WWW.PRESIDENTS"R"US.COM

Ahoy, Sailor!

An action painting depicting the near sinking of future President Gerald Ford’s World War II ship has been unveiled near his final home in Rancho Mirage California.

A Pacific Ocean typhoon caused fires aboard Ford’s ship the USS Monterey. Ford led efforts to douse the flames below decks, presumibly with his “lantern jaw of a young Johnny Weissmuller.”

The Ford painting is on display in a Palm Desert California gallery which also features thoughtful alternatives to

lawn jockeys.

Artist Stan Stokes doesn’t only look to Ford’s past. He’s already donated a painting of the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier to the Ford Library, all the more impressive since the troubled ship has yet to launch.

That 70s Show

The Rockford Register Star takes a loving look back at Gerald Ford’s 1976 visit to town for some reason, and what a time it was!

What stands out is the Ron Burgundy look of the Secret Service at the time, combined with the retro auto running board.

A touching remnant of the Republican Side-burn Era

Where Did The Time Go?

Part of the entertainment value of thumb-suckers musing over the Bush Administration’s “Legacy” is who asks the questions. It’s our old friends and perpetual whipping boys, The Media!

A part of society which for the most part went unquestioningly into battle in Iraq, and which let Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford go to their graves as demigods, is in charge of the searching questions in the last months.

And don’t think Bush’s people aren’t watching. Dick Cheney’s Lincoln/Truman lonely visionary talking points have been consistent over time, with Gerald Ford thrown in on occasion. The most recent example came in a follow up to his “So?” interview dismissing popular opinion over the war. Cheney claims that nice things said during Ford’s funeral week justify the Nixon pardon, which also means Iraq will look great in three decades.

“…he demonstrated, I think, great courage and great foresight, and the country was better off for what Jerry Ford did that day. And 30 years later, everybody recognized it…And I have the same strong conviction the issues we’re dealing with today — the global war on terror, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq — that all of the tough calls the president has had to make, that 30 years from now it will be clear that he made the right decisions, and that the effort we mounted was the right one, and that if we had listened to the polls, we would have gotten it wrong.”

Destiny’s Darlings

The Dallas Morning News reports that George Bush has found the Imagineers for his Presidential Library.

Dan Murphy and the PRD Group have been qquietly burrowing away since 2007, and they promise much.

Murphy says the Bush exhibits will cover the presidency [Make Way for the Unitary Executive!], and both America and the American Experience!

Who are these tour guides of History’s Path?

The PRDists have already served America, developing such stirring exhibits as the Smithsonian’s “First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image.”

Who’s Had Some Work Done?

We can look forward to hard-hitting analysis of little known chapters such as:

“From the exuberant Dolley Madison and troubled Mary Todd Lincoln, to the humanitarian Eleanor Roosevelt and the intriguing wives of our recent presidents, the exhibition celebrates the remarkable individuals who have occupied this demanding post.”

The introduction peaks with a quote from the Everfeisty Betty Ford:

“I do not believe that being First Lady should prevent me from expressing my views . . . Being ladylike does not require silence.” — Betty Ford

….not mentioning that her saucy spark in this period was stoked by her copious use of prescription drugs.

Where will PRD’s Vision Quest take us? The Dallas Morning News offers clues.

“Work on the design of the Bush library and museum has only just begun, but the selection panel initially asked SMU and other applicants to consider many possible features for the complex, including:

•An IMAX or film theater

•Permanent exhibit space

•Traveling exhibit space

•Gift shop and cafe

•Video classrooms

•Performing arts space

•An apartment or residence facilities for George W. Bush and his wife, Laura”

One Man, Our Vote

Greg Grandlin offers a roundup of one interested party’s role in the last twelve presidential elections, and perhaps on his last one.

“Fidel Castro, the First Superdelegate” clocks el Lider Maximo’s walk-ons and cameos over five decades.

Vote Early & Vote Often