Dead Presidents

Richard Nixon was so awkward and unusual that, sometimes, it’s hard not to feel some sympathy for him. 

I previously shared a story about Richard Nixon’s road trip on Election Day in 1960 when he took a random drive to Tijuana while millions of Americans were deciding whether to send him or John F. Kennedy to the White House.  On one of the most important days of his life, Nixon just wanted to get away.

Years later, at the beginning of 1974 — after he had finally made it to the White House — President Nixon was trying to enjoy a short break for the New Year’s holiday.  Nixon was staying at his home in Southern California, La Casa Pacifica, and decided to head to Palm Springs to stay at the home of his friend, the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, Walter Annenberg.

While driving from San Clemente to Palm Springs with his wife, Pat, his daughter, Tricia, and his son-in-law, Ed Cox, Nixon found himself wanting to escape, or at least feel normal for a few minutes.  In remote Banning, California, he had his car stop at a restaurant — McDonald’s.

It’s here that you have to feel a little bit for Nixon.  His trip to McDonald’s was in the midst of the Watergate scandal and despite trying to feel normal, Nixon couldn’t have felt anything but lonely.  While his family went inside to enjoy what was likely their first taste of McDonald’s in years, Nixon told someone his order.

As everyone ate their food in McDonald’s, the most isolated of Presidents waited for his meal and then, fittingly, the President of the United States ate his hamburger alone in his car.  Being normal never felt as lonely to anyone as it did to Richard Milhous Nixon.