beat Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, then fell well behind in the polls against Jimmy Carter, before coming back to lose narrowly, 50.1% to 48%.

Ford was the oldest ever ex-president, living 34,133 days; he surpassed Ronald Reagan's record last month. He also served longer in Congress than any other president, 9,103 days, or more than one-fourth of his life. He is survived by his wife, Betty, who said in a statement, "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country."

- - - - - -

1975: President Ford, Ford's Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld, and Rumsfeld's assistant, Richard Cheney

[GretchenM]

Look at how much smaller was the size of bubba j. clinton's head then vs. today.

[colorado tanker]

President Ford will have as his legacy that he replaced Richard Nixon and began a healing process in the wake of Watergate and Vietnam, a process which was completed by Ronald Reagan. For that, he deserves our respect and gratitude.

Very true!

In actuality, Ford was probably the most athletic man ever elected to the presidency. He really could ski without falling!

[Rb ver. 2.0]

I remember as a kid there was a time where there were no former POTUS alive, until Ford succeeded Nixon.

[meg88]

Look at Hillarys bob hair!

[GretchenM]

That caught my eye, too. And note the drab color vs. her "high shine blonde" now.

[Yorlik803]

It was a huge mistake that Carter got elected...but it lead to the best thing that could have happened, Reagan being elected....
Ford was a quiet man with diginty and grace. And he loved dogs.....

[Common Tator]

I watched a portion of a documentary on President Ford narrated by Tom Brokaw today. I was so angry I had to change channels.

Back when Ford was President, Brokaw used every opportunity to portray Ford as an awkward and stupid man. The implication was Nixon chose Ford as his vice president because of his stupidity. Today Brokaw was singing Fords praises. I doubt if he even once mentioned that he (Brokaw)had been wrong in his assessment of Ford in the 1970s.

First let me tell you of my personal experience with Gerald Ford. Ford when he was Minority leader of the House was close friends with an Republican congressman from Ohio. I owned a highly rated radio station in this Ohio Congressman's district. When I went to Washington D.C., which I did fairly frequently, I always called on my Congressman. >He would nearly always invite me to have lunch with him and quite often his good friend Congressman Ford would dine with us.

Ford was a very bright man. Talk with him for a minute or two and his intelligence was apparent. He had also been a starter on a Michigan football team that won the national championship.

How many awkward and stumbling people ever get a starting position on a National Championship Michigan Football team?

That means he must be a less than bright athlete, right? Wrong!!! Ford graduated 3rd in his law school class at Yale. He also won a phi beta kappa key. How many dummies do you think graduate 3rd from the Yale law school while earning a phi beta kappa key? None would be a good answer.

Gerald Ford was not a great public speaker. But he was a brilliant man as anyone who tried to debate him one on one certainly knows.

He took over this nation at the depth of Watergate. There was 14 percent inflation and over 9 percent unemployment. He took the heat to put Watergate behind us. He took the proper steps to cut inflation and unemployment in half. He healed a very sick nation and in return got attacked daily in the main stream media.

It angers me that media types trash men like Ford and Reagan when they are alive and then praise them when they are dead.

I take comfort in the fact that the media anchors receive praise while they are alive, but I believe they will be trashed for centuries after their deaths.

Even the media anchors now understand what a great job Gerald Ford did as president... even with the total opposition of the media.

May the media and its hypocracy rot in Hell!!!

[redstates4ever]

Thanks for sharing all that. I'm glad I missed seeing Tom Broke-jaw on TV. Miserable hypocrite. So typical of the elitist Left.

I enjoyed your recollections about Ford. It isn't every day you hear things like that from someone who used to sometimes lunch with a President-to-be. Lucky you!

[GOP_Lady]

Gee, which couple just does not seem to belong in the picture? Hmmm...

[4Liberty]

Will Pres. Clinton be at the Ford funeral

LAUGHING..............and then suddenly CRYING?