Will he or won’t he? Is Fancy Ford going to run against Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-TN)? If so, here’s one more nugget. . .
In October 2006, Then-Rep. Harold Ford (D-TN) Misrepresented Himself As A “Lawyer” During A Chattanooga Times Free Press Editorial Board Interview. “Mr. Corker make the point that he believes that it’s time for a businessman and not a lawyer. I was flying back with Sen. Alexander and I told Sen. Alexander, I won’t hold it against you, if I’m elected - to have 2 lawyers in the delegation who try their hardest to work through the issues. I said I know the guy who you are chairing the campaign for, he meant nothing against you, it was really directed at me - specifically.” (Congressman Ford, Chattanooga Times Free Press Editorial Board, 10/3/06)
• The Chattanooga Times Free Press Called Ford’s Repeated Lawyer Claims “Troubling.” “Rep. Ford admitted he never passed the bar exam, required to be a lawyer, despite troubling claims the past few years that he is a lawyer.” (Editorial, “Debate Lays Out Differences," Chattanooga Times Free Press, 10/11/06)
First, The Campaign Claimed Ford Was “Joking” When He Said He Was A Lawyer. “Ford, who has a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School, is not a member of any bar. Powell said the reference to being a lawyer was done in a ‘joking manner’ and pointed out the irony that President Bush during a fund-raising visit to Nashville and Corker himself have labeled Ford a lawyer.” (Bonna de la Cruz, “Ford Campaign Staff Not Relaxing Despite Slight Lead In Polls,” Tennessean, 10/9/06)
• Spokeswoman Carol Andrews Reiterated That Congressman Ford Was “Making A Joke.” “Ford campaign spokeswoman Carol Andrews e-mailed the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Friday evening reiterating that Rep. Ford was making a joke about Mr. Corker and President Bush both referring to him as a lawyer.” (Michael Davis, “Handful Backs Ford’s Claim Of Being Lawyer,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, 10/7/06)
Then Ford’s Senior Advisor Denied That Ford “Represented Himself As A Practicing Attorney.” “At issue is whether Ford should be allowed to call himself a lawyer. He has referred to himself as a lawyer to several media outlets, but Ford senior adviser Michael Powell has denied that the candidate has represented himself as a practicing attorney. Ford earned his law degree the University of Michigan in 1996, the same year he was elected to Congress. He failed the bar exam the following year.” (“Senate Hopefuls In Tenn. To Square Off,” The Associated Press, 10/8/06)
And In A Press Conference Ford Claimed He “Never Even Talked About” Being A Lawyer.” “Sir I’ve never held myself out as a lawyer, I failed the bar after I left graduate school and I went to one of the best law schools in the country and that didn’t guarantee me passing. I never practiced and I never even talked about it. . . .” (Rep. Harold Ford Jr., Press Conference, Chattanooga, TN, 10/10/06)
So what's all the fuss? He joked or misrepresented himself as a lawyer? Nope. The kicker is he failed the bar exam... because he didn't study. Sounds like a PSA commercial waiting to happen.
Finally, Ford Acknowledged He Failed His Bar Exam During A Chattanooga Debate Against Bob Corker. “Rep. Ford also was asked about recent remarks in which he described himself as a lawyer despite not having passed the bar exam. ‘I learned a very good lesson,’ the congressman said of not passing the bar. ‘You should study before you take it.’” (Andy Sher, “Ford Spar In Debate,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, 11/11/06)
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