Posted on 12/31/2006 3:25:11 AM PST by trumandogz
Edited on 12/31/2006 4:23:27 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
WASHINGTON
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
"Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a pass, too as did about 500 of the 535 members of Congress."
Pelosi should be ashamed of herself for not attending the service.
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
this is the non event of the century. Before he died nobody cared about him one way or the other. No reason everyone should pretend to care now.
While I am not a big Ford Fan, I do think that the nation's leaders should show up at his funeral.
Where was Pelosi?
Where were the Clintons?
So should President Bush.
It seems to me it is more likely bad timing than anything else.
I actually thought "the main event" (pardon the analogy) was on Tuesday at the National Cathedral.
When Reagan's body was in the Rotunda, I remember people coming and paying their respects, but I don't remember seeing a lot of dignitaries at the ceremony that was similar to the one last night.
I thought the attendance at that ceremony was limited due to the size of the Rotunda. I may be wrong on this one, but even though it was termed his funeral, the ceremony at the National Cathedral is when all the out of country dignitaries and political figures will show up.
Last summer our staff at our K-12 district lost a student to a car accident. (She was going to be a junior in high school.) I was very surprised at how few teachers from my district were there.
As should President Bush.
It is sad but President Ford was no Ronald Reagan...
Boy, that doesn't look good, does it? Washington Post at it again, or could/should G.W. have been there?
Just wondering.
""Everybody's got to deal with their own schedule," Sensenbrenner, who brought his wife and son to the funeral, said of his absent colleagues. In his minority view, funerals "are important," he said. "When you're in an official position, it's one of the things that's the right thing to do."
Why didn't W Bush show up? It's former president state funeral... only very few former presidents were still alive before Ford died: Ford, a lunatic peanut farmer, a BJ-president, and his own father.
Actually, all of them are shameful, including Bush. This man was our President for awhile. Makes me even think less of our Congress than before, if that is possible.
Everyone will be at the service on Tuesday.
This is a holiday weekend, and if I had been the family, I would have waited until Tuesday to start the whole affair.
I think you're correct. Tuesday is the funeral, the day for official Washington to show up.
It's important, cuz if you don't go to their funeral, they won't go to yours.. Sensenbrenner gets that.
sad ping
I don't care. To me showing up at a funeral for someone you don't care about and pretending to care is worse than not going.
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