Former First Lady Betty Ford was a supporter of gun control, despite criticism from the right.
She was an exceptionally brave woman, facing breast cancer in a manner which not only ensured her survival, but in a way to help other women to survive the disease. Thank you for that, Betty Ford.
She was a strong supporter of equality for women, for women to have control of their bodies, for rational attitudes towards sex, and for the Equal Rights Amendment. Thank you for that too, Betty Ford.
She was courageous in facing the illness of addiction to prescription pain medication, and a related dependency on alcohol, founding the Betty Ford Center in California, in conjunction with the Eisenhower Medical Center in response to her own battle. While it has been the treatment center of choice for many celebrities, it has helped tens of thousands of less famous people, through both inpatient and outpatient care.
She went on to establish the Betty Ford Center Foundation and the Betty Ford Institute to continue the work of the Betty Ford Center.
This is an exceptional legacy for any First Lady; thank you Betty Ford for a life time of rising to the occasion when faced with challenges and illness and criticism, so as to help not only yourself, but others.
Thank you Betty Ford; you will be missed.
Betty Ford was a great first lady and a very cool dancer. She and her husband Jerry were pretty much the last of the free-thinking, moral republicans. Her 1983 interview stated that he consulted with her before pardoning Dick Nixon. She had some very forward-thinking ideas on the role of women in society far ahead of her time when most of us youngsters still had a stay-at-home mom. She encouraged women to pursue higher education, careers and life adventure, but respected the women that chose to sacrifice all of that to devote themselves to their families. Her husband was a damn good president as well. He stated publicly in December of 1974 that American involvement in Viet Nam was "effectively over," then proceeded to take the necessary steps to bring the troops home safely. He even provided a path to amnesty for draft evaders who had fled the country. A truly healing presidency. It's a dirty shame that Reagan defeated him in the 1976 primary. Don't blame me, I was too young to vote. But I did register as a republican in 1980 to vote for John Anderson.
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