I remember those summer days in 1974 as a kid. It was all wild -- when Tricky Dick Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford was sworn in as President of the USA. I was traveling with my Dad on a business trip and staying at the house of one of his business friends in Virginia Beach, Virginia, during a flash flood. People canoed down streets after the heavens opened up in the wake of Nixon's departure by helicopter in Washington, less than two hours away by ground transportation.
That same summer, with Ford newly at the helm, James Brown recorded "Funky President." It captures the spirit of the times. Weirdly enough, Ford was the last of the moderate Republican presidents. National leadership was to become far cruder -- more as we know it today -- in the 1980s.
Tomorrow, I'll lay out a few thoughts on LBJ, a funky president whose legacy ratings, I predict, will rise over time, and for significant reasons.
Today's Rune: Signals.
4 comments:
Taken in the context of your comments Erik I wonder just how long or how far down this slide to single minded self destruction is going to last.
The middle is splitting and moving to the what is now considered the edges I wonder how it will all shake out. Remember when Barry Goldwater was considered the radical right. He'd be a socialist today.
Erik, now thats (James Brown) my idea of 'politics'! Only JB could make it sound that funky. HE was tha man! Enjoy this glorious weekend, friend...
Completely agree with you on LBJ. I posted about him a few years ago when Lady Bird died.
http://johnnyyen.blogspot.com/2007/07/lyndon-johnson.html
Thanks all for the comments -- aggreed! Mark, the John Birchers "done taken over" the GOP.
Jodi, oh yes! Johnny, I'll include a link to your post on Johnson. Excellent!
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