A country on shaky ground as we approach our 250th birthday Opinion

[Aristus]

1. We weren't in such great shape at the Bicentennial, either.

Nixon had resigned rather than face impeachment and an almost certain conviction. The country was being led by a genial, but clumsy, dunce who pardoned Nixon's douchebaggery, leaving Tricky Dick free to launch a rationalization-riddled, sweaty-lipped elder statesmanship. OPEC had us by the balls. The economy was cratering, and every industry that had made the U.S. a manufacturing powerhouse was heading for the exits.

We still found things to celebrate, though. Whatever Gerald Ford's problems were, deliberately trying to make things worse wasn't one of them.