In Memoriam: Betty Ford

Mrs. Ford poses barefoot on the Cabinet Room table, two days before her husband was succeeded by Jimmy Carter.  As a young woman, she was a dancer with the Martha Graham company in New York City for a time.

The former First Lady's funeral today in California was marked by eulogies from other First Ladies. PBS this evening has a fine summary of her life and accomplishments:



I remember the uproar - not nearly as bad as it would be today - over her "outspoken" positions.  Practically unimaginable now for a Republican wife - but the parties weren't so drop-dead polarized then, and the Religious Right hadn't yet turned politics into a holy war.

In fact, even though my family was mostly Democratic, and I always just thought the Dems looked and sounded nicer than the Republicans, I was grown and had a full beard before I could ever see a real policy difference between the two parties - somehow all the talking and campaigning just merged together in my mind, and I'm not the only one who felt that way. We were raised in that day and time to believe that all politicians were of course good public servants, honest and patriotic and devoted to the country's best interests - with liberty and justice for all, yada yada yada.

Of course, I found out different later. Bless Mrs. Ford for having the courage to say what she actually thought, the party line be damned.

And then there's this from David Mixner, from a time long after the Fords had left the White House:

Marylouise Oates, who was a society columnist for The Los Angeles Times was a longtime supporter of LGBT full equality and devoted to taking care of those with AIDS. She contacted her friend heiress Wallis Annenberg to see if she would be willing to CoChair the 1985 Commitment to Life Dinner knowing it would open new doors for the cause. Wallis, after some reflection, agreed to join the effort. The two of them thought that the perfect CoChair for Wallis would be First Lady Betty Ford. However, she was well known for refusing to do events except for her clinic. Nevertheless, Wallis agreed to call her Palm Springs friend.

Without hesitation, First Lady Betty Ford not only agreed to CoChair the dinner but also said she would be present for the evening. In 1985 to have someone of Betty Ford's caliber come to the AIDS Project Los Angeles Dinner was astounding. Most prominent political people wouldn't touch the issue and many wouldn't even touch people with HIV/AIDS. Her decision to join us in the battle against the epidemic was courageous, ground breaking and historic.

Because of her involvement, the event took on a new life. For the first time in AIDS Project Los Angeles history they raised over a million dollars in one night. Those in the room will never forget when First Lady Betty Ford rose that evening to the podium. The ovation and tears of gratitude seemed to last forever. As she stood that night among us, she gave us a dignity and respectability like no other person before her. Overwhelmed with the response, she proceeded with a moving and humble speech that made us love her even more.

For all the accolades that the former First Lady richly deserves, I will never forget that she stood up against HIV/AIDS and helped us turn the corner. Thank you, Mrs. Ford.

And I am happy to report that the raving nasties from Westboro Baptist did not show up as they had promised to today. Normally your Head Trucker is all in favor of free speech, etc.; but the Supreme Court was very wrong to give these despicable haters free rein. There is a time and a place for everything; but a funeral is not a time for anybody's demonstration, ever.