Posted on 01/02/2007 4:55:50 PM PST by GretchenM
On this "National Day of Mourning throughout the United States," President and Mrs. Bush attended the funeral service for former President Gerald Ford at the National Episcopal Cathedral in DC today. President Bush was among those asked to eulogize (text and webcast at this link) his predecessor.
Henry Kissinger's eulogy was very informative about the international achievements of Ford's presidency. I've been looking for the text but haven't found it so far. If anyone does, please post it or link it on this Dose.
Goodbye, President Ford. Thank you
for your faith in Christ that helped bind
up and heal the wounds of this land
when we were riven and bleeding.
I was thinking as I watched that wind whipping the flags around and thinking the same thing -- if I were there, I'd be thinking, "It's a good thing I was really GOOD friends with this guy!", because you wouldn't do this for just anybody!
Cheney's remarks were great at the rotunda.
I thought his speak was interesting and respectful and showed a differnet perspective which was fitting in such a service.
I especially enjoyed the chicken head story.
Just, please, pray hard for his health. We can't have him croak off until after the 2008 election, else - if she's running - Shillery will get a sympathy vote and we'll all be stuck with her for 4 long, grueling years.
Not to be disrespectful, but I think Ford was a decent President.. Not a great one, but a decent one. I think what he did to Nixon was the right thing imho....
Transcript of eulogy by Henry A. Kissinger
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/02/news/fordtext2.php
Following is the transcript of the eulogy for former President Gerald R. Ford delivered today by Henry A. Kissinger in Washington, as recorded by The New York Times.
According to an ancient tradition, God preserves humanity despite its many transgressions because at any one period there exist 10 just individuals who, without being aware of their role, redeem mankind.
Gerald Ford was such a man. Propelled into the presidency by a sequence of unpredictable events, he had an impact so profound it's rightly to be considered providential.
Unassuming and without guile, Gerald Ford undertook to restore the confidence of Americans in their political institutions and purposes. Never having aspired to national office, he was not consumed by driving ambition. In his understated way, he did his duty as a leader, not as a performer playing to the gallery.
Gerald Ford had the virtues of small-town America: sincerity, serenity and integrity. As it turned out, the absence of glibness and his artless decency became a political asset, fostering an unusual closeness to leaders around the world, which continued long after he left office.
In recent days, the deserved commentary on Gerald Ford's character has sometimes obscured how sweeping and lasting were his achievements.
Gerald Ford's prudence and common sense kept ethnic conflicts in Cyprus and Lebanon from spiraling into regional war.
He presided over the final agony of Indochina with dignity and wisdom.
In the Middle East, his persistence produced the first political agreement between Israel and Egypt.
He helped shape the act of the Helsinki European Security Conference, which established an internationally recognized standard for human rights, now generally accepted as having hastened the collapse of the former Soviet empire.
He sparked the initiative to bring majority rule to southern Africa, a policy that was a major factor in ending colonialism there.
In his presidency, the International Energy Agency was established, which still forces cooperation among oil-consuming nations.
Gerald Ford was one of the founders of the continuing annual economic summit among the industrial democracies.
Throughout his 29 months in office, he persisted in conducting negotiations with our principal adversary over the reduction and control of nuclear arms.
Gerald Ford was always driven by his concern for humane values. He stumped me in his fifth day in office when he used the first call made by the Soviet ambassador to intervene on behalf of a Lithuanian seaman who four years earlier had in a horrible bungle been turned over to Soviet authorities after seeking asylum in America. Against all diplomatic precedent and, I must say, against the advice of all experts, Gerald Ford requested that the seaman, a Soviet citizen in a Soviet jail, not only be released but be turned over to American custody. Even more amazingly, his request was granted.
Throughout the final ordeal of Indochina, Gerald Ford focused on America's duty to rescue the maximum number of those who had relied on us. The extraction of 150,000 refugees was the consequence. And typically Gerald Ford saw it as his duty to visit one of the refugee camps long after public attention had moved elsewhere.
Gerald Ford summed up his concern for human values at the European Security Conference, when looking directly at Brezhnev he proclaimed America's deep devotion to human rights and individual freedoms. "To my country," he said, "they're not clich{-I}s or empty phrases."Historians will debate for a long time over which president contributed most to victory in the cold war. Few will dispute that the cold war could not have been won had not Gerald Ford emerged at a tragic period to restore equilibrium to America and confidence in its international role.
Sustained by his beloved wife, Betty, and with the children to whom he was devoted, Gerald Ford left the presidency with no regrets, no second-guessing, no obsessive pursuit of his place in history.
For his friends, he leaves an aching void. Having known Jerry Ford and having worked with him will be our badge of honor for the rest of our lives.
Early in his administration, Gerald Ford said to me: "I get mad as hell, but I don't show it, when I don't do as well as I should. If you don't strive for the best, you will never make it."We are here to bear witness that Jerry Ford always did his best, and that his best proved essential to renew our society and restore hope to the world.
President and Mrs Bush in St Louis Cathedral, New Orleans, LA 29 August 2006
President Bush really feels the power of prayer.
Absolutely it was in a different class than the others but overall I think all of them were good in their own way and added to the whole.
That was one of my faves for tonight also. Very warm. Did you see Poppy Bush put his hand on Laura's shoulder while they were waiting for GWB and Mrs. Ford to come in? Very comforting.
She is a marxist, and has no interest in or clue to proper protocol in a church.
No .. LOL!!
Do I pick the toaster or does snugs pick it?
Sorry for the confusion .. I had to run to the store for lunch snacks and cold meds for my daughter
Thanks for that info it put further context
You choose or proivide the photo and she'll do the toaster --- I guess you can request the color of toaster you want also.
Standing Ovation for you!
NOW, you're a pro!
***I wondered if it was some form of high church ritual or catholic is she catholic or from a catholic or high church background?***
No, NO, NOOOOOOOOO! (Speaking as a Catholic.)
mail when you have time
Thanks will do.
And he was so gentle and solicitous for her -- when she faltered a very slight bit, he looked down at her and checked to make sure she was okay.
No offense to the Maj. General Swan, but he needs to learn how to escort frail 80 or 90 year old women at funerals. He did some no warning 90-degree military turns that really set Mrs. Ford at risk of losing her balance a few times.
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