Concerned with Richard Nixon's popular image as an uptight curmudgeon who was incapable of having fun, his campaign advisors hoped to portray the president as a "man of the people" during his reelection in 1972. As such, a photo shoot was arranged to showcase "Nixon the man" -- all the president had to do was take a casual stroll on the beautiful beach of San Clemente, California. These images would surely evoke the Kennedy-esque aura of camelot -- certainly Nixon was able to let his hair down from time to time?
Not exactly. The photo shoot backfired, and the result only further reinforced the stereotype that Nixon's people had hoped to avoid. Why? Because the president insisted on wearing his wingtip dress shoes as he meandered along the surf. Yes, shiny black wingtip oxfords, on the beach no less. Photo below:
Nixon's faux-pas was famously portrayed in the modern political comedy DICK in a scene where love-struck youngster Arlene, played by Michelle Williams, shares an intimate moment with the president:
Few Americans in the 30's and 40's knew that President Franklin Roosevelt, who suffered from polio, was a paraplegic who was unable to walk without assistance during his administration. They knew he was handicapped, but he was never shown in his wheelchair and he always projected a robust image of himself.
The reality of his condition was much more grievous, both physically and mentally -- his battle with polio was brilliantly depicted by Kenneth Branagh in the HBO film "Warm Springs", viewable below:
A pool was installed in the White House in 1933 to allow the President to exercise regularly. Housed between the White House and the West Wing, the room had french doors which opened to the rose garden. Below are photos and a rare article detailing FDR's workout routine projecting him as being in prime physical shape and as an avid swimmer.
Subsequent presidents also used the pool, Harry Truman swam laps while wearing his eyeglasses, but JFK got more use of it than any other -- he even remodeled the room, putting up a mural of a tropical paradise along the walls, painted by Bernard LaMotte:
Aside from swimming nearly every day at noon, author Seymour Hersh asserted that the pool was allegedly a convenient place for skinny dipping and sexual escapades with numerous women, including Marilyn Monroe. One such event that Hersh detailed was an incident when First Lady Jackie Kennedy was en route back to the White House. Her pending arrival went unannounced causing the secret service to scramble into the pool room to evacuate the President, and his guests. Upon exiting with little time to spare, JFK is said to have handed off his bloody mary to the agent, merely saying "here, take this."
Similar claims were corrobarated by former White House intern, Mimi Alford Beardsley, in her book "Once Upon A Secret".
Lyndon Johnson used the pool following Kennedy:
Motivated by his distain for Kennedy, Richard Nixon paved over the pool in 1970 to create a press room in the space, which remains to this day.
Upon taking office, Gerald Ford had an outdoor swimming pool installed, which he showed to members of the press in 1975:
Here, Ford's daughter Susan helps her father take a dive:
"I've always thought that politicians and actors really summed up the American way"
-- Andy Warhol
Lending further credence to the saying that "politics is hollywood for ugly people," Andy Warhol's fascination with political figures extended well beyond first lady Jackie Kennedy.
On this day in 1952, Vice Presidential candidate Richard Nixon went on national TV to, financially speaking, bare it all... With allegations of unethical behavior mounting over a campaign fund he had used for political expenses, Nixon took it upon himself to personally disclose all the details of his family accounting, including the gift for which the speech would be named: Checkers, a cocker-spaniel from Texas. And you know what? We're going to keep it.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 8:30AM 
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