The United States needs another Gerald Ford to bring the nation together
December 27, 2006
I was saddened this morning when I picked up the Lansing State Journal and read about the death of Gerald Ford, our 38th president.
He saved this country from itself and its own demons during the day of Watergate when news of a national scandal dominated the media and conversation. Confidence in federal government plummeted to new depths. As a country, we were in crisis and Ford pulled us back from the edge of the cliff.
In contrast to the political leaders of today, Ford knew how to set partisanship aside and how to show respect to those who believed differently than him. And everybody trusted him. He defined integrity in a political leader.
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When I was the pressroom manager at Michigan's State Capitol, he held a news conference as former president.
I was impressed by his humility and his ability to engage everybody regardless of position.
This quote from Ford from today's Washington Post obituary seems to epitomize the late president:
"I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not only our government, but civilization itself. That bond, though strained, is unbroken at home and abroad."