Tuesday, January 02, 2007

A Half Day Sure. But a full day, that's too much

My friends in the Federal Government get to enjoy an extra day of vacation today. Gerald Ford died recently and so today is a federal holiday/day of rememberance for the late President. But here's the thing, Ford never appeared on a national ballot. He was picked by a disgraced President. Prior to ascending to the Presidency, Ford had only ever represented Grand Rapids Michigan. As a two-week resident of Grand Rapids during the Dean campaign, I can say with a measure of confidence that it is hardly a representative sample of America. Before becoming President, Ford never received a single vote from anyone not residing in Grand Rapids, except when he was voted to the All-College team in 1935.

No one had ever voted for the guy, and when they had a chance they picked Jimmy Carter. He served for a half-term. I have nothing against him, but I wonder, maybe DC could take a half-day for him. You know maybe a late start, time for a brunch then get to work. Similarly, the flags. Half-staff. Come now, maybe they should be at 3/4 staff. That seems fair.

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