Since They Come in Sets of Three...

Michael Bérubé invents a new form of obituary: the Comb-o-bit.

Allies and opponents alike remember Ford as a gentle, gracious man, nothing like the bumbler familiar to us from Chevy Chase’s portrayals on “Saturday Night Live.” “He was actually a brilliant and innovative dancer,” noted distinguished statesman Tom DeLay. “And what stamina! I remember when they put that cape on his shoulders, he looked so exhausted I thought they were going to have to carry him off the stage. And then he stripped it right off and started singing and doing the splits and everything, just as fresh as a daisy! Whooooo-eee! That man was truly Mister Dynamite!” Deeply divisive former president Jimmy Carter agreed, saying that Gerald Ford “frequently rose above politics by emphasizing the need to get on the good foot and dance ‘til you feel better.”