July 14, 2010

July 14, 2010

Happy Birthday! No not to my mom, hers was yesterday. If you said France, you get partial credit since it is Bastille Day. But who really cares? We are in Michigan and this state's favorite son, Gerald Ford, would have been 97 today. Being Michiganners for time being, we help celebrate by visiting his Presidential Museum in downtown Grand Rapids. I must say Jerry is looking good for 97.

We spend a couple hours going thru his museum. Ford was the only unelected president. He was appointed VP in 1973 when Spiro Agnew resigned after getting caught taking kickbacks. A year later Nixon resigned elevating Ford. I never thought much of Ford until today. In his short tenure, he worked hard to reduce government spending, cut government bureaucracy, and deregulate the economy starting with the railroads and airlines. He seems to have started the revolution that Reagan gets credit for. His biggest mistake was pardoning Nixon. It cost him his own term. Allowing crooked politicians to avoid jail time by resigning sends the wrong message. Success in politics too often goes to the silver-tongued devil who can lie with the straightest face. One only needs to look at Illinois politics to see this truth.