THE FIRST GUY TO CALL HIM MR. PRESIDENT!

Monday, January 26^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

THE FIRST GUY TO CALL HIM MR. PRESIDENT

They buried former President Gerald Ford twenty years ago this month I had met the former President on three different occasions. And I really believe I was the first person to call him “Mr. President.”

My first encounter with this accidental chief executive-to-be was on July 31, 1972. Louisiana Senator Allen Ellender had unexpectedly died in the middle of his race for re-election. The Senator had made it a point for years to come by my law office in Ferriday and pay a visit on his annual tour of the state. I therefore felt it appropriate to make the three-hour drive down to Houma in the center of deep south Louisiana and attend the Senator’s funeral.

When I arrived at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church an hour before the funeral, over a thousand people were packed into the street in front of the entrance. Metal barriers have been set up to keep the crowd at bay, and the church was surrounded by state troopers, local police officers and numerous Secret Service agents. It became obvious why there was so much security. President and Mrs. Nixon led a long list of dignitaries that included Vice President Spiro Agnew, 36 US senators, a number of state officials, and the minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Gerald Ford.

I had no official invitation, and was just one of the crowd standing on the outside of the barriers. I was a new state senator then, and I hollered out a greeting to a colleague, state Senator Claude Duvall, who was inside the barrier. It was a stroke of luck, because Claude was in charge of the seating arrangements. He graciously opened up the barrier, and led me into the cathedral. About 30 minutes passed, when the official delegation that had just arrived from Washington was escorted into the church sanctuary.

Claude could not have put me in a better spot. The President was one row up and just to my left. The Vice President was directly in front of me. Senator Ted Kennedy and other members of the Senate surrounded me, and right behind me was the Minority Leader, Gerald Ford. I had dated a girl in years past from the Congressman’s hometown, Grand Rapids Michigan, and we shared some pleasantries about mutual friends from there for a brief moment following the service. So went encounter number one.

My second meeting with the President-to-be was at the Louisiana governor’s mansion in May of 1974. Ford was Vice President, then, and had come to Baton Rouge to address the Louisiana Legislature. Following his speech, then Governor Edwin Edwards invited him to the governor’s mansion for a reception. The Governor and the Vice President had served in the U.S. House together, and it was obvious from their banter at the reception that they were close friends. In fact, Edwards, a democrat, supported Ford in his race for re-election against Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Ford shared the story that when they both were in Congress and he asked about Edwards’ future plans, the Governor-to-be said he planned on returning to Baton Rouge and running for the state’s top post. Ford shared with us his response that he was going to hang around Congress, because “you never know what just might happen.”

My third encounter? The Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans on August 5th, 1974. Vice President Ford was making a speech in the hotel’s grand ballroom. I was not at the speech, but did happen to be in the hotel lobby heading towards the main entrance. A rush of people came towards me hurriedly escorting the Vice President past where I was standing. The Secret Service agents were not just escorting the Vice President, but rather they were aggressively leading and almost pushing him out the door towards his waiting limousine. I knew something important was happening.

The Watergate rumors had been spreading for months, and President Nixon was on the verge of being impeached. It struck me that it was not just possible but probable that Nixon had made the decision to resign, and Ford was heading back to Washington to become the 38th president of the United States.

I was maybe 15 feet away from Ford as he passed me going down the stairway. On impulse, I hollered out: “Good luck and Godspeed to you, Mr. President.” He glanced my way, nodded, and gave me a serious look. Then he entered his limousine and sped away.

As I found out later, his speech was interrupted by a phone call from Chief of Staff General Alexander Haig, who informed Ford that the President would step down the next day, and Ford would ascend to the presidency.

The nation took to the new President, giving him an approval rating above 71%. It was obvious the country wanted to put the Watergate scandal and President Nixon’s resignation behind. As Ford himself said, he had made a commitment to put an end to “our long national nightmare.” Yet when he later pardoned Nixon, Ford reopened the very wounds he was trying hard to close.

Was the pardon a mistake? For Ford, politically, yes. Perhaps a pardon would have made more sense after Nixon had given testimony, and much more about Watergate became known. We are supposed to be a country that is strong enough to endure almost anything but burying the truth. Often those in charge of our justice system seem oblivious to letting the whole story come out. I can speak from personal experience about evidence that was hidden by prosecutors. If there is any justification for the pardon, it should have been given at a much later date.

I never met Ford while he served as President or any time thereafter. There were three brief encounters. Any number of people had similar remembrances and anecdotes. But I will always believe that on the spur of the moment, and on a hunch, I was the first person to call Gerald Ford “Mr. President.”

Peace and Justice.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

 

TOO MUCH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN LOUISIANA!

Monday, January 19th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

TOO MUCH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN LOUISIANA!

I don’t know about you, but I sure am confused about all this current debate over gender equity, gay rights, and transgenders. I keep reading in the newspaper about LGBT. I had to look up the lettering to even know what the abbreviation means. Being “politically correct” has become an obsession with much of the country as well as right here at home in Louisiana.

Now personally, I don’t have a dog in this hunt. Carry on your personal lifestyle as long as you don’t interfere with my way of life or my personal freedoms. Live and let live. But too often today, one lifestyle interferes with that of another. If a baker is in business to make a living, why turn down anyone who wants a cake baked for his or her wedding? On the other hand, if it’s a gay wedding and the baker refuses to bake a wedding cake, why would the gay couple want to do business with someone they consider bigoted?

And this whole transgender bathroom thing? How did transgenders go to the bathroom for the past 100 years? I never really check out someone using the stall next to me. And why all the need for separate men and women’s bathrooms in the first place? Many restaurants in New Orleans have one bathroom for either sex to use. Have you gone to a sporting event and seen a long line for women and none for men? Architects ought to be more creative in designing safe and clean restrooms that can be more efficiently shared by everyone.

I wrote in my column recently about the hypocrisy of hate crimes. Why should any criminal be given a greater sentence because he or she committed crimes based on race, sexuality, sexual identity, or physical ability? If a child is tortured and murdered, is that to be considered less of a crime than if an Asian or a handicapped person is killed? Political correctness should not be a factor.

In Natchitoches Parish this past Christmas, a school principal was suspended for allowing a student-led prayer to take place. There was no sponsorship by the school. The students were just allowed to pray. But this wasn’t politically correct in this day and age. Kids can pray under their breath but not out loud? Nonsense!

I wanted to order the wonderful Disney film “Song of the South” recently to watch with my grandchildren. Remember all those enticing songs like “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” and “That’s What Uncle Remus Said?” Uncle Remus was an American Aesop, full of delightful stories (“Don’t throw me into the briar patch”). But the film has been out of circulation since 2000 because some critics say it glorifies slavery, even though the story takes place years after the Civil War. But not to offend anyone, so our kids miss out on a delightful tale of magical fables.

And for goodness sake, don’t attempt to bless anyone if they sneeze or for any other purpose. Up in New Hampshire, an election worker was recently fired for telling voters as they left the voting booth “God bless you.” It was supposedly a form of electioneering. I guess election officials were afraid a voter might have so disconcerted over the candidates running that they might go back into the voting booth and vote for the Good Lord instead.

A person can be sensitive to how others might feel without worrying that their every utterance may cause someone to take offense. Some of us feel it necessary to be more politically correct than do others. But a vibrant and strong country is only as courageous and agile as the sum of its parts.

I’m willing to go just so far to appease the P.C. crowd. Look, I’m a redneck, not someone who is rustically inclined. And we are always going to have hurricanes down here in Louisiana, not himmicanes. Sometimes, things are said where you take personal offense. But we can also go overboard by assuming a “victim mentality.”

You can be polite, but in doing so, you don’t have to shy away from telling it like it is. I try to do just that in offering you my perspective in my column each week.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

THE DEMISE OF ENTERTAINING POLITICS IN LOUISIANA!

Monday, January 12^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

THE DEMISE OF ENTERTAINING POLITICS IN LOUISIANA!

I have a sad announcement to make. Politics is just no fun anymore in Louisiana. Let’s hope with new LSU Coach Lane Kiffin we have something to enjoy. But not politics.

Reams of books have been written about the colorful characters that ran the Bayou state throughout its history. And the average citizen got involved, attended rallies and actively supported their candidate of choice. Few states could match the intensity and enthusiasm that was a part of Louisiana campaigning. The state’s two favorite pastimes were LSU football and Politics.

The two Longs who served as governor wanted to stay involved right up to the time of their deaths. Huey Long was shot and died September 10, 1935, eleven days after his 42nd birthday. His last words were, “God, don’t let me die. I have so much to do.” Younger brother Earl Long was famously quoted as saying: “Oh Lord, when I die, let me be buried in Louisiana, so I can stay active in politics.”

Retail politics used to be a basic part of any campaign. No statewide candidate would fail to attend the Rice Festival in Crowley, the Watermelon Festival in Farmerville or the Strawberry Festival in Hammond. There were thousands of hands to shake and voters galore who loved to be part of the campaign season. I experienced the buzz and thrill of campaigning during my 28 years in public life. Politics was just a lot of fun.

Most of my colleagues who served during my tenure going back to the 1970s ran for public office to serve and try to improve the quality of life for the voters they represented. There was little thought of financial gain. When I was first elected to the Louisiana State Senate back in the 1970s, I was paid $600 a month, with no office, staff or any other financial help. I represented a large part of Northeast Louisiana. My phone bill in my district averaged $900 a month. A campaign contribution of $100 was a big deal.

Today a political campaign is all about who can raise the most money. TV drives the debate. Political rallies are few, and you would be hard pressed to see a candidate for statewide office throwing candy and riding in a local parade. If a candidate is leading in the polls, he or she often chooses not to even show up for debates. So the public loses interest, voter participation is down, and voter distrust is on the rise.

Political parties in Louisiana are becoming more and more obsolete. It has become obvious that any allegiance to a particular party is over. Democrats make up 43% of registered voters, but a significant number rarely vote their party affiliation. The fastest growing numbers of registered voters are independents that list themselves with no party affiliation.

An interesting side note is that the last time a president was elected in the country who was neither a Republican nor a Democrat was Louisiana native Zachary Taylor, who won on the wig ticket back in 1848.

One of the problems in Louisiana and across the country is that extremists in both parties are dominating the political agenda. Or as veteran Republican consultant Mac Stipanovich puts it, “Somehow you’ve got to destroy the myth that you don’t win if you’re not crazy enough.”

And working across the aisles with a legislator from the opposing party is a thing of the past in a number of states including Louisiana. A few years back, legislators would fight hard for their political beliefs during the day, but then spend time socializing and working towards some type of compromise when the working day was done. No longer. Today, if a lawmaker from the opposing party disagrees or has a contrary opinion, then he or she is dead wrong and often is considered a political enemy.

There’s a U.S. Senator’s race in Louisiana on the horizon that, so far, few seem to care about. The campaigns are just, well dull. Don’t you miss the rhetoric and musings of Huey, Earl, Jimmy Davis, and even ole’ EWE? Sad to say, the thrill is gone. Let’s hope we can at least cheer on Coach Kiffin and a winning Fighting Tigers team next fall.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.

 

 

IN LOUISIANA THEY’RE ASKING — WHO’S IN CHARGE?

Monday, January 5^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

IN LOUISIANA THEY’RE ASKING — WHO’S IN CHARGE?

Our Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry, has been appointed by President Donald Trump to be an “ambassador to Greenland.” So the question is — who’s in charge when the Louisiana Governor is out of state?

Past governors have said: “the Governor remains the Governor wherever he is.” Apparently, the mindset is that the governor is always available by phone or email, so he never really is “away.” Not so, says the Louisiana Constitution, where clear language states: “When the governor is temporarily absent from the state, the lieutenant governor shall act as governor.”

The most recent constitutional convention, which was held in 1973, was called by the Louisiana legislature to update and rewrite the state’s founding document. I was a co-author of the legislation creating the convention, and I also served as an elected delegate for the one year undertaking to draft a new constitution. With little controversy, the convention overwhelmingly adopted the provisions that put the lieutenant governor in charge when the governor is out of state. The intentions of the delegates were quite clear.

In 1973 there were no cell phones, but landlines, of course, were abundant. However, Louisiana had experienced numerous blackout problems during hurricanes. Phone lines went dead during the storms and the delegates to the constitutional convention wanted provisions that, under emergency conditions, someone on the state level would be physically in charge. They had the savvy and the foresight to see that regardless of communication breakdowns, Louisiana would be best served by an onsite governor during an emergency.

Granted, communication systems have become much more sophisticated today, but the importance of the provisions still applies. No better example can be found than the Katrina experience. Cell phone and Internet service failed, and local television and radio stations were off the air. An absentee governor would not have been able to communicate to first responders, the state police or the National Guard. No matter how electronically “tuned in” an out of state governor might be, the delegates felt that a major emergency needs “hands on” leadership. And they were right.

Was another statewide official ever called on the issue of an executive order from the Governor’s office? Yes., I filled the role as Governor to deal with an anticipated emergency. I was elected Secretary of State in 1979, and the office is second in line to the Governorship behind the Lieutenant Governor. On several occasions, both then serving Governor Dave Treen and Lieutenant Governor Bobby Freeman were out of the state and I got the call.

The first time was in the fall of 1980. I had been in office for a little less than a year, and I was attending a national convention of Secretaries of State in Atlantic City. My wife was along, and we had tickets for one of the final concerts of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. This was a big deal back then, and an event my wife and I did not want to miss.

Late in the afternoon before the concert, the phone rang. The Governor’s executive counsel, Sonny Mouton was on the phone along with then Commissioner of Administration Bubba Henry. They quickly told me that both the governor and the lieutenant governor were out of the country, and they needed me to get back to Louisiana immediately to call a much-needed special session of the legislature. “I’d be glad to,” I told them, “first thing in the morning.”

No, they told me — the call had to be signed by midnight. What a dilemma. Either Frank, Dean and me hangin’ out (well, sort of), or back to Louisiana on a late flight. I reluctantly opted to skip the concert, and fly back to New Orleans. A State Police helicopter met me on the Delta runway, and I signed the needed document minutes before the midnight deadline.

Should the law be changed to have the governor in charge at all times? There are pros and cons, particularly in a state that is as disaster prone as Louisiana. Right now, a succession in command is the law. So when Governor Landry travels to Greenland, he needs to know that there is someone back home looking over his shoulder. Whether he likes it or not.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com.