I recently received an email asking me if I was the same Theresa Crater who talked to Richard Nixon about the Beatles. I answered yes and asked how s/he knew (Lee P). This little piece of the past had floated up from the Seattle Times and been reposted: Could Beatles Become Issue in Campaign?
One Sunday my father took me to the Greensboro Airport because Richard Nixon was scheduled to be coming through. This was February 3, 1964 and I was 13 years old. When he arrived, I noticed that people were walking up to him to ask questions. I thought that’s what we were all supposed to do. I didn’t realize these people were the press. So, I asked him about what was uppermost in my mind. “Mr. Nixon, do you like the Beatles?”
Everything stopped. He paused and waited for the press to gather close. Then he told me he didn’t understand them, but his daughters liked them. I thought he was a bit dense not to understand the Beatles. Now I realize I may have been partly responsible for Nixon’s political come-back. For that I offer my sincere apology.