Long-time Michigan Senator Robert Griffin has died at the age of 91. A staunch Republican and Richard Nixon loyalist, he proved to be a crucial swing vote when he finally pulled his support for Nixon during the Watergate crisis, with Nixon resigning shortly after.
But when I first crossed paths with Senator Griffin it was during the height of the national Nixon love/hate polarization in 1971...
The occasion was a big birthday bash for Senator Griffin. Every key Republican in the surrounding counties was in attendance. I was a college student (with the last of the student draft deferments) working for the campus audio-visual department, and I helped wire up an impressive sound and lights extravaganza. The highlight of the evening was to be a telephone link with President Nixon, calling from his retreat in Key Biscayne, Florida, to wish the Senator a happy birthday.
Given the technology of the era, this setup gave us fits all day. We had to get the telephone call not only routed through the room’s sound system, but also simultaneously to three local radio stations covering the event. It was a big deal in town, and despite our nail-biting, the birthday greetings from President Nixon came off without a hitch.
That was a Saturday night. Inserted in the next morning’s Sunday newspaper was the national four-color soft news magazine (Parade, or one of its predecessors). One of the features was a tour of the Key Biscayne retreat, including description of the impressive master bathroom. It was decked out with communications technology, because, as the story noted, President Nixon liked to conduct all of his evening business from the bathroom.
That newspaper clipping, with the key quote highlighted, was seen posted on bulletin boards all over town. We suddenly had an inerasable mental picture, accurate or not, of the President of the United States calling us while seated on his Royal Throne.