Still Dark

On deadline today; work has not let up over the past few weeks. I plan to be back to regular blogging tomorrow.
In the meantime, a thought for the past week – you could not buy a better contrast between American and Arab politics than the lives and deaths of Gerald Ford and Saddam Hussein. One man, decent and modest, fought for his country in his youth, rose to the highest office in the land largely on the basis of being sober and inoffensive, and lived three decades of peaceful retirement after being asked by his people to leave; though widely recognized as one of our lesser presidents, he has nonetheless been accorded the honors of a state funeral and fulsome praise from his countrymen. The other, cruel and megalomaniacal and with delusions of historic grandeur, brough ruin, repeated war, and invasion, had to be pulled cowering from a hole in the ground by foreign troops and was sent by his people forcibly to the gallows, mourned only by a disgruntled few, his death celebrated by the many.
Also: Congratulations to Jon Henke! Or, more properly, congratulations to the Senate Republicans on hiring Jon Henke.

7 thoughts on “Still Dark”

  1. Thinking back to President Ford;s tenure, I don’t remember much in the way of accomplishment. Maybe it was there, but I don’t remember it. It might be that at that point in our history that was what the country needed, a quiet unassuming leader that went with the flow. RIP President Gerald Ford.

  2. After an assasination, a war escalation by a loudmouth Texan, and a crook, what we needed was someone who didn’t feel he had to make his mark to make his mark.
    I get the feeling that Ford knew his legacy was as a rather competent, nice guy with a great family. And I also feel that was just how he would have wanted it.
    Glad we knew you Mr. President.

  3. There’s another thought tying the two deaths together. We don’t always appreciate the power of our country. But without President Bush’s resolve to topple Saddam, he (and his sons) would likely still be alive terrorizing Iraq.

  5. Yeah, we totally put a stop to all that terrorizing in Iraq! Why you can walk down the street safe as can be these days.

  6. Unless we were viewing different executions Crank, I suggest you would be challenged to find someone who wasn’t impressed with Saddams conduct in the execution chamber in prelude to his hanging.
    Incompetent fool Iraqi’s created a storybook character/roll model for every budding despot in the Middle East with the cluster**** hanging.
    A weak post..I rather listen to barking dogs and honking horns Crank.
    Anyway…Jim beat me to the punch in response to soccer dad…LOL…a dose of reality would be good Rx for some of you.

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