The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Eleven

A Supreme Court decision in the early 1970s (Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education) allowed courts to use the busing of students to help with desegregation of schools.* It was an explosive issue. In the fall of 1972, I remember talking with one of the professors of my college who was originally from either Tennessee or North Carolina, I just can't remember now. He mentioned how busing in his home state had caused tempers to boil over. 

Watergate, the presidential pardon of Nixon, a slow economy and the loss of Vietnam left President Gerald Ford highly vulnerable when he chose to seek a presidential term of his own. Remember, Ford had not faced voters on a national level; but rather, he had been appointed as vice president and then assumed the presidency when Nixon resigned. Former governor of California Ronald Reagan challenged Ford for the Republican nomination in 1976. Interestingly, Reagan was a former Democrat and Ford counted many congressional Democrats as some of his closest friends (he had long served in the House of Representatives). Reagan had established himself as a prominent conservative in the 1964 election, when he spoke openly on behalf of conservative Republican Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign. At the Republican Convention, Ford eked out a first ballot win over Reagan, but in the former Confederate states, he carried a majority of delegates only in Florida and Mississippi. Meanwhile, in the Democratic race for the nomination, a Southerner, former Georgia governor, Jimmy Carter, won the nomination against several well known Democrats, "perhaps" because he was not a Washington insider. Being affiliated with Washington after the Nixon administration scandals was a negative to some voters. So now we had a moderate Georgia Democrat versus a moderately conservative Michigan Republican. How would the former Confederate states vote?

Jimmy Carter carried all of the former Confederate states, except Virginia, which he lost to Ford by only about 1 percentage point, although Carter only carried Mississippi by slightly less than 2%, while in states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana, even though Carter won pretty comfortably, Ford drew more votes than might have been expected. Overall, Carter won the popular vote nationwide by about 2% and he won the electoral vote 297 to 239, as 1 Republican elector from the state of Washington voted for Ronald Reagan, not Gerald Ford.

In the Senate, Democrats won the race in Tennessee, while all other party affiliations in the former Confederate states remained the same. In the House, the only changes were in Virginia, where Republicans gained 1 seat, giving them a 6 to 4 edge in the state's congressional delegation, and in Texas, Democrats gained 2 seats, making the delegation 22 Democrats and 2 Republicans. In governors, the only change in party was that Democrats retook the governorship in North Carolina.

* Remember, prior to the mid 1950s, there were legally mandated separate schools for white children and black children in the southern states, while much the same was true in the northern and western states, although not by law in those areas, but rather by practice. When desegregation of schools (and other facilities) was ordered, the problem of separate schools remained, as most of American neighborhoods were heavily segregated. So, generally speaking, former "legal" black schools remained black schools, because the schools were in black neighborhoods, just as former "white schools" remained essentially white, as they were located in white neighborhoods. Underlying that whole situation was that funding for legal "black schools" was less than for legal "white schools," which essentially did not change when desegregation became the law of the land, because of the segregation of neighborhoods, and because of the racial divide in school administrative systems and state legislatures, which were overwhelmingly white, and which provided school funding. Busing took children from their own neighborhood, and away from their local white or black school, to a school in another neighborhood to try to achieve some racial balance, with the idea being that funding and care of schools and supplies would then "even out." Make no mistake about it, busing was highly controversial among both white and black parents and students, but among people already holding racial animus, it inflamed ill feelings even more. Many white parents put their children into religious or other private schools, where they had to pay separately for their child's education. Most black Americans did not have the financial resources to pay for private schooling, thus they had to keep their children in public schools (funded by taxes), so in many communities with fairly large black populations, the public school systems became overwhelmingly black. This began to affect more and more cities in the northern and some western states, as black Americans migrated to other areas for economic opportunity; often, to northern industrial areas.    

WORD HISTORY:
Ball-There are a couple of words of this spelling in English, but this is the word for "a round object," and which is related to "balloon."^ The word goes back to Indo European "bhel," which had the notion of "swell, bloat out, to bulge." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "balluz," which meant, "swollen or bloated object;" thus later actually, "round object." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bealla," meaning, "round object." This was reinforced by the related Old Norse form "bollr," which meant "ball," brought to England by Danes and Norwegians, often collectively called "Danes." The word then became "balle," before the modern form. Other Germanic languages have: German and Low German "Ball," West Frisian and Dutch "bal," Danish "bold," Norwegian "ball," Swedish "boll," Icelandic "bolti."  

^ "Balloon" is a borrowing by English from Italian, but the Italian was derived from a Latin form borrowed from Germanic. 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Ten

"Watergate" changed the political dynamic of the country, as any momentum gained by Nixon from his overwhelming reelection victory of 1972 was lost, and two senators from the former Confederacy became household names: Democratic Senator Sam Ervin, of North Carolina, the head of the Senate committee investigating Watergate, along with the top Republican member of the committee, Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, who asked the biggest question of the investigation, "What did the President know and when did he know it?"

Gerald Ford, who had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president at the suggestion of Democratic Speaker of the House Carl Albert, became president when Nixon resigned. Just a couple of weeks later, Ford issued a highly controversial full pardon to Nixon for any crimes he "might" have committed as president. Remember, at that point, no criminal charges had been brought against Nixon; thus, the use of the word "might."

The 1974 midterm election took place just a couple of months after Richard Nixon's resignation and pardon. Democrats gained a Senate seat in Florida, while the party affiliation of other senators from former Confederate states remained the same. Nationally in the House of Representatives, Democrats made big gains, and states with party affiliation changes to their delegations in the former Confederate states: Republicans gained a seat in Florida, making the delegation 10 Democrats and 5 Republicans; in Georgia, Democrats won the lone Republican seat, giving them all 10 seats; in Louisiana Republicans won a seat, making the delegation 6 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in North Carolina the Democrats won two additional seats, making the delegation 9 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in South Carolina Democrats won one seat, making the delegation 5 Democrats and 1 Republican; in Tennessee Democrats won 2 seats, making the delegation 5 Democrats and 3 Republicans; in Texas Democrats won 1 seat, making the delegation 21 Democrats and 3 Republicans;* in Virginia Democrats won 2 seats, making the delegation 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans. In South Carolina, Republicans won the governorship for the first time since Reconstruction. In Tennessee, Democrats retook the governorship. The election for Virginia governor was held in November 1973 and Republicans retained that governorship.       

* President Ford appointed a Democratic congressman from Texas to a federal position in 1976 and the special election to fill the seat in the spring of 1976 was won by a Republican, Ron Paul, who ran for president in more recent times. He is the father of current Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.

WORD HISTORY:
Rampant- This word, related to "rumple," goes back to Indo European "(s)ker," which had the notion, "to bend, to curve, to move in a crooked, irregular or circular motion." This then produced, "(s)kremph," with the same general meaning. This gave Old Germanic "hrempanan," which meant, "to shrivel, to be or become wrinkled." This gave Frankish, an old Germanic dialect, "hrampon," with the "shrivel, contract" meaning. This passed into Old French^ as "ramper," meaning, "to climb a hill or inclined area," from the notion of "crouching to climb an incline." The present participle form of the Old French verb, "rampant," came to be used adjectivally to mean, "(animal, usually a lion) standing in a tilted (inclined) position;" that is, "standing on hind legs;" thus also, by extension, "fierce, ferocious." Borrowed into English in the 1380s. 

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Nine

First published in September 2012


The Reagan Coalition and the Rise of the American Political Right, Part One

Gerald Ford was an "establishment Republican;" that is, he was very much in the main stream of not only the Republican Party, but of American politics in general, favored by business people, farmers, and middle class workers. He had served many terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Republicans were almost always in the minority during that time, and he was close friends with many Democrats, even though he was (Republican) Minority Leader of the House from the mid 1960s until his appointment to the vice presidency by President Nixon in late 1973. Ronald Reagan, a former Democrat and union member, had attracted much conservative support from around the country, and his former political affiliation and union membership gave him an inroad into traditional Democrats, with the idea that "it's okay to vote for me, I was a Democrat too."

Many conservatives were upset about the failure of Nixon and Ford to go all out to win the Vietnam War, but public opinion had shifted more and more away from support for the war, a factor which led President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, to a decision not to seek reelection in 1968.* Nixon had implemented a policy of gradual withdrawal from South Vietnam, as well as selective military strikes, including air strikes against North Vietnam. When Ford replaced Nixon, the final stages of American withdrawal were taking place, but many conservatives wanted more military and financial support for the weak South Vietnamese army, something neither Ford nor (seemingly) the country were willing to do. Conservatives were infuriated by the final withdrawal of Americans and the collapse of the South Vietnamese, as American Marines were evacuated by helicopter from the embassy, as surging communist forces neared the complex, an event captured on film and viewed by millions of Americans on television for days thereafter. Further, Nixon had opened up diplomatic relations with (communist) China and had worked to improve relations with the Soviet Union, policies continued by his successor, Ford. Again, many conservatives were often outraged by these policies, and Ronald Reagan offered them a voice by talking of only dealing with communist regimes from a position of military strength, and offering a belief that what he and conservatives perceived to be American weakness increased the chances of nuclear war.

Reagan challenged Ford for the Republican nomination, but initially Ford and the then dominant liberal to moderate wing of the party** gave Ford the upper hand. Then Reagan came into far more conservative states, where he put together a number of wins over Ford. Ford retained much of the traditional Republican base, with Reagan putting together hard line conservatives and a growing fundamentalist religious element, by its very nature, highly conservative. While Democrats still controlled the South, transplants from other parts of the country and a gradual change in party affiliation from Democrat to Republican by conservative southerners were leading to a growing Republican Party in the South, an area where Reagan bested Ford, including in Texas. Terrified traditional Republicans, fearful of the defeat of a sitting Republican president in the nominating process by a hard line conservative, perceived to be outside the mainstream of American politics, closed ranks behind Ford, who finally achieved the nomination, but with bitter feelings by Reagan and conservatives, who were not terribly enthused over supporting Ford in the general election.

The election produced a victory for moderate Democrat Jimmy Carter, a southerner from Georgia, who carried the South, except for Virginia. which he lost by a close margin. Ford started the campaign far behind, but a rousing convention speech, a personal likeability, and a grudging acceptance by many conservatives helped him close the substantial gap. In the end though, Carter carried important Ohio by just 11,000 votes and Wisconsin by a larger margin, and he clinched the presidency. With Ford defeated and a Democrat in the White House, the way was much more open for another Reagan run for the presidency in 1980.   

* Lyndon Johnson had escalated the war considerably, and the public generally had supported that effort, but unlike the then fairly recent battlefields of World War Two and Korea, the war in South Vietnam was a mixture of civil war (pro communist forces against the existing South Vietnamese government), and a communist guerrilla war against foreign interests; first, the French, and then more so the United States. The overall country had been divided into communist dominated North Vietnam and dictatorial South Vietnam in 1954. The subject of the war is far too complicated for this article, but it would make a great subject for several articles in the future. Gradually, public opinion in the U.S. began to shift against American involvement in Vietnam, as the war came to be seen as virtually unwinnable and a drain on American lives and resources. Eugene McCarthy, a Democratic senator from Minnesota, galvanized the growing opposition to the war and challenged Johnson for the Democratic nomination in 1968. McCarthy's more than respectable second place showing in the New Hampshire primary brought Johnson, an astute politician, to the realization that his reelection, and indeed, his very renomination, was far from certain and he chose to step aside. This was a case where Johnson saw his coalition of Democrats coming apart.  

** At that point in time (and you must keep the time period perspective in mind), while Republicans tilted rightward, the party was not decisively conservative, as conservative southern Democrats had not yet completely gone over to the Republican Party, although their votes for president had increasingly gone to that side of the ballot. There were still "liberal" Republicans, too, although they were becoming a rare breed, but added to the numerous moderates, this wing outnumbered conservatives, especially true right wingers. The American system of primaries is odd. It is controlled by the states, but only in a sense, as more particularly the political parties in each state control the primaries. Some states have what are termed "closed" primaries; that is, a voter must be registered with a particular party in order to vote on candidates in that party. Other states have "open" primaries, where registered voters can ask for any party's ballot. So, in the first case, if you're registered in your county as a "Democratic-Republican," you must take the "Democratic-Republican" ballot. In the second case, you can ask for the ballot from any party. Some states do not require a person to claim allegiance to a particular party when they register, while other states do require such, but a voter can always change party affiliation, but the change is governed by state registration laws, which might require a person to change party affiliation at least thirty days or more in advance of an election. In Ohio, you give a preference for political party when you first vote, but you can literally change on the day of a primary election, so Ohio is an "open primary" state. Let's say you register and vote as a Democrat, so the rolls will show you as a Democrat, but the next primary election when you go to vote, the election worker will ask which ballot you want, at which time you can ask for the Republican ballot, although "in theory" you are then "supposed" to swear an oath of allegiance to your new party before voting. 
  
WORD HISTORY:
Yield-Before English borrowed "(to) pay" from French around 1300, this was one of the words used by English speakers to convey the meaning, "to pay." The ultimate origin of this is word unclear, and forms only seem to be in Germanic, except where a couple of non Germanic dialects borrowed it. Old Germanic had "geldanan," which meant "to pay, pay back." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "geldan" and "gieldan," depending upon dialect, with the same meanings, including "punish," from the notion of "pay back." Later it became "yielden," before the modern version. The idea of "pay back," also used in the sense of "interest earned on investments," as in, "The savings account yields ("pays") 4% interest" (pay back for your investment), further gave the extended meaning "to produce," as in, "My garden yields lots of tomatoes" (pay back for your time and effort). The notion of "paying;" that is, "handing over," seems to have led to the idea of "give way, surrender," as in "yield (give way) to oncoming traffic." The noun form was derived from the verb. Forms are common in the other Germanic languages, with associated, but varied meanings, most of which tie somehow into the idea of "pay" or "be worth paying:" German has "gelten," which means "to be valid, have worth," ( it once meant "pay back" and "produce income," like its English cousin), Low German Saxon has "gellen" (notice the "d/t" sound is gone). with much the same meanings as standard German, Dutch has "gelden" (to be valid, be worth concern), Frisian has "jilde" ("pay," but apparently archaic), Icelandic has "gjalda" ("pay back in kind, pay," in the sense "suffer"),  Danish has "yde" (yield, pay), Norwegian has "-yeld" as part of a compound word meaning "to reciprocate" (pay back) and "ytelse" (yield), Swedish has "gälla" (be valid, be correct).

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Eight

The 1976 Republican nominating process was a tough one, with incumbent President Gerald Ford challenged by former California Governor Ronald Reagan; but a little background first. The 1964 Republican contest had shown conservatives strengthening their hold on the Republican Party, as conservative Barry Goldwater won the nomination. What was left of the progressive wing of the Republican Party, most symbolized in those days by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, began to fade into what might be termed "moderates," which included Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Reagan, a former Democrat, became a prominent supporter of Goldwater in 1964 and the heir apparent leader of conservatives in the Republican Party after Goldwater's landslide loss to Democrat Lyndon Johnson. Nixon captured the presidency in 1968, as President Johnson and Democrats wrestled with discontent over the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, increasing inflation, and serious divisions within their own political party, as many southern Democrats took to supporting Alabama Governor George Wallace, an avowed segregationist,* who ran for the presidency in 1968 as an independent; thus siphoning off both popular votes and electoral votes from Democratic candidate, Hubert Humphrey. Nixon won a narrow half million vote plurality (43.4%) over Humphrey (42.7%), but Wallace received nearly ten million votes nationwide (13.5%), although the largest portion came in the traditionally Democratic South, where he carried five states.** Democrats were obviously in trouble, as a significant part of their coalition abandoned them for Wallace. The 1972 election saw a landslide reelection of Nixon, as Democratic Senator George McGovern carried only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, and losing the popular vote to Nixon 60.7% to 37.5%. This time, in a forerunner of what was to come later, the Solid South voted solidly Republican.

Republican momentum at assembling a dominant coalition was halted by events and a self-inflicted wound. Events had to do with the winding down of the Vietnam War, where American troops were being withdrawn in stages, and conflict in the Middle East, which brought an oil embargo by Arab nations against the United States for its support of Israel in a war begun in October 1973. The oil shortage created long lines at American gas stations and escalating inflation, which was already becoming a problem as a drag on the slowing economy. The self-inflicted wound was by Nixon and some of his aides. Burglars broke into the Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C, in the Watergate complex, but they were captured. The resulting investigation led Nixon and his closest aides to cover up information about the break in and about other activities initiated by his reelection staff and White House personnel. The whole ordeal came to be called "Watergate," and Nixon resigned in August 1974, with Vice President Gerald Ford becoming president.*** 

Since Nixon would not have been able to run again anyway, as he was term limited, Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, was clearly a force to be reckoned with, as he garnered support from conservatives nationwide. It is interesting that Reagan could run for the presidency, seeing that he warned of the imminent demise of freedom in the country if Medicare became law in the mid 1960s, but Medicare did become law, and freedom lasted to see Reagan run for president in 1976, to see him elected twice, and we're still free in 2012. You think he misjudged? Or exaggerated?

Next, the "Reagan coalition" and the ascendancy of the American political right.

* Wallace carried some of assassinated Louisianan Huey Long's populist ideas along too, as he supported more aid to elderly people on Social Security. As to the red hot issue of the Vietnam War, he preached to either go all out to win the war in a short period of time, or to get out of Vietnam. Wallace was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by Arthur Bremer during the 1972 (not 1968) campaign and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life, which ended in 1998 at the age of 79. After his presidential campaigns, Wallace renounced his segregationist views.

** Nixon, as are all presidents, was actually elected by electoral votes: Nixon 301, Humphrey 191 and Wallace 46.

*** Ford had been appointed to replace Spiro Agnew, who resigned in 1973 over legal problems of his own involving tax evasion over brides he received while governor of Maryland.

WORD HISTORY:
South-The ultimate origins of this word are uncertain, but it likely goes back to Indo European "shuwen," which meant "sun, bright light." This gave Old Germanic "sunno" (sun), which then spawned "sunthaz," which meant "land or area of the sun, southward." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "suth," with the meaning "south," which later came to be "south." When I was a kid, there were people around who pronounced it "suth," which rhymed with "tooth," and this was likely close to the pronunciation in Anglo-Saxon times. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Süd(en)," Low German Saxon has "Süüd," Dutch has "zuid," West Frisian has "Sud(en)," Icelandic has "suthur," Swedish has "syd/söder," Danish has "syd," and Norwegian has "sør." 

Farewell, Betty Ford

This was first published in July 2011 when Betty Ford died, age 93, and I added a photo 7-5-22

 

I sure liked Gerald and Betty Ford, and "liked" should be replaced by "loved." The Fords were really not all that well known to Americans until scandal forced Vice President Spiro Agnew from office, and President Richard Nixon appointed Ford to be the Vice President. It wasn't long before Nixon, too, resigned, making Gerald Ford President of the United States in August 1974. Ford had served for many years as a Michigan congressman prior to this appointment. The Fords brought a new openness to the White House, where Nixon's more secretive and secluded ways had prevailed since his inauguration in January 1969. While trivial, to say the least, we learned that President Ford liked ketchup on his cottage cheese, and while not exactly classified information, the new President took a good deal of ribbing for it. I can't imagine Nixon ever disclosing such a personal detail, but it showed that Ford wasn't afraid to make one of his eccentricities known to the public. While he did "battle" with Democrats in Congress throughout his two and one half years as president, not only did Gerald Ford not see those Democrats as the "enemy," he counted many of them to be among his dearest friends, like House Speaker Carl Albert and future House Speaker Tip O'Neill. If I remember correctly, it was Carl Albert who suggested to then President Richard Nixon that he appoint Jerry Ford, as he was known to his friends, to the then vacant position of vice president. In those times I was a registered Republican, but I was not a firm Republican, and I voted for many Democrats, so many in fact, most people in my staunchly Democratic neighborhood were stunned to find an "R" next to my name on the voter registration roll. hahaha  This was perhaps the biggest reason I loved Gerald Ford, he was close friends with Democrats, just as I was! 

Then there was Betty Ford. She didn't attempt to hide the fact that she had breast cancer and needed surgery. For those a bit younger, in those times, this was NOT something women talked about openly, and certainly not a public figure like a First Lady. She championed women's rights, and she didn't seem in the least bit concerned that the growing conservative movement swirling about the Republican Party didn't like some of her comments. Later she would openly say how she was addicted to pain killers and alcohol and needed treatment. Many in the public rallied to her, and that candidness gained her many an admirer. Afterward, she founded the "Betty Ford Center," to treat people with addiction problems. She worked to help people face their problems and to triumph over those problems.

The Fords were REAL people. Politics can make many a person alter his or her behavior to gain acceptance with this or that political group, and that is the way it is all too often, but by and large the Fords were who they were, especially Betty. They were Republicans who were a bit right of center on certain issues, a little left of center on others, and smack dab in the middle on others, but they weren't fire-breathing bomb throwers from the far right. They weren't stodgy, nor did they want to take humankind back to the days of "swinging in trees" (Hey, watch out! That branch up ahead looks kind of shaky!), and I have to believe they later cringed at some of the things advocated by a Republican Party moving further and further to the political right (Look at that ape swinging through the trees! Wait a second, that's no ape, that's one of those far right wing politicians!). There aren't many Republicans like the Fords anymore, and I regret it. I regret it so much, I will now make a confession: I actually contributed to Gerald Ford's campaign in 1976! That was the first and only time I ever contributed to a presidential campaign until the 2008 election, when I donated to Barack Obama. I have to tell you, I have NEVER regretted giving the money to President Ford, even though he lost.

So farewell to Betty Ford, a truly shining example of a human being, and a person who fought to overcome adversity, including some of her own flaws, and who inspired so many to do the same. I will miss Mrs. Ford, just as I miss President Ford. R.I.P.

Image courtesy of Betty Ford Center (via Wikipedia)

 

                                                                                                                                                                      WORD HISTORY: 

Lady (Loaf)-This is a compound word which was then contracted into the modern word. So here is the first part, which became modern "LOAF." The ancient origin of this word is in question, but it is common in the Germanic languages,* although it is also present in some non-Germanic languages in Eastern Europe, where it is believed by many to have been borrowed from Germanic, but others believe Germanic got the word from an old form of Slavic, which was in Eastern Europe. Old Germanic had "khlaibaz" or "khlaibuz" (the "k" was not prominently pronounced) which seems to have meant "loaf of bread," or in some cases, just "bread" (some believe the original meaning of "loaf" in the Germanic languages was for unleavened bread only, and that "bread" meant leavened bread). This gave Old English "hlaf" (the "h" was not prominent), which then became "lof," before the modern spelling. German has "Laib"** (from Old High German "hlaib/hleib"), Icelandic has "leif." The second part of the word "lady", the "dy," goes back to Indo European "dheig(h)," which had the notion of "form, build, shape, make into." This gave Old Germanic "daigjon," which seems to have meant "a female servant who kneads dough and makes it into bread." This gave Old English "daege," with the same basic meaning, although it seems to have expanded in meaning, perhaps under influence of the related Old Norse, "deigja," to also mean "female servant in a house or farm." (The "dai" part of "dairy" is from the same source; thus the connection, at least in part, to a farm.) "Daege" later became English "dey," a word now obsolete. So, Old English put the respective word forms together as "hlaefdige," to mean "a female kneader/maker of bread," but then with the expanded meaning, "female head of a household," and then the meaning as counterpart, or wife, to a "lord," the "male head of household." "Hlaefdige" later came to be spelled various ways including "lafdi," and the "f" sound died out in the 1300s/1400s, leaving us with modern "lady," a purely English creation.

* Some of the Germanic languages now just use their related form of English "bread" to also mean "loaf," but they once had a form of "loaf."

** Long ago, what linguists call a sound shift took place among some of the continental Germanic dialects. This shift led to modern German, and part of that shift made what had been syllable ending Germanic "f" (or sometimes our "v") into a "b," which to confuse you more, is pronounced like a "p." So the German word is pronounced like "lye-p." What became Dutch and Low German did NOT undergo this change, nor did English, which was already established in England by the time of this sound shift. Another example is "life," the root of which in German is "Leb(en)," which because of the ending "en," does not have the "p" sound, but rather a standard "b."

President Ford

While he'll never be seen as a great president, Gerald Ford did a decent job as president for the two and one half years that he served. He inherited gasoline shortages, a bad economy, the end of the Vietnam War, and the fallout from Nixon's resignation. The fact that he was unelected to the office didn't help. Ford, however, served admirably, and time has shown that his most controversial decision, to pardon Nixon, was really the right decision, as it put the Nixon legal situation to rest after a short time. The country faced so many other problems, it didn't need Nixon on the front pages every day.