Tricky Dick meets RoboCop

Richard Nixon and his pal RoboCop in 1987. Photo snapped by Chuck Pulin during a charity event promoting the movie's VHS release. (via Mental Floss)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Freethinkersanon Christopher

“So, would you like to come work for me as a ‘plumber’?”
welcomeabored

‘Murphy is pronounced dead at the hospital and OCP subsequently takes his body and utilizes parts of the remains in the construction of the first RoboCop.’ – Wiki

It’s possible RoboCop had a ‘tricky dick’, as well.
- http://twitter.com/incarnedine_v Dan Hibiki
  
  shame that both his hands are metal.
- Preston Sturges
  
  “yes, it vibrates.” – Archer
Brainspore

So that’s where he got the idea.
- http://twitter.com/writebastard Ian Wood
  
  Arrroooooo!
  - Nash Rambler
    
    “I feel a jowl movement coming on.”
    - Felton / Moderator
      
      Fry: Please, Mr. Nixon. We’re appealing to your sense of decency.
      Everybody, including Nixon: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
- traalfaz
  
  They both beat headless body of Agnew.
Kenmrph

For a moment there it felt like seeing dinosaurs and cavemen in the same exhibit.
TheOven

Who stole RoboCop’s Chin?
Preston Sturges

Probably not Peter Weller who was only 1″ taller than Nixon
- IronEdithKidd
  
  Was? Weller’s still alive, you know.
  - robotnik
    
    Yes, but now he’s MUCH taller than the dead Nixon.
    - sdmikev
      
      not if he’s laying down.. :)
snagglepuss

Robocop was only about 17% human.

Which STILL makes him more human that Nixon ever was.
- http://twitter.com/psion psion
  
  Naaah. Nixon showed all the usual human traits. Vanity … insecurity … and corruptibility by power. Nixon was a wake-up call about the political elite with a simple message: don’t trust anyone in that kind of position.
  - mccrum
    
    Nixon definitely left a lot of voters with a fear of beltway insiders. Elected Presidents after Nixon: Peanut farmer Carter, actor Reagan, VP Bush, Governor Clinton, Governor Bush, Senator Obama was the first person who had a job inside the beltway prior to the Presidency for thirty years.
    - Preston Sturges
      
      GHW Bush 41 was a total insider (ambassador, head of CIA), but off the radar screen. And the GOP is finally exhausting its supply of Nixon henchmen (Rove was a campaign volunteer but not a crony).
      - http://daruiburns.tumblr.com/ Dlo Burns
        
        Ah but Rove has raised a generation of sith padawan of his own.
mccrum

I like to think of a really awkward moment where a nervous Nixon joked “I, ah, I am not a crook! Heh.”
- Preston Sturges
  
  “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.”
- Frank Lee Scarlett
  
  Tricky does look a little nervous in that photo. The eyes.
Jones Rossi

Mr. Nixon, you have 20 seconds to drop the weapon.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-Robinson/100002917927146 Bill Robinson

In the movie, it is mentioned in news coverage in the background that two former presidents living in California have been killed in an accidental firing of an SDI laser satellite, the implication being it was Nixon and Reagan who were killed. Presumably, this is the connection that led to Nixon being recruited to promote the movie.
Rhyolite

That’s creepy…it is also creepy to think that RoboCop was a lot closer in time Watergate than it is to today.
- mccrum
  
  It probably won’t make you feel any better to know that Back to the Future is closer to 1955 than to today. Kicker: By nearly a decade.
  - Preston Sturges
    
    The 1968 election was 23 years from ww2 and 45 years from today. .
- Felton / Moderator
  
  I was born right before Watergate. Nixon could have stolen candy from me while he was still president!
  - Rhyolite
    
    I am probably about the same age so I don’t remember any thing from Watergate – it was something from a history class, while RoboCop was part of my childhood. This makes for a weird juxtaposition.
Ito Kagehisa

My father met Nixon at Canaveral, and returned home in a state of high dudgeon, absolutely ranting, which was not his wont. “I can’t believe I voted for that fool!” I think was the most repeated statement. He said that Nixon had the mind of a child, and clearly didn’t mean that in any good way.
http://twitter.com/chrisjimson chris jimson

I’d buy that for a dollar!
- http://daruiburns.tumblr.com/ Dlo Burns
  
  Go mention robocop on twitter.
Halloween_Jack

“No, no, it’s Dick Jones you want!”