6. Nixon and the Image Race
Winning the Presidential race, as well as the image race, was the easy part for Nixon; because the hard part would be keeping up with the times on a more concurrent basis. Luckily enough for him, a golden opportunity presented itself through the boredom of Elvis Presley. A small spat with his family during the Christmas season lead The King to go travelling, first to California and then to Washington D.C. His reason for traveling to the capital of the nation was a random one at that: he wanted to add a DEA badge to his collection of law enforcement badges. Through a letter to the President, Mr. Presley stated, "Sir, I can and will be of any service that I can to help the country out...I would love to meet you". (His wife, Priscilla, would later go on to mention in her biography that "With the federal narcotics badge, he could legally enter any country both wearing guns and carrying any drugs he wished.") It wasn't long (about a day or so) before The King was granted audience with The President, and he came bearing a gift. Elvis had brought President Nixon a Colt .45, in exchange for the badge he would received that day from the President, which lead to the particularly interesting photo op you see here before you.