The last week of December 2006 was the time of passing for two presidents. 

One was an American president, the other an Iraqi president.  While their lives and beliefs were in stark contrast, there were some similarities.

Neither was raised by their natural fathers.  Both studied law with the intent of becoming lawyers.  One succeeded in obtaining his degree and one did not.  Both rose to the highest office of their respective countries, but neither were elected to that honor by their people.

Both were usually surrounded by heavily armed guards.  One had guards to prevent an enemy from killing the leader of the free world and to keep the rare dangerous citizen away.  The other needed guards to keep his own citizens, millions of whom hated him, from killing him.

Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States, became president without receiving a single American vote outside of the Congress and the people of the fifth district in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Ford stepped up and took an oath to an office he never sought but had it thrust upon him.  On August 9, 1974, Ford took the oath of office and that day said, “I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.”

President Ford sacrificed his own political career for the good of the nation, which, at the time, did not understand just how sick it had become from the poison of hatred and distrust.  America was gravely ill and Gerald Ford was the antidote that saved us from our own bitterness and anger.  Only now, in retrospect, have most Americans come to appreciate the greatness of a simple man named Gerald Ford.

Saddam Hussein rose to power by killing those who stood in his path in the most brutal ways imaginable.  Everything he did was for the betterment of himself and not his country.  Saddam would brag about receiving 100 percent of the votes, but no one dared run against him or not vote for him.  A horrible death awaited anyone who even thought of challenging his power or presidency.  Saddam clawed his way to power using brute force and held onto it in the same manner. 

While the Fords lovingly raised their four children, provided a warm home, taught them to be good citizens, and saw to it they had good educations, Saddam was busy educating his sons as well.

Saddam would take his barely out-of-diapers sons to his overflowing prisons to watch people being tortured.  He taught them that this was the way a man kept his station in life.  Saddam taught his sons early that only by fear can the masses be controlled.  Enemies needed to be crushed, and crushed completely.  The screams of Saddam’s enemies must have haunted his two young sons in the dark of night.  It was not difficult to understand how Uday and Qusay Hussein grew up to be as cruel and barbaric as their father.  Many believe that the elder son, Uday, was insane.

Gerald Ford brought an end to the Viet Nam war by continuing Nixon’s withdrawal plans.  But he incurred the wrath of many when he pardoned Richard Nixon, saving the country the misery of having an elected president put on trial and possibly imprisoned.  Ford did not do this to save a friend, he did it to save the dignity of the office he now held.

While President Ford set about rebuilding the people’s confidence in the office of the president, President Hussein set about building palaces for himself while his people suffered. 

While Ford ended a war, Hussein started two wars that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Driven by anger and his own paranoia, Hussein slaughtered upwards to a million of his own citizens and tossed their bodies in mass graves that are still being uncovered in Iraq.  Even newborn babies did not escape his wrath.

 Gerald Ford was a gentle and forgiving man, even smiling politely when a Chinese band struck up the Michigan State fight song, hoping it would please him.  Here was a man who preferred the University of Michigan’s “Hail to the Victors” over “Hail to the Chief.”  If anything, the pomp and circumstance of the office annoyed him. 

Saddam Hussein enjoyed the grandeur and luxury his status gave him.  High on the list of things that pleased Saddam was the news that some perceived enemy had been dragged from his home, tortured, and had been killed.  He would then send a bill to the family for the bullets used to kill their loved one.  No palace was too grand and no he denied himself no desired luxury. 

One man was driven from office because of a lack of confidence and the other, by bombs.  One left his presidency with dignity and honor, the other sought safety in a filthy “spider hole” losing whatever dignity he had left as he was pulled from that hole by American troops who passed on a greeting from President Bush.

The American president left the trappings of the office with grace, turning over the power to the dually and legally elected Jimmy Carter.

The Iraqi president was taken before a tribunal of his fellow Iraqis to answer for his crimes against his people and humanity.

So, in this last week of 2006, their lives crossed paths again as both now stand before their God to answer for their lives.  Their fates now are out of human hands.

One died at the time of God’s choosing.  The other died at the time of man’s choosing.  One died quietly in his bed and the other as violently as he had lived.

Both can look down on this Earth and witness the events of their deaths.  One has people lining the streets to pay tribute.  One has people dancing in the streets celebrating his death. 

One has explosions in the form of cannons giving a 21-gun salute.  The other has vengeful bombers killing even more of their fellow citizens in a brutal fashion and a country nearly in lock-down to prevent more killing. 

One has a presidential jet that will take him home after a grateful nation pays its proper respects.  The other will be hurried off to be buried in an unmarked grave with the few that would mourn his passing kept far away.

One man healed his country and the other tore his country apart. 

Two countries.  Two men.  Two presidencies.  I shall always be grateful that I was born an American and that I am old enough to remember and appreciate the quiet, unassuming greatness of man named Gerald R. Ford.   Hail to the victors, Mr. President, Hail to the victors.

Copyright by Barbara J. Stock, www.RepublicanAndProud.com