watching CNN...I am crying for Betty Ford. She is one awesome lady

[greenbriar]

and she looks so sad

[bobbolink]

1. Think of all the sad people left in the wake of Ford's "work"

Or, do they count at all?

[maxsolomon]

3. everyone who is sad counts

betty ford isn't barbara bush.

[greenbriar]

4. exactly. She is a strong woman of courage who spoke her mind

and is for WOMEN

[lancdem]

14. I second that

I've always liked Betty Ford.

[theHandpuppet]

18. Thank you

She deserves the respect and compassion she earned in abundance.

[LostinVA]

43. Agreed n/t

[David Zephyr]

51. I'll "third" that.

Betty is an amazing woman. She is a hero of mine.

[mondo joe]

8. Yeah, because there are never any posts on DU expressing sympathy

or outrage or even concern for all those people.

Here on DU we save it all up for Betty Ford.

[cali]

9. what on earth are you talking about?

Betty Ford just lost her husband. The OP expressed simple loving kindness towards her. That's a good thing. It has nothing to do with what Ford did or didn't do as President. If you can't understand something that basic, you need a refresher course in kindness and decency.

[bobbolink]

11. Thank you for your most kind advice.

I'll remember that the next time you post.

[David Zephyr]

52. Thanks for saying that.

Indeed.

[KingFlorez]

15. The man was decent

And his wife is torn up right now, this is a sympathy thread, not one to bash someone.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mondo joe]

25. Some people think concern is like a pie - there's only so much

and if anyone else gets any there's less for them.

[Bluebear]

35. Notice...

...my message got deleted, it was that offensive.

[greenbriar]

38. sorry I missed it

I can't imagine it was bad

[mondo joe]

40. Amazing that expressing sympathy for an elderly woman who lost her husband

can meet with yet more "WHAT ABOUT ME? PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!" attitude.

[LittleClarkie]

32. Nah, they don't count

Expressing concern for Betty Ford negates any concern for anyone else ever. Didn't you know that?

[greenbriar]

33. hehe

I think betty ford is da bomb


she was cool before it was cool

[LostinVA]

42. Betty Ford is not her husband, and Mrs. Ford is a hell of a woman

I'll say she's the most proactive of all First Ladies, except for Eleanor Roosevelt.

She didn't keep her mouth shut, and her husband refused to ask her too. Good for both of them.

[greenbriar]

59. he knew she was right

and he loved her very much


when she revealed she was hooked on alcohol, HE stopped drinking for her

[Raine]

60. Some of us

have enough to go around without having to divvy it up to only some.

[ananda]

2. hmm

I always liked Betty Ford and the Ford kids.

[etherealtruth]

5. That's OK greenbriar

Compassion is a good thing ... and you don't need to feel the weight of the world every minute of everyday.

I can relate to Mrs. Ford's personal pain and loss myself.

[greenbriar]

7. she just looks so tiny and frail

the pictures of her in their younger years she was one beautiful lady

she is still classy now!

[Clark2008]

23. From their wedding day:

[greenbriar]

24. thank you

that is an awesome picture



do you have one of them together towards the end?

[Crunchy Frog]

37. Here's one.

[Clark2008]

53. He was quite a looker, too. I would have never realized that.

[Crunchy Frog]

34. Here's another nice one.

They do look like they really cared for each other.

[greenbriar]

39. that is awesome

thank you


truly they are in love

[SeattleGirl]

48. I love this picture of them. n/t

[w8liftinglady]

6. I feel sad for her,too.At least with Betty-a small part of the world was made better

namely,people with chemical addictions.It took a lot of balls for her to come out the way she did.Her validation of addiction as a disease helped many people seek help.It was a courageous thing to do.

[greenbriar]

10. and she is for allowing a women the Right to choose

and for womens rights

[greenbriar]

13. oh look at her ...she is so strong

yet you can see the sadness in her eyes

[Pathwalker]

29. She also brought breast cancer to the public eye.

Before she spoke about it, those words had never been heard on TV. We owe that to her, too.

[babylonsister]

12. I have much respect for Mrs. Ford and she lost her best friend.

You have every right to feel sad for her.

[malaise]

17. As a woman with a hubby who may or may not

die before me, I understand her sadness. She also did some good things and was liberal on important issues. That said, I am not mourning for Ford. He covered up too much evil.

[still_one]

28. This thread is getting much more interest than any about Darfur that gets posted

now don't get me wrong, I express my sympathy to their family, but for goodness sake he was 93 years, a hell of a lot older than most in the Sudan ever grow up to be

What makes one person more special than another?

Just an observation, not to take away from the sympathy being expressed for Betty Ford

[EFerrari]

36. With ya.

Betty Ford did so much good.

Ford, not so much.

[greenbriar]

19. he truly loved his wife and put her above all else

always

[etherealtruth]

21. Of that I am truly envious

Her grief must be almost unbearable.

[greenbriar]

22. yes I imagine she is just empty

much was said about Nancy and ronnies love but the Fords Showed it just by being

[greenbriar]

61. I only wish my husband loved me that much

you can see it in their faces in every picture together

truly a love affair

[LostinVA]

44. He refused to ask her to keep her views quiet

Even though he was pretty much ordered to do so.

[greenbriar]

20. she said she slept with her husband as often as possible

didn't realize that they were the first to share a bedroom in the whitehouse

[malaise]

26. Most normal couples share bedrooms

that's really strange.

She won't last much longer - that's an irreplaceable loss.

Edit. add.

[mondo joe]

30. Almost a quarter of married couples slep separately.

According to a 2005 National Sleep Foundation survey, 23 percent of partnered adults frequently sleep solo because of their loved one's snoring, kicking or other sleep problem. That number doesn't include those who bed down apart because of mismatched schedules or desire for different room temperatures, or to let an exhausted spouse avoid a tyke's wake-up calls. And though a small number of couples who opt for separate beds do so to recapture a sense of romance, for most, there's one simple fantasy: some decent rest. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation survey of 1,506 adults, disruptive bedmates rob their partners, on average, of 49 minutes of shut-eye each night.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

[malaise]

31. That means the vast majority sleep together n/t

[kskiska]

45. Not upper-class couples

Tour any Newport mansion, and you'll notice the husband and wife always have a separate bedroom and dressing room. That was true in the White House, though I remember the Carters pointedly moving in a big bed. Jack & Jackie Kennedy had separate rooms, though that doesn't mean they didn't sleep together.

[greenbriar]

57. sadly you are probably right

her grief is immense

[greenbriar]

27. she was talking about her sex life in sleeping with gerry

but they were the first first couple to share one bedroom in the white house


said they told the world that Married people sleep together and they were not going to change just because they were in the WH

[mondo joe]

41. I even felt badly for Nancy Reagan when she was widowed. I can certainly spare

sympathy for Betty Ford.

[David Zephyr]

46. Thank you greenbriar.

[greenbriar]

49. thank you

maybe this will get kicked and reced.

we are not horrible people like some other forums would like to believe and we have the ability to reach across the isle when we see good

[LeftishBrit]

47. I have a lot of sympathy with Betty Ford

and I think she might well have been a much better president than her husband!

I don't hate Ford, and I don't think he was the greatest. I think he was much better than Reagan, and much worse than Carter.

I always did like Betty.

[Crunchy Frog]

50. Betty was just about my favorite First Lady that I can think of.

I just think of how brave and classy it was for her to come out with two separate afflictions that were both taboo. She helped remove the stigma from both breast cancer and alcoholism.

I think it takes a really big woman in a position like that, to admit to her human frailties and weaknesses, instead of pretending to be some kind of larger than life superwoman. She just seems so honest and real, especially when compared with the Stepford wife that we've got in there now.

[greenbriar]

55. so true she is the one that told the world about her husband's death too

so strong and so HUMAN/normal

no pretense and no flash

[NoSheep]

54. People have their own personal reasons for connecting with people.

[AnnieBW]

56. Jerry and Betty

Truly loved each other, and were a cute couple. Betty is a woman of unbelievable courage. My Aunt Millie had breast cancer about the same time that Betty Ford did, and took a lot of hope from the First Lady being open about it. Whatever you think of her husband, Betty is a class act.

[greenbriar]

58. yup

and she will be until her death

[kskiska]

62. Jerry was Betty's second husband

Her first marriage, at age 24, ended in divorce five years later on the grounds of incompatibility.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/ef38.html

[greenbriar]

63. wow, didn't know that

she is a great lady

[greenbriar]

64. I am watching Mrs. Ford and I don't think she will last much longer

she looks so heart broke

and looks like she is sick about having to sit by that pugnaicious cheney

[malaise]

65. That alone would kill me

Seriously widows who lose their husbands after all these years rarely survive much longer and they really loved each other which makes it harder.