(AHN) - Speaking from his ranch in Crawford, Tx., President George W. Bush eulogized former Pres. Gerald Ford in a live address to the American public on national television at 8 a.m. EST. In a brief statement. Bush said that Ford would always be remembered for his "rectitude."
Bush said he had already spoken to the Ford family and offered his condolences to them. "Pres. Ford was a great man who devoted the best years of his life to serving the U.S.," Bush said, and continued. "He commanded the respect and earned the good will of all who knew him."
Ford had taken over the reins of power after Pres. Richard Nixon was forced from office in 1973. Bush alluded to those circumstances by saying that the nation needed Ford then and called Ford "a man of complete integrity." Gerald Ford lived 93 years and "his life was a blessing to America," Bush concluded.
Ford's body will lie in state in California, where he died, before being flown to Washington, D.C. to lie in state in the Capital Rotunda. |