Go to Editormum's Oddments
- Add a comment
- Go to Since When Is a Funeral a Political Event?
I agree about family sensibilities, especially after Alzheimer's...
HOWEVER.........
It does become a political event when you have it at the Rotunda, it is covered by all the major media, and a political candidate appears.
posted by
majroj
on June 9, 2004 at 10:28 PM
| link to this | reply
From Bunny to Tamara
Yes, he did. Clinton was president at the time. Nixon's funeral was held at his library in California. Speakers were the Reverend Billy Graham, Henry Kissinger, Bob Dole, Pete Wilson (then governor of California) and Bill Clinton.
Gerald and Betty Ford, Jimmy and Roslyn Carter, Ronald and Nancy Reagan and George H.W. and Barbara Bush also attended. There is a famous photo of them with Bill and Hillary Clinton at the funeral.
posted by
Bunny
on June 9, 2004 at 7:31 AM
| link to this | reply
Did he speak at Nixon's funeral?
posted by
Tamara99
on June 8, 2004 at 10:15 PM
| link to this | reply
From Bunny
But it's not a private funeral, is it? It's a state occasion, one at which it might be appropriate for all surviving former presidents to speak. Granted, there are many: Ford, Carter, Bush I, Clinton and Bush II, but was an option.
The speakers make sense to me; the first Bush was Reagan's vice-president, and the second Bush is the current president. Still, words from other former Presidents were definitely an option.
posted by
Bunny
on June 8, 2004 at 9:56 PM
| link to this | reply
Well said, editormum...
Though it's a shame to know that it's really doubtful if the people at the centre of this issue will swallow their pride and relent in consideration of the deceased's family. After all, they are politicians and frankly, I believe the primary thing politicians care about is the advancement of their political careers.
posted by
Amateur
on June 8, 2004 at 6:15 PM
| link to this | reply