The Power of the Media to Get You to Believe the Opposite of What is True

President Gerald R. Ford during his days as a University of Michigan football hero.
****************************************************
"They got some beautiful people out there, man
They can be a terror to your mind and show you how to hold your tongue
They got mystery written all over their forehead
They kill babies in the crib and say only the good die young
They don't believe in mercy
Judgment on them is something that you'll never see
They can exalt you up or bring you down main route
Turn you into anything that they want you to be
--Bob Dylan "Foot of Pride"

****************************************************
Gerald Ford was probably the best athlete to ever serve as President of the United States. Ford was a three-year letterman for the Michigan Wolverines, and two of those years they were undefeated national champions. He was the teams MVP in 1934. He was also a talented baseball and basketball player.

In spite of this reality, the fake reality superimposed over the actual one is that Ford was a "klutz". This was due to endless replays on television of an incident where he bumped his head getting out of an airplane. Of course, even the most graceful of us have an occasional stumble, but thanks to the power of televison, that was turned into Ford's defining moment. It was ironic indeed that the best athlete to ever inhabit the White House was turned into a "klutz" by the magic power of the media to distort reality. As Ford lies in state, perhaps the most important lesson of his short tenure in office was the cautionary tale of how the media can get people to believe the exact opposite of reality.