Gerry Ford

It was a sad week as Michigan has lost their famous son Gerald R. Ford. Some of my earliest political memories revolve around Ford.

During the 76 election, my Dad was undecided who to vote for. He was a lifelong Democrat but Ford was from Grand Rapids and my Dad liked him. He was so undecided that he took me into the voting booth with him on election day and had me pull the lever on his behalf. As a precocious three year old, I didn't have the same political savvy that I have today so I voted mistakenly voted for Jimmy Carter. One can only assume that the reason Carter won that election were the votes of many other ignorant three year olds across the country. By 1980 we had all matured enough to not vote for him and that was his downfall.

One interesting thing that I learned only a couple years ago was that Ford was actually born Leslie King, Jr. His mother got pregnant out of wedlock by Leslie King, Sr. when they lived in Nebraska. She would keep the baby and get married to King, Sr. but he was an abusive drunk and threatened to kill her and the baby early into the marriage. Ford's mother would quickly divorce him and eventually migrated to Grand Rapids where she would meet Ford, Sr. who would marry her and raise her son as his own.

Much is made of Ford's startling rise to the presidency. He is often referred to as the unexpected or accidental president. This title is usually given because he was appointed Vice President and then became President without ever being elected. I maintain that his achievement is all the more unexpected given his early childhood. What if his mother did what many women of that day did and stayed with her abusive husband? Would Ford have become President or merely been a King instead? What if Ford Sr. hadn't truly embraced him as a son? I find it fascinating that his success in life was partly the result of choices made by other people.

But Ford made the most of his opportunity and that is why I consider him a model of the American spirit. Regardless of how he came to power, history has proven him to be the right man at the right time to lead our country. I know that many of my conservative friends look down on Ford because was moderate and bi-partisan and they view both of those characteristics as four letter words. But those traits were needed to help bind up the wounds that resulted from Nixon's disgrace. How much more would those traits help heal the nation's divide today? Who will be the next Gerald R. Ford?