Listened to Gerald Ford’s speech about pardoning Nixon. What a yutz. He’s basically saying that famous people shouldn’t be prosecuted for things, because it’s bad for national morale and because they personally have a harder time with it than the average person would (due to all the press attention). I repeat: What a yutz.

Also listened to Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence” speech. He may be right, but it’s not hard to see how this guy didn’t get re-elected. Don’t get me wrong; I think he’s an impressive thinker and really a very good man. But he’s not the greatest speaker, and in any case a speech like this is not going to win anybody any friends (or, more importantly, any votes). It is, though, a good example of what’s gone wrong with the Democratic party: he’s all over the map in that speech. Can’t decide what we should be most depressed about, it seems. Yeesh.

But I also listened to Martin Luther King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech (in honor of his birthday, sort of). Wow. What a spectacular speech. It was given one year to the day before he was shot & killed. Man, just what an impressive speech. I’ve quoted some parts of it elsewhere, if you’re interested. But I’d really recommend the entire speech. It’s a masterwork of rhetoric—he builds upon several themes, and does such a great job with the work. You have to hear it.