12/31/2006 10:06:00 PM|W|P|Bob Hall|W|P|Funerals are always a time to say nice things about people. I watched President Ford’s on Saturday and was struck with how much adoration this accidental President commanded. I was seven years old at the heart of the Watergate scandal and while the details didn’t entirely make sense, I knew something big was going on. I remember too the anger many felt when a scant month later Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. That decision cost him a chance at a second term in office. I did not realize that it was Ford that tapped Donald Rumfeld to lead his transition and later the youngest ever Secretary of Defense, and Richard Cheney to backfill his spot as Chief of Staff. Cheney is probably unelectable as President with five draft deferments, the former CEO of Halliburton, the hunting incident, and four heart attacks to date. He has gone so far as to insist he won’t run in ‘08 What struck me during Ford’s funeral was how Presidential Cheney looked and orated compared to GW. Cheney briefly assumed the duties and responsibilities of the President when Bush underwent a medical exam (insert your own joke here) involving anesthetics on June 29, 2002. My unabashed prediction for 2007 is that Dick Cheney will become the 44th President of the United States. Happy New Years!!!|W|P|116762447365607861|W|P|President Cheney|W|P|ChaseHelp@gmail.com