NEWS AND OPINION:
As President Frank Underwood on “House of Cards,” Kevin Spacey is deft at playing fictional presidents. Now the actor takes on the real kind, portraying Richard Nixon in “Elvis & Nixon,” which arrives in theaters next month. The feature film chronicles the moment when the 37th president met Elvis Presley, who showed up unannounced at the White House gate around 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 1970. Elvis was seeking to volunteer as an undercover agent in the war on drugs and in the fight against Communism — and longed to obtain an official badge.
“Sir, I can and will be of any service that I can to help the country out. I would love to meet you. I will be here for as long as it takes to get the credentials of a federal agent,” the singer stated in a handwritten note to Nixon. He got his wish. Six hours later, the King met the president. Sporting a double-breasted purple velvet suit and gilded belt for the occasion, Elvis presented Nixon with a chrome-plated World War II-era Colt 45 pistol and seven bullets in a display case. He later asked that the convivial meeting be kept secret. And yes, the man got his federal badge.
And now it’s a movie, for better or worse.
The film project is described as a “comedy drama.” The film’s producers point out that the famous photograph taken of Presley and Nixon on that day is the most requested image at the National Archives, which has not one but 25 photos of the event. The federal agency also is the keeper of the aforementioned Elvis note and Nixon’s follow-up thank you letter. The film itself is premiering as the centerpiece of the Tribeca Film Festival, which begins April 13 in New York City.
The moment is not overlooked by the Nixon Presidential Library, which recounts the meeting in a section of Nixon’s “lighter hearted moments” while in office, reporting, “Perhaps most famous was Nixon’s meeting with Elvis Presley, when the president and the king discussed the drug problem facing American youth.”
FOR THE LEXICON
“The Anti-Trump Surge”
— Phenomenon noted by the fastidious Cook Political Report, which finds that in February, a mere 9 percent of Republican presidential advertising attacked front-runner Donald Trump. Now the number is up to 47 percent. The researchers also found that anti-Trump fare accounted for 15 percent of all GOP spending for TV advertising 8 weeks ago; now it accounts for 62 percent.
ALSO FOR THE LEXICON
“Captain Crunch”
— Identified by Popular Mechanics writer Kyle Mizokami, who explains, “The Department of Defense is responsible for millions of guns, from sniper rifles to pistols. Inevitably, at some point the Pentagon no longer wants them. What happens to the weapons then? They’re fed to Captain Crunch, a giant crusher that turns military firearms into scrap metal.” The gun eater-upper has been in operation for 23 years, incidentally.
’WORST OF THE WORST’
SEE ALSO: Bernie Sanders shifts Hillary Clinton to left wing of Democratic Party
Five Republican senators have introduced a resolution to protest President Obama’s plan to transfer prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to stateside jails. Sens. Tim Scott, Pat Roberts, Cory Gardner, Jerry Moran and Roy Blunt say the “ill-conceived and illegal” proposal is a threat to national security and to local neighborhoods in Colorado, Kansas and South Carolina — all named as potential destinations for the 91 remaining prisoners at the facility, in operation since 2002.
“President Obama continues to show his willingness to defy current law, Congress and the American people in regards to Guantanamo Bay. Guantanamo holds the worst of the worst, and that’s where these dangerous terrorists should stay,” says Mr. Scott, calling the idea “misguided and reckless.”
The lawmakers are particularly concerned the proposal would risk providing the terrorist detainees with rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. They also fret over a new update from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, revealing that of 676 detainees who have been released, 118 are confirmed to have returned to “terrorist activities,” and 86 more are suspected of doing the same.
A SOLDIER COMES HOME
A soldier who saw combat in the Korean War and went missing 65 years has been identified and will be buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday. Army Pfc. James M. Smith was only 19 when assigned to Company K, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division — tasked with supporting the South Korean Army in attacks against the Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces. The year was 1951. The Chinese troops lashed back, Korean troops retreated and the Americans were left “to fight alone,” according to a Defense Department account.
Following the battle, Smith was reported missing in action. Despite searches of the battlefield and conversations with former POWs, there was no information about the fate of the Georgia native. A military review board amended his status to deceased in 1953.
Some four decades later, North Korea returned the remains of 600 U.S. servicemen. The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used both DNA evidence and dental records to identify Smith, whose name was already on a wall honoring fallen military heroes in his hometown of Abbeville. As of this week, 7,823 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War.
POLL DU JOUR
• 50 percent of Americans say the nomination of a new Supreme Court justice is an important factor in determining their vote in the presidential election: 64 percent of likely voters, 71 percent of churchgoers, 59 percent of non-churchgoers, 71 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of independents agree.
• 22 percent say the Supreme Court nomination is not important to their vote: 27 percent of likely voters, 18 percent of churchgoers, 34 percent of non-churchgoers, 25 percent of Republicans, 28 percent of Democrats and 38 percent of independents agree.
• 3 percent say President Obama should appoint a new justice; 4 percent of likely voters, 4 percent of churchgoers, 4 percent of non-churchgoers, 2 percent of Republicans, 6 percent of Democrats and 1 percent of independents agree.
Source: A Family Research Center poll of 1,000 U.S. adults conducted Feb. 18-21 and released Friday.
• Reality checks and ballyhoo to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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