According to the White House website, http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/GeraldFord, Ford maintained our country's prestige after Cambodia and South Viet Nam collapsed, prevented war in the Middle East, and set new nuclear weapons limitations with Soviet leader Brezhnev.
Unfortunately, when I covered his press conference announcing the opening of a nursing facility for the local radio station some 20 years ago, I didn't quite remember things that way.
Oh sure, I remembered that Ford had attended the University of Michigan decades before me and played football there. U-M named a library after him. He had a beautiful family. But mostly, and probably undeservedly, I recalled his reputation for being, well, a bit clumsy--probably due to Chevy Chase's impression of him on Saturday Night Live. See http://www.zimbio.com/10+Awesome+Moments+in+Political+Satire/articles/9YKaxlCQOJb/7+Chevy+Chase+Redefines+Gerald+Ford.
So, here's pretty much how things went...how my 21-year-old mind worked:
I'm rushing into the conference room sort of hunched over (because I am late, as usual, and I think that people won't notice)...I grab a seat up front, but on the aisle in case I need to make a speedy getaway (I do have a lot of outstanding parking tickets and the secret service agents are eying me)...Ford is talking about figures (I check my lap to make sure my press kit contains all the information I'll need for my report)...wait, he's falling...no, he's OK...wow, I can't believe I'm here...I can reach out and touch him...it seems those agents are really looking me over (maybe I look suspicious craning my neck around)...he's talking...he's not going to fall, is he?...he seems stable enough...they're still staring...I realize those agents are wearing sunglasses indoors to throw us for a loop...I'm listening...he's wrapping things up...people are helping the former president off the stage...the stage that's framed by ropes and posts...he's OK to walk, isn't he?...he's not falling?
And then it hits me (no, not a secret service man). That barricade between the president and the press? That wasn't for Ford's protection...it was for ours.
The power of television.
None of that bias made my report.
How about you? Have you an experience with a former or current president you'd like to share with us?
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How funny! I agree politicians are more of an image established by the press than the real (& sometimes scary) people they are. The older, the more distorted. Thanks for sharing your "real" perspective.
ReplyDeleteYes, Cindy, it's almost like public figures are caricatures of the people they once were...or at least we perceive them that way. Then, of course, there is the whole public relations effort... countering all the distortions with saintly tidbits. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen Gerald Ford was president, he came to a concert at Interlochen Music Camp where I was one of the campers. He sat in the row in front of me about 8 people over. It was the summer after my freshman year in high school. Obviously a memorable occasion since I can still picture him all these years later. His museum in Grand Rapids is very impressive and worth visiting. He did not deserve the reputation of being a clutz just because he tripped once coming out of a plane.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the blogging, Jackie!
"I know, right?" to quote my kids. :) Some even say he was our most ATHLETIC president...he was a card carrying member of the college football team, was always very fit looking, and played tennis and other sports well into his elder years. I'm glad you had that opportunity; seeing a president seems to really stick with people. But I have to ask you...were you at any time afraid he might trip or fall? :)
ReplyDeleteMy brush with political fame - seeing Jessie Jackson spit on the curb at O'Hare a few years ago while leaving for Florida on spring break...eeewww!!!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh yuuuukkk, LisaJane. Isn't that spitting even illegal in some states...Georgia and Texas maybe? Guess he's in the clear in Illinois. Yuk.
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