As a life-long democrat, the only republican for whom i have ever voted was Mr. Ford. It was the first election in which I could vote. I chose Mr. Ford for two reasons 1) he pardoned Mr. Nixon and 20 he was the Episcopalian! I found it interesting that in the homilies of two speakers Mr. Ford's love of the Episcopal Church was demonstrated by his concern that the church not divide over issues of sexuality and gender. Those comments show his deep desire to still be a healer and peacemaker. Unfortunately, I do not see another Mr. Ford in the wings when someoe with his character is so sorely needed in our Nation.

I also was struck by the tender care Steven showed his mother. For me, the moment of weeping was when Mr. Ford's body was removed from the libarary and while the camera was focusing on Steven, he said "I love you; I love you papa." Mr. Ford belonged to all of us; but Steven was buring his Papa.

After reading Mr. Tom Shale's blog in the Washington Post he must have watched a different channel in his reporting of NBC's coverage of former President Ford's funeral at the National Cathedral...

My wife and I both commented during and after the coverage of that beautiful ceremony that there was absolutely no obtrusive voice over interruption throughout... Tom Brokaw... Henry Kissinger... George H.W. Bush and President Bush gave wonderful tributes to former President Ford... the camera work was exceptional and the camera direction was imaginative...

Thank you NBC for this coverage...

I must tell you what a class act the Ford family is and MSNBC is a fantastic class act, too. You did an incredible service to this country with your coverage of the Ford Remembrance. I am so proud to be a citizen of this country. My husband is retired military and how proud we were of all of the participants...especially the pall bearers. Thank you for giving us this final memory of President Ford. Bill and Nancy Grier, Grand Junction< CO.

I must add my thanks to Tom Brokaw for a very moving and inspiring eulogy. He has such a wonderful way of expressing himself and with just the right tone. I would love to have a copy of it and hope the text will be published on your Web site. He absolutely "got it right". We mourn the passing of another member of the greatest generation....a humble man with good mid-western values who was thrust into a position he didn't seek but took on that job with grace and honor. I'm proud to be a Michigan native and to be able to call Mr. Ford the same. Rest in peace Mr. President...

Brian,
NBC's coverage of President Ford's funeral was simply remarkable. When all other networks gave commentary during the service, you remained silent out of respect of the family and occasion. Once again, a very impressive job by you and NBC.

Cheryl ...

If you would like, you may visit the Ronald Reagan Memorial website, where you can click on a link to view some lovely images (set to some very beautiful music) from President Reagan's funeral, which was quite grand and was covered extensively throughout the days of ceremonies (all federal facilities, including federal banks and the U.S. Postal Service, were closed on the last day of the services which included ceremonies at the National Cathedral and the sunset ceremony) -- http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/photo_gallery.asp -- it includes photos from the family's ceremony at the Reagan Library, as well as the services at the Capitol Rotunda, the National Cathedral, and the services held at the end of the day during a sunset ceremony upon the return to the Reagan Library at the end of the day.

Also, there is a DVD, "Ronald Reagan: Mourning in America", available for purchase on this site. Your local library might have a copy of this DVD available for you to borrow.

I'm sure there are many snippets of the funeral available for viewing on the internet, if you wanted to do a search.

I hope this information helps. :-)

Thank you to Tom Brokaw for that touching euology of the President. Tom Brokaw = NBC NEWS

Cheryl,

Good point. I was thinking the same thing last night as I was watching the news. I don't recall the mail not being delivered or other public offices shutting down. Would the news do a bit of research on this?

A quick question about the editing and writing to video in the Bob Faw piece that ran on Nightly Tuesday evening. A shot of President Ford's casket was used with the word "power," and a tight shot of a darker-skinned woman was used while the word "powerless" was voiced. While I commend you for your excellent coverage of the passing of a great and honorable leader, I found this a bit questionable, and I'm wondering why you chose to air the piece that way.

Thanks very much for the reporting.

Mr. Brokaw - thank you for expressing the human factor AND the humor in your eulogy to Mr. Ford. You delivered what the Ford family, and those who mourn the loss of Mr. Ford, needed most. Better yet, you allowed all of us to smile through the tears. Another job well done!

Great coverage for a great man. If only President Bush would enact the words he spoke like honesty and integrity would help. He should stay away from the military stuff as he and Cheney never served the country in time of need.
Bush had Saddam a martyr. Saddam was weak and getting weaker and the people were ready for change until Bush invaded Iraq. Notice how the Shites who were cleared to hang Saddam were yelling support for Al-Sadr not Prime Minister Al Maliki. That says volumes as to what Shite has the support of the people. Now Americans are being asked to send more troops to be sitting ducks and die. We're asked to give money for jobs and rebuild Iraq. Notice the United States isn't doing well as we already spent 2 Trillion dollars on Iraq/Afghan and it was misspent or was taken by Bush's war profiteers. Let's see how the new 110th Congress handles the waste of taxpayers money.

I think it is sad as well as an additional tribute to President Ford that the main themes and in the recent days are how impressive and amazing it is that a man with integrity and honor held office.

Thank you Brian to you and your colleagues for great coverage of the state funeral of President Ford. His presidency was so long ago, and being in high school, I'd forgotten all that happened then. I gained a new appreciation for President Ford, and even went to the rotunda to pay my respect to him and his family. I also thought Tom Brokaw's eulogy was wonderful, and hope I can find the text to keep as a momento.

PS - to Cheryl Dunn, President Reagan had a similar state funeral, perhaps a bit grander because it included a horse drawn funeral procession just like President Kennedy. I remember because I saw it along Constitution Avenue. I understand President Ford wanted only a limousine. President Bush declared a national day of mourning for Reagan as well.

Dear Brian: for some time now my wife and I (who just celebated our 55th anniversary!) have been meaning to write and congratulate you on the really splendid job you do with the evening news. Today's coverage of the funeral proceedings for President Ford was so marvelous, and the work that you and your colleagues, especially Tom Brokaw, did was so professionally competent while still showing your personal sentiments
that I hasten to send our strongest congratulations and admiration.Something about Gerry Ford really did
bring out the best in people! Thank you again for
superb continuing public service.

Brian ...

Your coverage during the past two days has been excellent, and was done with quiet dignity and respect. I loved your comments about Liberty. You shared the picture that you mentioned this morning with us the other day; and, I do believe that you had Liberty's comments during that photo take just right. That is just the most wonderful picture, showing just how much a Golden loves to ham for a camera ... any camera. As one who was once loved for over a decade by a wonderful Golden Retriever by the name of Pumpkin, I know that a Golden Retriever is a loyal and loving dog, no matter what. I highly recommend a Golden to anyone who has the time and energy for a lively, active, loveable, and loving dog (and, you would do well to consider purchasing a King-sized bed if you don't already own one ... they do tend to take up most of the room, and all of the covers :-) ).

Tom's eulogy was beautiful, just as you said. I LOVE to hear Tom speak. After all the years of hearing his soft, reassuring voice, the sound of it still invokes a sense of calm, comfort, and peace during a difficult time.

I hope you will have the chance to return to your vacation, Brian. Thank you for taking the time away from your holiday vacation with your family to bring coverage of President Ford's final farewells -- and more especially a thank you to your family for sharing you with us -- I know this must have been a difficult Christmas for you without your dear sister. I appreciate your taking the time away to be with us on air, declining your invitation to attend the funeral today.

Happy New Year to you, Brian, to all of you at NBC Nightly News, and to all my fellow Daily Nightly bloggers, as well !

Thank you for your coverage of President Ford's funeral. And THANK YOU Tom Brokaw for a beautiful eulogy.

I have never felt compelled to post a message on any news boards or any other items like this, but I felt that I needed to say something about the whole process of the news coverage, and the government and nation's response to the death of President Gerald Ford. I believe that he was there when the country needed to find a way to begin to trust our government again after the debaucle of Watergate and the Vietnam war, but I find myself wondering how Nancy Reagan and her family feel about the attention being paid to the passing of President Ford; I definitely do not remember all of this pomp and circumstance happening when President Reagan passed away. Why is that, I wonder? Was he less of a President during his time in office, did he do something that kept his passing from getting the same type of reverence and respect that is being afforded to President Ford? I really don't understand it. We have not only afforded President Ford the respect he deserved as one of our Presidents who passed away; the past few days have seen our nation lifting him up to the point where I believe it lessens the passing of President Reagan.
I do not remember government and financial institutions, and in some cases schools, closing for a day to observe a day of mourning for the passing of a President when President Reagan died. Yes, it was covered on the news, and yes, we as a country paid our respects to him, but was he given the same amount of respect and honor that has followed President Ford's death? You can answer that for yourself, but if I were a member of President Reagan's family I believe I would definitely question this. Just a thought from someone who admired both Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan as two men who held the highest office in our land and did their best to do what they believed was right for our country and for its people, and as such; the respect and honor paid to them should have been equally reverent.

Dear Mr. Williams,
Thank you for all the coverage that you and your colleagues have provided about Mr. Ford and his legacy. I was born in 1974 and must confess that when you and your colleagues referred to President Ford as out only "unelected" president, that I had to do some research. However, in doing that research and watching your coverage, I have realized what a truly brave man President Ford was. Thank you for not letting us forget (and teaching those of us who missed it).

I believe the comments from Tom Brokaw were among the best I have ever heard. I appreciated his poise and position, you could tell he knew him well. I'm looking for a copy of his speach.

Brian, thank you and all of the NBC staff for the excellent coverage of President Ford's funeral. It was respectful and it granted the family both public respect and some measure of privacy in a very public arena. I VERY much appreciated the silence during the service itself; it often seems to me that networks find a need to fill silence with endless chatter that is very annoying during solemn moments, so today's quiet was welcome and appropriate.

Thanks too, to Tom Brokaw, whose eulogy painted a very human picture of President Ford. Amid all the gathering of power brokers, it was good to remember that Ford was a very straightforward man. How I wish that our leaders of today were like him!

I Remember President Ford and I thought for the Time He was In Office He Did A Good Job.But Talk About Someone Needing To Heal This Country,Who Ever Becomes the Next President,Republican,Demorcrat,Man Or Woman,Will Definately Need to Be Able to Heal The American People's Trust In the Presidency,1000 Times More Than President Ford Had to.It will take A Long time to Do So.

Tom Brokaw got it right. Farewell Mr. President. Thank You, Citizen Ford. I rarely weep at these ceremonies. But as a journalist, a Democrat -- and an American -- I wept at the passing of a great President. Thanks, Citizen Ford. Amen.

I think what came to light so much today in reminiscing about President Ford is how low we've gone to now having a president who has divided the country, made the average American poorer, gotten us into a no-win war, and, most important in relation to President Ford, made a mockery of the US Constitution. President Ford was a good, decent man thrust into a role he never wanted, and he responded with grace and common sense. Honor and integrity come to mind, but that is certainly not what we have today.

Ha-ha... Yes, I suppose anyone can become president in this country, but it sure helps to be a former oil tycoon (and/or someone willing to pardon inexplicable wrong-doing). I've reflected on this more recently when I watched Al Gore's movie about Global Warming. Much Like Tom Brokaw's documentary (and others) it clearly pointed to facts that... well, are just a little too inconvenient for those pumping oil from the ground. As I reflect on the year past and the coming year, I can't help but loath what corporate American has done to its own and how deep (as in Iraq) it has gone.

The "blending" of the role between journalist (objective observer) and friend (subjective celebrity ally) is a very troubling development, and although you point it out as a benefit, I see that as a detriment to the ability to objectively observe, collect, analyze and report. I believe that you, and most of your media colleagues, have confused journalism with celebrity and influence, and that we are all the worse for it.

Relative to Cheney's eulogy: it appeared extraordinarily self-serving as it harped on the pardon that VP Cheney may be needing in the near future as congressional hearings and investigations get underway. The President's remarks, too, were political and self-serving. Don't for a minute believe that politicians (from both sides of the aisle) are not "working" their base - even as they eulogize. That you aren't aware of this is concerning.

One distinction between President Ford and President G.W. Bush: Ford consistently referred to "my fellow Americans" as all equals with himself included. Bush refers to "the American people" as a distinct group from himself. One man served his country, and the other, imperially, refers to "us" as the collective lesser "them." Why no remarks about this critical distinction?

Why the role confusion, NBC News?