It truly is a shame that that seems to be the label that late former president Gerald Ford has been tagged with. He was a decent, honorable man (unlike his successor, the no-good peanut farmer from Georgia), pressed into a position he had not had time to prepare himself for.
And, just as circumstances thrust him into that position, other circumstances led to his removal from said office. He was the unfortunate recipient of the oil embargo, the offshoot of which was an economy spiralling hopelessly downward, just in time to let said peanut farmer slip into the Oval Office. (As George Will points out, the margin was heartbreakingly close.)(UPDATE: Dingy Harry too busy sightseeing to pay his respects to the former Chief Executive. Then again, respect has never been high in Dingy Harry's list of qualities.)
However, this turned out to be one of those "blessings in disguise." Since Carter was such an inept, incompetent boob, it allowed Ronaldus Magnus to decisively sweep Carter and his looney administration out of the Rose Garden, thus ushering in a decade of economic regrowth, patriotic vigor, and military muscle-flexing (it also led to the downfall of the USSR, one of Dhimmi Carter's favorite holiday stomping grounds, second only to Yassir Arafat's Palestine).
So, here's to a good man, a consummate gentleman, and a far-from-accidental president. Farewell, Mr. President. Oh, and......GO BLUE!!!!!!!!
