Oldest Living Former President Death Watch

Brian Doherty | August 16, 2006

Start getting ready now to remember where you were when you heard President Ford died: the 93-year-old unelected president has entered the Mayo Clinic "for evaluation."

Some random things to remember him by, when the time comes: Consistently in the mid-20s in presidential greatness rankings, he pardoned both Nixon and the woman accused of being "Tokyo Rose" (who did not, as any single person, actually exist), and proved you could get most Americans to line up and be injected with something by the government for rather flimsy reasons. With him would die any remaining secrets of the Warren Commission, of which he is now the last surviving member.

Comments

|8.16.06 @ 7:52AM|#

Last surviving member?? When did Arlen Spector die? And if Arlen is dead, how come they still let him vote in the Senate?

|8.16.06 @ 7:57AM|#

oops. Before anyone fires a single bullet, I'll admit my error: Arlen was just an assistant counsel.

|8.16.06 @ 7:58AM|#

God bless you Peter, you beat me by seconds! But is it really possible for the same person to post using Reason's hit and run servers twice in that period of time? I'm doubting it....

|8.16.06 @ 8:06AM|#

I remember, in first grade, of voting for Ford in a class exercise. I decided purely by the photos. I thought Carter looked like a total git.

|8.16.06 @ 8:09AM|#

Yeah, Carter was an asshole.

Jesse Walker|8.16.06 @ 9:02AM|#

In the 1976 election, I (then age 6) supported Carter because my parents were for Carter.

My brother (then age 4) supported Ford "because he's president."

Maybe it's just an obstinate refusal to back down, but he still insists Ford was one of our greatest chief execs. I have to say he makes a good case. Personally, I'd take either Ford or Carter over the fellow we have now.

Jesse Walker|8.16.06 @ 9:04AM|#

...though if we went back to Ford, I guess we'd still be stuck with Cheney and Rumsfeld.

|8.16.06 @ 9:07AM|#

If you're going to link to Wikipedia articles (presidential greatness rankings), please use the actual Wikipedia link, not the link-whoring, advertisement-ridden Answers.com mirror.

|8.16.06 @ 9:24AM|#

In the 1976 election, I (then age 6) supported Carter because my parents were for Carter.

I had just turned 18 and was eligible to vote for the first time in 1976.

My priorities were a lot simpler then - I voted for Carter because I thought he'd be the one most likely to legalize marijuana.

It was the last time I ever voted for a Democrat. Realistically, Ford would probably have been the better choice. Better, in this case, meaning the least destructive.

Dying will probably be the unfortunate Ford's most noteworthy achievement. The last I even remember him being mentioned was in a Joe Sobran column several years ago, noting him for his very lack of noteworthiness.

|8.16.06 @ 9:27AM|#

Sheesh, you lazy people! This post has been up for hours and no has linked to the definitive piece of Gerald-Ford's-untimely-death humor?

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/96/96dbrokaw.phtml

|8.16.06 @ 9:29AM|#

Didn't Ford use the veto more than any other prez? Gotta give him some props for that if it's true.

|8.16.06 @ 9:37AM|#

Ford may be my favorite president because he didn't really do anything. Fly around on a plane, fall down, play some golf. That's my ideal president.

The Wine Commonsewer|8.16.06 @ 1:17PM|#

play some golf

I think Ford's in the Guinness Book of World Records for hitting more people in the head with a golf ball than any person ever.

|8.16.06 @ 2:10PM|#

Ford is notable for relenquishing a collection of Executive Powers (granted by congress) that had been accumulating since the Franklin Roosevelt administration. That was the most libertarian act of any president in the 20th century.

Robert|8.16.06 @ 6:37PM|#

Get out your WIN buttons!

"Ford is notable for relenquishing a collection of Executive Powers (granted by congress) that had been accumulating since the Franklin Roosevelt administration. That was the most libertarian act of any president in the 20th century."

Oh, horseshit. I could name any number of single acts by any number of presidents that'd beat that. You might as well call someone libertarian for turning in a bunch of old guns in a buyback.

|8.16.06 @ 7:30PM|#

Robert, I'm waiting. What can a president do that is more libertarian than reducing the power of the presidency?

|8.16.06 @ 9:47PM|#

What can a president do that is more libertarian than reducing the power of the presidency?

How about only sign bills that rescind laws and veto all others?

Robert|8.16.06 @ 11:15PM|#

Better than that, signing bills that rescind bad laws, and not good ones.

Sometimes even just rhetoric, like, "Tear down this wall."

|8.17.06 @ 7:23PM|#

President Fords greatest achievement is being a good husband and father. He is also a man of character and conviction. We were lucky to have him as our president.