John, that does indeed read creepy. I wonder what Bush and Bolten would have to say about that. I’ve spent a little time around both of them. They strike me as quite sensible, decidedly non-creepy people.

On the subject of Mrs. Perk, Nixon, and bowling: A reader e-mailed to remind me that, if anyone would have understood Mrs. Perk’s commitment to her bowling night, it was the president himself. He was an ardent bowler, sometimes rolling — if that’s the right word — 20 games in a row. Our reader also mailed along a well-known picture: here.

Ah, those were the days! Did Nixon ever crack a Special Olympics joke? For all of his errors — and they were innumerable — I’m not sure he ever committed that one.