For Those Of Formative Years When Betty Ford Was First Lady... Why We Grieve...

[WillyT]

Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford (April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011<1>), better known as Betty Ford was the wife of former United States President Gerald R. Ford and served as the First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977. As first lady, Ford was active in social policy and shattered precedents as a politically active presidential wife (Time considered her "the most since Eleanor Roosevelt"). In the opinion of several historians,<2> Ford had more impact upon history and culture than her husband.<2>

Throughout her husband's term in office, she maintained high approval ratings despite opposition from some conservative Republicans who objected to her more moderate and liberal positions on social issues. Ford was noted for raising breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy and was a passionate supporter of, and activist for, the Equal Rights Amendment. Pro-choice on abortion and a leader in the Women's Movement, she gained fame as one of the most candid first ladies in history, commenting on every hot-button issue of the time, including feminism, equal pay, ERA, sex, drugs, abortion, and gun control. She also raised awareness of addiction when she announced her long-running battle with alcoholism in the 1970s.

Following her White House years, she continued to lobby for the ERA and remained active in the feminist movement. She is the founder, and served as the first chairwoman of the board of directors, of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction and is a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal (co-presentation with her husband, Gerald R. Ford, October 21, 1998) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (alone, presented 1991, by George H.W. Bush).

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Ford

:kick:

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. She was a great lady.

RIP

[Kaleva]

2. She was a Rockefeller Repub.

[Greybnk48]

3. R.I.P. dear lady n/t

[calimary]

4. Aw damn.

:patriot:

Go with the angels, Mrs. Ford. You were truly a Great Gal, with a legacy more positive, impactful, consciousness-raising, and socially uplifting than that of her husband or most of his - OR her - peers.

[DonCoquixote]

5. sad fact is

Gerald ford would be considered too moderate for today.

[WillyT]

8. Yep...

I miss Republicans that we could have a decent argument with...

It's all about the goose-stepping crazy now...

:shrug:

[RKP5637]

16. Quite true! Those were the days when you could work together with

republicans and broker a deal for the good of the country, and walk away shaking hands.

[NNN0LHI]

20. Moderate enough to give the unindicted co-conspirator Nixon a pardon

Yea, he was a real sweetheart alright.

Don

[Ruby the Liberal]

23. And ironically, Nixon is so far to the left of the "Third Way" dems it isn't even funny.

How this country has redefined 'moderate' and 'centrist' the last few decades, aye?

[WCGreen]

6. Wonderful woman....

I was able to meet Gerald on a book tour here in Cleveland. He was a very gracious man.

[WillyT]

7. And... Some Video From MSNBC You Might Like...

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/16369167#16369167

:hi:

[Horse with no Name]

9. What a loss.

She was definitely a wonderful and smart lady. She was one of us.
She'll be missed.

[Missy Vixen]

10. A reporter once asked Betty Ford if she and the President slept in the same bed

I can't remember the exact quote, but I remember this. She said, "I sleep with him every chance I get."

She was a great woman. I'm sad she's gone.

[roxiejules]

11. Why we liked her...

On the last day of the Jerry Ford administration, Betty was walking through the White House with David Kennerly, the White House photographer.

"You know, I've always wanted to dance on the cabinet room table," Betty said. Kennerly said, "Well, nobody's around." There was a Secret Service agent discreetly outside the door.

She took off her shoes, hopped up there, and struck a pose. "I just think I'm going to do this," Kennerly remembers her saying, and then she's on the table. "She's a tiny woman, really, in very good shape. Very graceful, as a former dancer with the Martha Graham company. She got up there."

Kennerly says he doesn't know why she danced up there, but he has a guess. Very few women have had a seat at that table. "Knowing her support for the Equal Rights Amendment" - she endorsed it - "she was tap-dancing in the middle of this male bastion."




via: http://www.canthook.com/node/139

[givemebackmycountry]

12. Roxie - Thank You!

Your post has made me very happy tonight.
You did well!

I love women who know how to poke a stick where it counts.
That picture is priceless.

[roxiejules]

18. It is such a good way to remember her

the photo makes me smile, too.


:hi:

[WillyT]

13. Oh Yeah... She Was A Hoofer (Dancer)...

She studied dance at the Calla Travis Dance Studio, graduating in 1935. When Ford was 16, her father died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the Bloomers' garage while working under their car, despite the garage doors being open<5><6> In 1936, after she graduated from high school, she proposed continuing her study of dance in New York City, but her mother refused. Instead, Ford attended the Bennington School of Dance in Bennington, Vermont, for two summers, where she studied under Martha Graham and Hanya Holm.

After being accepted by Graham as a student, Ford moved to Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood and worked as a fashion model for the John Robert Powers firm in order to finance her dance studies. She joined Graham’s auxiliary troupe and eventually performed with the company at Carnegie Hall.

Her mother opposed her daughter’s choice of a career and insisted that she move home, but Ford resisted. They finally came to a compromise: she would return home for six months, and if she still wanted to return to New York at the end of the six months, her mother would not protest further. Betty became immersed in her life in Grand Rapids and did not return to New York. Her mother now married family friend and neighbor, Arthur Meigs Goodwin, and Betty lived with them. She got a job as assistant to the fashion coordinator for a local department store, Herpolsheimers. She also organized her own dance group and taught dance at various sites in Grand Rapids.

Same wikilink.

[KT2000]

14. that is my favorite memory too

she broke the mold in so many ways.

[ceile]

17. That. Is. Brilliant. n/t

[Ruby the Liberal]

21. What an awesome story and photo!

I LOVE that!

[Blue_In_AK]

15. She was a wonderful woman.

I liked her so much.

[WillyT]

19. Me Too...

:hi:

[Ruby the Liberal]

22. I do love Betty. What an example of grace and strength.

Never saw the reference to comparing her to Eleanor Roosevelt before. I agree. I think those two would have gotten along famously.