So, is it wrong for a sitting president to choose not to attend the funeral of one of the few people in the world who has some idea of what his day-to-day life is like in the fishbowl of the White House? Do you make the decision to forego such things as a digital conference to put the presidential “stamp” on the services.
History tells us that’s not the choice most presidents make.
In fact, it is not at all common for sitting presidents to attend the funerals of first ladies. Obama did not attend Betty Ford’s funeral in 2011; George Bush did not attend Lady Bird Johnson’s funeral in 2007; Bill Clinton did not attend the funeral for Pat Nixon, nor Jacqueline Kennedy’s funeral, but did give a eulogy at Kennedy’s graveside; Ronald Reagan, did not attended Bess Truman’s funeral; Jimmy Carter did not attend Mamie Eisenhower’s funeral; John Kennedy attended Eleanor Roosevelt’s funeral in 1962.
So what is the protocol for sitting presidents when first ladies pass away? Answer is: There is no protocol.
Whether flags are lowered to half-staff or not is up to the president -- they were so ordered by Obama for Reagan, but not for Betty Ford.
No first lady has had a state funeral – or a public funeral held in the nation's capital. Those who are honored with such a ceremony lie in repose until they are moved to the United States Capitol Rotunda where they then officially “lie in state.” (No female has ever lain in state at the Capitol Rotunda. Rosa Parks laid in honor – a distinction afforded to people who are not members of government -- there in 2005.)
What did they do in years past? Pretty much the same thing.
According to the Austin-American Statesman, only four sitting presidents have attended the funerals of first ladies. Zachary Taylor, who attended Dolley Madison's funeral in 1849, 53 years later Theodore Roosevelt attended Julia Grant's funeral in 1902 then Ida McKinley's service in 1907. It was another 55 years before a sitting president would attend a first lady's funeral and that was Kennedy at Eleanor Roosevelt's.
Some of the outrage from the right could be left over from Obama’s decision not to attend Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral. Scalia died last month while at a ranch in Texas. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama paid their respects in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court building a day before Scalia’s funeral.
Sources: U.S. Army; United States House of Representatives archive; Senate Historical Office.
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