presidential blunders

Lyndon Johnson once said famously of Gerald Ford: "He can't fart and chew gum at the same time." But according to a variety of sources, he certainly could fart, and had fun with it. Cormac O'Brien, in his book Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents, says that, "According to his Secret Service detail, the president would loudly let one rip and then always attempt to put the blame on one of them with indignant remarks like, 'Jesus, did you do that? Show a little class.'" O'Brien says that Ford would fart with "alarming frequency and abandon." Personality, Character and Leadership in the White House, by Steven J. Rubenzer and Thomas R. Faschingbauer, also recounts this presidential quirk (with footnote and documentation), though quotes Ford as saying, "God, show a little class," when accusing his Secret Service detail. (Photo by Dennis Brack)