Not many people remember that Richard Nixon preempted network television on November 7th, 1972 for a full day marathon of “Mr. Ed.”
It was a brilliant strategy, because just as polls were closing, they aired “Ed the Witness.” SPOILER ALERT In “Ed the Witness,” Wilbur ends up in Mexican jail after refusing to pay a repair bill to a mechanic who damaged his trailer. Mr. Ed has to gallop across the border to come to the rescue .
Wait, what were we talking about?
Oh, right.
What Pot Head hasn’t dreamed of being sprung from Mexican jail by a talking horse? Anyway, Nixon’s people knew this, and used it to defeat George McGovern in a landslide.
To this day, George McGovern asserts that he lost the Election due to the striking resemblance between Wilbur and Thomas Eagleton.