Elder Bush Remembers Ford's Integrity

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Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush paid tribute to his predecessor, Gerald Ford, as a man "whose word was always good. Bush, speaking at Ford's state funeral in Washington, described Ford in his first run for Congress showing up at a dairy farm during a heavy rain because he had promised to be there. He also recalled Ford helping reassure the country as a member of the Warren Commission investigating the Kennedy assassination. Bush gave one of four eulogies during the service at the Washington National Cathedral. "A decade later, when scandal forced a vice president from office, President Nixon turned to the minority leader in the House to stabilize his administration because of Jerry Ford's sterling reputation for integrity within the Congress," Bush said. "To political ally and adversary alike, Jerry Ford's word was always good." Bush also remembered Ford's willingness to laugh at himself and at Chevy Chase skits on "Saturday Night Live" that depicted "this beautifully coordinated athlete" as a bumbler.