Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Rumsfeld praises Gerald Ford as patriot

|
|
 
  
Published: Jan. 3, 2007 at 6:39 PM

EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Wednesday described former President Gerald R. Ford as a patriot.

Speaking at the final service before Ford was buried at the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Mich., Rumsfeld recalled a "special" leader who came on the scene "in a dark and dangerous hour for our nation" and took advice from Democrats and Republicans alike in the early days of his presidency.

Rumsfeld said Ford was one of the few congressmen who looked into the mirror and did not see a future president. In fact, he had to be persuaded to run for Republican minority leader in the early 1960s.

"He was a patriot who knew freedom is precious and comes at a cost," Rumsfeld said, adding, "Like all great leaders, he knew victory and he knew loss."

Rumsfeld said Ford was not bitter about his 1976 re-election defeat.

"Instead he remembered cloudy skies on the first day he entered the White House. On the last day, the sun was shining brightly" and he felt good about that.

Rumsfeld revealed a new carrier has been commissioned to bear Ford's name. He said he brought the former president a cap several months ago emblazoned with "USS Gerald R. Ford," even though a formal announcement is months off.

Topics: Donald Rumsfeld, Gerald Ford, Gerald R. Ford
© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Notable deaths of 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee AmfAR Cinema Against AIDS gala
Indianapolis 500 Presidential Medal of Freedom Memorial Day around the nation
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 27
Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego wins Finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
View Caption
Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego, California watches confetti rain down as she wins the two-day Scripps National Spelling Bee championship, May 31, 2012, in National Harbor, Maryland. Nandipati successfully spelled the word .* guetapens *, meaning to lure or ambush. UPI/Mike Theiler
fark
If you ever did win the lottery, would you give it away or surprise people with it in fun ways?
Criminal Pro-tip: when you steal someone's credit card, don't use your own grocery club card on...
The 21 absolute worst things in the world (not a slideshow). Bonus: #21
Egg-ception
How bad are things in Detroit? Even the fish are being murdered
Nineteen things that will drive your OCD self insane