Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Hail to the Chief!


Dick Nixon's birthday. Is this guy for real? Mobil is ExxonMobil these days, and gas is well over $3.00 per gallon.


Presents for President Nixon from The King, and "credentials." There's a whole film roll of this 1970 meeting, courtesy of the National Archives.

Excerpt from a memo summarizing what happened:

Presley immediately began showing the President his law enforcement paraphernalia including badges from police departments in California, Colorado and Tennessee. Presley indicated that he had been playing Las Vegas and the President indicated that he was aware of how difficult it is to perform in Las Vegas. . .

Presley indicated that he thought the Beatles had been a real force for anti-American spirit. He said that the Beatles came to this country, made their money, and then returned to England where they promoted an anti-American theme. The President nodded in agreement and expressed some surprise. The President then indicated that those who use drugs are also those in the vanguard of anti-American protest. Violence, drug usage, dissent, protest all seemed to merge in generally the same group of young people . . .

At the conclusion of the meeting, Presley again told the President how much he supported him, and then, in a surprising, spontaneous gesture, put his left arm around the President and hugged him . . .

[Bud Krogh, The White House, The President’s File, “Meeting with Elvis Presley, Monday, December 21, 1970, 12:30 p.m.," US National Archives]


Dick Nixon as Dick Tracy or Original Gangsta . . . with Prescott Bush, George's Daddy and G.W.'s grandfather. Who's Dick's Daddy here?


The Trickster with -- good God, it's John McCain, now Republican cannon fodder in USA Election 2008! Yes, Virginia, it's a strange world we're living in . . .

Today's Rune: Standstill.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I tell you what, Erik, I love that letter man. Good on good ol' Elvis.

Charles Gramlich said...

So Elvis was pretty conservative eh?

Lana Gramlich said...

Here's to being "in the vanguard of anti-American protest!" Woo hoo! ;) *L*

Charles; Let's get real...Elvis was whacked out on drugs. It's the only answer that makes sense. *L*

Erik Donald France said...

I go with the whacked–out-on-drugs theory (a phrase that apparently was first recorded in dictionaries in 1967 . . . learned while double checking spelling: alt. wacked-out ;)

Anonymous said...

If you too want to know who the "they" are on Wayne's blogs feel free to find out on my blog. I'm the sister he hates so much. www.myspace.com/jezabelle_jen

Lana Gramlich said...

Erik; Appropriate, considering I was born in '67. Woo hoo! *L*