Talk:Betty Ford/Archive 1

This is an archive of past discussions about Betty Ford. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 1

Name in first sentence

There seems to be some confusion regarding the Wiki convention of how biographies deal with the first mention of the subject.

The convention is to list the article as the subject as the person is most commonly known as and in the first sentence to list the person's full name (including married names).

For example:

title Bess Truman

First mention of name: Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman

The first mention of Betty Ford should be Elizabeth Ann Bloomer Warren Ford. Scott 08:19, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

"...her father died on purpose..."

Why not "her father committed suicide..."? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 220.105.97.86 (talk) 23:44, 27 December 2006 (UTC).

I couldn't help rephrasing "...her father died on purpose..." as "her father committed suicide". Juvenile euphemisms like "he did it on purpose" have no place in an encyclopaedia. Stating facts forthrightly isn't any less respectful of the dead. Apart from that, an informative article. Thanks. Tanyanika 05:27, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

Source says her father's death was accidental. If it were suicide, there needs to be a source that says that. I've changed the article to reflect the information at http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=39.75.58.57.168 17:44, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

I've removed the "accidental" mention, since a Washington Post profile of BF makes it clear that nobody knows whether her father was a suicide or died accidentally; the Post also mentions that father, like daughter, was an alcoholicMowens35 19:12, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

It must be remembered that, especially in 1930's, suicide carried enormous social stigma and guilt, and at least one Christian denomination back then denied burial rites to suicides. Thus, even if he did commit suicide, the family would not have been forthright about it.John Paul Parks (talk) 20:05, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

Link to Jack Ford is to the wrong person

Under Betty Ford's photo is a list of her children: Michael, Jack, Steven, Susan. The link to "Jack" leads to the wrong person. It should link to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Ford_%28news_anchor%29&oldid=96790521 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.87.231.48 (talk) 00:51, 28 December 2006 (UTC).

The link as it exists is correct. The article on Jack Ford (news anchor) is not about the child of former President and Mrs. Ford; the article says that in the opening paragraph.75.58.57.168 16:12, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

Footnotes

I'm not sure what bibliography style is used for biographies, but since footnotes 2 and 3 are the same, shouldn't footnote 3 simply say "ibid."? --William Moates 00:50, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

Please see Wikipedia:Footnotes#Style recommendations; the reason for the complete restatement of the source is that other footnotes may intervene in subsequent edits, rendering "Ibid" incorrect.75.58.57.168 16:12, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm new to all this, but in researching a paper I see the reference to the NYT article is wrong (and I think comes from an online reference to the article), and I can't see how to edit the footnotes. It should be: Steinhauer, Jennifer. "Back in View, a First Lady With Her Own Legacy." New York Times 31 December 2006: A1+

Image

Can we get a current Betty Ford image? Carpet9 03:00, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Do we need one?Mowens35 14:41, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Ford funeral pic of Betty

I think that a picture of Betty Ford during the Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford is a good idea to include somewhere on this page....What do you guys think? Happyme22 02:06, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Photo request

Seems odd to have such a public career prior to her marriage to Ford and no photo associated with it. MrZaius^talk 08:52, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Oldest former First Lady

I'm wondering what date it would be if Betty Ford surpasses Bess Truman in age. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.164.224.112 (talk) 23:18, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

December 11, 2015. Georgia guy (talk) 17:43, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

Comma in first paragraph

it says "sex drugs" im pretty sure its supposed to say "sex, drugs" im not sure if she was a very candid speaker on sex drugs (ie poppers) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.218.62.103 (talk) 06:27, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Oh, she probably would have been if anyone had asked her! But I agree, I think there should be a comma between the two words!John Paul Parks (talk) 00:45, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

Date of birth

betty ford was born on 4-8-1918 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.101.99.170 (talk) 22:58, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

Delay in wedding

The article states that she and Jerry delayed their wedding until shortly before the election, because they were not sure how the voters would react to Jerry's decision to marry an ex-dancer divorcee. How did that help him? The people still had not voted, and if the marriage were really a problem, they still had the chance to vote against him. Indeed, by waiting until just before the election, he ensured that the event would be fresh in their minds.John Paul Parks (talk) 05:31, 9 January 2011 (UTC)

This OR analysis is irrelevant to the editing of this article, as are the other opinions inserted via tags - we follow sources, and the source article clearly makes that point. Tvoz/talk 02:02, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Betty Ford protected

" James Henaghan IV" Shouldn't this page be protect like the others such as Barack obama's page — Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.188.102.28 (talk) 07:25, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Date of death

she died onjuly 8th 2011 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.102.30.175 (talk) 00:54, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Did she pass away on July 8th or 9th? Most news sources I'm reading at this point say July 9th. We don't need a time of death but the article currently says July 8th, and while that might have been an erroneous dateline it appears to not be accurate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.82.15.50 (talk) 10:33, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Today is July 9th. I first heard of her passing when it broke in news sources yesterday at about 8 PM CST, so 8th is correct. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.201.175.87 (talk) 13:24, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Funeral

This article says she died, but it made no reference to detail about her funeral. Specifically, the article should reveal who attended her funeral, and who couldn't for the same reason Betty couldn't attend Lady Bird Johnson's funeral. Georgia guy (talk) 12:04, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

She just died yesterday and the funeral hasn't been held yet. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.201.175.87 (talk) 13:15, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

Now that the funeral has been held; info should be known about who couldn't attend Betty Ford's funeral. Georgia guy (talk) 18:25, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Neutrality Questioned

The article speaks of Betty Ford as having announced her addiction to alcohol and her role in the founding of the Betty Ford Center as if they were unilateral acts on her part. For the sake of accuracy, the article should point out that she was admitted for treatment only after her family staged an intervention.John Paul Parks (talk) 01:51, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

Abortion rights activist?

KING: What are your thoughts on the great debate in your party about abortion?

FORD: Well, I have to be very frank and clear here. Betty and I are pro-choice, period. We have no apology for that.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/30/lkl.01.html

By the time Betty got to the White House, in 1974, the Supreme Court of the United States had already legalized abortion, having done so in the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade. 410 U.S. 113 (1973). Thus, there was nothing for Betty to be an activist about. I seriously doubt that Betty ever took any public position on abortion during the time it was illegal. First of all, outside of Grand Rapids and the Beltway, no one had ever heard of her. As for Grand Rapids, it is extremely conservative, and a pro-abortion point of view back then, and in that part of the state, would have been extremely unpopular, and would have jeopardized Jerry's chances for re-election. As the article already notes, he was concerned about the reaction he would receive for marrying an ex-dancer divorcee. As evidence of Michigan's conservatism on the subject of abortion, consider that Michigan Abortion Legalization Initiative, Proposal B, was on the ballot on November 7, 1972, and would have legalized abortion on demand through twenty weeks of gestation, but it was overwhelmingly defeated in a statewide election.John Paul Parks (talk) 20:10, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

When Barbara Walters asked the new second lady for a reaction to a Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, Betty replied it was "time to bring abortion out of the back woods and put it in the hospitals where it belonged." Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-07-08-betty-ford-obit_n.htm — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.201.175.87 (talk) 01:45, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

You can seriously doubt whatever you choose, but sources are clear regarding Betty's strong pro-choice feelings. Please keep your OR and opinions out of this. Tvoz/talk 03:11, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

What "original research" are you referring to? Can you present any evidence that Betty Ford advocated for the legalization of abortion prior to the Supreme Court's decision? That she approved of Roe v. Wade after the decision was announced does not make her an "activist."John Paul Parks (talk) 01:56, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

External links modified

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