Farewell to one of the last decent Presidents

The Washington D.C. portion of the funeral for Gerald R. Ford just ended. His casket is now being loaded on a plane that will take it to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where it will lie in repose at the Ford Presidential Museum before interrment tomorrow.

I can't help but think how we are saying goodbye to maybe one of the very last decent men who ever or will ever take on the office of President.

The President of the United States of America isn't something that a person should want to be. If somebody earnestly wants to be President, then they don't deserve to be President. The person who wants the job only wants the power and affluence that comes with it, not the opporutunity to serve others. This office demands nothing elss than absolute humility and integrity.

Gerald Ford didn't want to be President. I don't know if he ever entertained the notion of running for the post. The biggest he let himself dream about was becoming Speaker of the House. And when he got into the Oval Office, he brought the best attributes that one could ever hope to find in a President.

Here's what I keep thinking about: you never saw Gerald Ford going so far as to try and destroy another person in order to secure the Presidency.

Think about that in comparison to the jockeying that's going on already for the 2008 election. Think about that in comparison to the last few elections we've already had.

I doubt Gerald Ford would have let someone like Karl Rove run his campaign, much less let him in the White House.

Do you think that Ford would have let our soldiers' lives be wasted for no meaning in some distant God-forsaken land, out of political stubbornness? No: unlike some Presidents, Gerald Ford actually saw combat. He knew the full value of human life, because he'd seen how fragile it really is.

Ford loved his wife. He would never betray his faithfulness to her. Four short presidencies later we had to watch a far lesser man abuse the office to satiate his lust.

I see Hillary and McCain and Edwards and the rest... and I can only shake my head in disbelief at what our country has come to, if these are the finest candidates for President in 2008. Like I said, nobody should want to be President. Well, all of these people do want it. One of them is going to get it, because our entire system of two-party domination and their media cronies and big corporatism has darn well guaranteed that ONLY those "picked to win" will get the office. We have come to have a political feudal system, where only a certain "elite" are allowed to be elected to higher office in this land. Nobody who wants to actually serve with an honest heart is allowed in the game. It's been that way for some time... and unfortunately it looks like things are going to have to go from bad to worst before that ever changes.

We don't have anyone of Gerald Ford's caliber on the political scene anymore, at least so far as President goes. And I wonder if it's possible that we ever will see someone like him again.