Not long after the Nov. 7 election both Republicans and Democrats began spinning results in an effort to sway public opinion and bring pressure on the opposing camp to concede in what has become the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test of presidential elections.
One of the more curious bits from the Republicans is the one about former President Richard Milhous Nixon. Here at Smartbomb, we made a note of it several weeks ago because, frankly, it was so hilarious. It goes something like this:
In 1960, Nixon got screwed out of a victory in the presidential election due to vote-counting irregularities in a number of states, most notably Texas—where LBJ’s boys were doing the vote counting—and Illinois—where Chicago Mayor Richard Daly was in charge. Nixon was screwed out of the election but took it like a man for the betterment of the country, Republicans recalled. Now that he’s been screwed, Gore, too, should take it like a man in the best interests of the country and our form of government, they argued.
Pretty funny, eh? Well, apparently, the Salt Lake Tribune’s crack columnists, Paul Rolly and Joanne Jacobsen-Wells, took the Republican spin hook, line and sinker. In the Monday, Nov. 27 edition, Rolly & Wells say Nixon “took defeat for the good of the country.” Wrong!
Following his defeat in November 1960, Nixon, a host of his closest advisers and attorneys, along with the Republican National Committee, demanded recounts in 11 states and filed lawsuits in Illinois, Texas and New Jersey. As it turned out, they were successful in obtaining recounts in parts of Illinois and New Jersey. The wrangling continued into December. For example, on Dec. 4, 1960, the New York Times ran a story under a headline stating: “Illinois 27 (electoral) Votes Still In Doubt/GOP Still Charging Fraud in Chicago Tally.”
That information was unearthed by David Greenberg from Slate, an on-line magazine. Understandably, Rolly & Wells are awfully busy and can’t always check their facts. But they ought to know better than to take Republican spin at face value. Duh.
Speaking of hallelujahs, Mr. Mac—you know, the guy who sells two-pant suits on TV—is taking over the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, according to the LDS church-owned Deseret News: “F. MacRay Christensen has been called as the new president of the choir.”
The cool thing, of course, is that the choir will sing at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Games at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Who wants to bet they won’t be wearing Mr. Mac attire? Remember, three people can share an order, as long as they’re all the same size. So, let’s see, there are 300 people in the choir …
Finally this: Mayor Rocky Anderson has convinced Olympic organizers to put giant Olympic rings on the City & County Building during the 2002 Winter Games. Olympic guru Mitt Romney initially objected, saying the rings might confuse visitors into mistaking City Hall for the LDS Temple.
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