The singular star of the 1976 bicentennial celebration in the nation’s capital was our founding document which formally declared America’s independence two centuries earlier.

Everyone willing to stand in line for hours got a chance to see the Declaration of Independence on display at the National Archives. Thousands did, and listened to a reading of the text. The loudest cheers came at the end, with the names of the signatories from the various states that had joined to make a union.

More cheers came as the chief archivist, James Rhoads, cut a five-tier birthday cake with a gleaming sword from the Navy archives. The one guest of honor there, and at celebrations across America that day, was America herself. Anybody who sought to capitalize on her anniversary would have been akin to somebody attending a birthday party and seeking to make himself the focus of attention. That would cheat both the honoree and the guests, which in this instance would be all Americans.

President Gerald Ford had his 63rd birthday coming up in 10 days, but he had made no effort to tie........

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