FORD VALUES TRUMP SHOCK
AND AWE
 What
a surprise it was to see Cheney giving a eulogy at President Ford's Lying-in-State.
Gone was the menacing Darth Vader glare and tone. Instead, he sounded almost
human. But the platitudes of praise bubbling from his lips were weirdly
strange since he himself embodied none of them.
None of the genuineness
of Ford had rubbed off on Cheney from the days when he worked so closely
with that President; instead it seems he is only able to imitate them at
times. The V. P. can recognize honesty, integrity, truth telling and love
of country but he cannot emulate it.
Listening to
Republicans on FOX News and other channels, one could hear the difficulty
they had in lauding a man who was everything they were not.
It must have hurt them to praise a fellow Republican who was even more
of a Democrat/Liberal than those who call themselves that today.
Fortunately for
the country, most of the news media were finally up to the challenge of
reporting history instead of regurgitating the offal from the Oval Office.
Especially appreciated was the insight of historians who placed the term
of President Ford in historical prospective instead of just noting that
he pardoned Nixon and stumbled sometimes.
However it was what
we observed during the ceremonies involved in bringing the late president's
body to the Capital Rotunda that made us compare his values to those of
Bush.
Bush was missing
-- not willing to leave his vacation in Crawford, perhaps?
We think there was more to it. He should have been there to welcome the
Ford family and tender his personal condolences on behalf of the nation,
even if he didn't attend the ceremony.
We think he just
feared to be on the same stage with an honest man and may also have been
miffed because it was publicly revealed that Ford strongly disapproved
of the Iraq war.
A media that has
only recently found its cajones would not fail to make odious comparisons
to an attentive national audience, such as: Ford lived his values -- he
was dedicated to his family and the Constitution while Bush only gives
his values lip service.
Bush opted instead
for the limited exposure and comparison that a next day eulogy in the Washington
Cathedral would afford, with his father and the other former presidents
in the congregation.
Another strange
absence was Rummy, who reportedly was very close friends with Ford. There
were indications that this friendship had cooled since Ford quite obviously
was highly critical of his war activities, including Abu Ghraib, resulting
in so many loss of lives.
Prevented from coming
by the weather? We think not. The former war chief would have no problem
getting transportation laid on especially for him by the military units
in the area.
And finally, despite
the sweet words that slizzered out of Cheney's mouth, their friendship
had lessened for similar reasons. President Ford was never reticent in
letting people know what was on his mind.
Then there was the
reaction of the Ford children who coolly acknowledged Cheney but we saw
no evidence that he was the long time family friend he pretended to be.
They also snubbed Bush.
Actions and body
language speak louder than words just as forgiveness trumps shock and awe..
gapperserve-at-peoplepc.com
http://gendergappers.blogspot.com
2007-002
Copyright
2007 Renee T. Louise and Ruth M. Sprague, Ph.D. These articles may be republished
for noncommercial use only, provided that they are copied intact, and that
this copyright notice is attached. Address all queries to: gapperserve@peoplepc.com.
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