A Night with the Winners
MARGOLIS, RICHARD J.
States of the Union A NIGHT WITH THE WINNERS BY RICHARD J. MARGOLIS Since you don't know Marty, our dentist, you won't understand what a terrific shock it was for us to see him on Election Night...
...Just between you and me and the lamppost," I said to him, "who'd you vote for...
...When I phoned the Carter people, for instance, a press person went out of her way to tell me they were planning a big gala at the Park Plaza ballroom, which I understand is a very fancy place...
...The reason turned out to be that Reagan had already won the election...
...Anyway, that afternoon I got busy and started calling local campaign officials for invitations...
...They all just had little smiles on their faces...
...The thing I noticed about these Republicans was their manners...
...The thing was, we didn't have any need or call to vote in Massachusetts, having already voted by mail in Connecticut, and we didn't have any place to go that night where we could watch the returns in a convivial manner...
...What are you doing here...
...There's a dental convention at this hotel," he said, "so I thought I'd look in to see what I could see...
...And I voted for Reagan...
...I tapped the gentleman on the shoulder...
...Two women were arguing over who was more appealing, Ronald Reagan or John Wayne...
...It's open to the public...
...Why not...
...You Jewish...
...My wife had "disappeared into the madding crowd," as they say...
...The room was filling up now, but it didn't seem noisy...
...I was about to tell him just that when my wife appeared and interrupted my train of thought...
...Where are all the party faithful intending to hang out tonight...
...Over by the cash bar I nonchalantly ordered a white wine for the little woman and a scotch on the rocks for myself...
...For one thing, the chandeliers on the ceilings down there were much bigger and more glittery...
...So I hied myself back upstairs...
...Me foreigner," he said...
...Mind you, Reagan wasn't our favorite Presidential pin-up (heh, heh), but he looked like a winner...
...Right off the bat I knew we'd hit the bigtime...
...I have a broken tooth," said my wife to Marty...
...Hove the American people," President Carter said...
...It was none other than Marty, our dentist from Wilton, Connecticut...
...I don't happen to be myself, but I'm admiring of you people, especially tonight because it was the Jews that put Reagan over in Brookline, make no mistake about it...
...If there were a last person in the world I'd expected to see that night, it was Marty Sachs...
...And the Anderson drinks were free—a big point in their favor...
...Well, that's all there is, there is no more, except to say that it was a night to remember...
...But so that you can fully appreciate it, I have to explain that Marty and Diane and I all hail from the same town, Wilton, Connecticut, a nice place to live although not much for a visitor...
...I don't think it's serious," said Marty, peering into my wife's mouth...
...I told you four years ago I would never lie to you," said the President of the United States...
...Besides, it was raining cats and dogs, and who wants to be with losers on a rainy night in Boston...
...And how lucky we felt, too, because a few days earlier at lunch in a cafeteria Diane had cracked a tooth on something hard that had no business being there...
...One of the women present was actually on crutches, and I think I might have seen one or two blacks...
...The woman he was talking to said, "Shh—we're not supposed to mention that man's name...
...But I'll always remember his kind words and the way he made me feel accepted in Christian Republican circles at the Sheraton...
...The Reagan-Bush and Anderson-Lucey committees also were hospitable, yet for some reason no one on either of the staffs seemed to have heard of Diane and me...
...This man pumped my hand as if I were the owner of the whole Sheraton chain...
...Here they were winning big yet being real quiet about it...
...It'll be pretty crowded, but you and your wife can drop in if you want...
...Thank you," said the President...
...It turned out to belong to a stout, bald-headed man named Bob Bains, who said he hailed from Bismarck, North Dakota, where he was the finance mogul of the Republican Party...
...Me can't vote...
...Well, to make a long story short, we went to the Reagan celebration at the Sheraton...
...I know," said the fellow, "but I'll tell you one thing, honey: If Mr...
...Quite a difference...
...Let me see," Marty said...
...Pardon me," I said, "would you mind moving over a little bit...
...What's a North Dakotan doing in Boston on a night like this...
...Iguess right about here I ought to confess that I didn't hang around the whole time with Republicans...
...Then he grinned...
...I sat down at a big round table full of stale drinks with cigarette butts floating on top, and surveyed the scene...
...Diane and Yours Truly recently moved up here to The Greater Boston Area, which is why we voted absentee this year...
...Somebody tugged at my sleeve...
...It was official: Walter Cronkite had said so...
...For a little while I snuck downstairs to the second floor and peeked into the room where Anderson's supporters were assembled...
...Nobody was giggling or shouting, and there wasn't any hugging or back-slapping either...
...Marty still lives there, when he's not popping up in Boston (heh, heh...
...What are you doing here...
...There'll be five couples around the TV...
...Ordinarily, back in good old Wilton, we would have spent the night with some of our Democratic friends, laughing and crying and some of us drinking...
...It was a secret ballot, naturally, but I may as well tell you whom we voted for, in case you don't remember from my previous column on "The 49th Campaign" (NL, October 20...
...I backed off pretty fast...
...Then I went to see what everybody was clapping and cheering for...
...We shook hands heartily and then he went away...
...Can we come tonight...
...We're getting together at John Sisk's apartment in Brighton," I was told quick as a flash...
...Why don't we just stay home," she said, "or maybe take a little walk...
...You'd have to call it magnificent: A big hotel room full of swirling victors...
...While backing away I stepped on somebody's toe...
...Thank you," said Diane...
...Just to be on the safe side, socially speaking, I also telephoned a bigwig in Barry Commoner's Citizens Party...
...You could have knocked me over with a piece of dental floss (heh, hen...
...But somebody was in my way, and the back of his head looked familiar...
...Jimmy Carter was on the screen conceding, and I kept straining to get a look at him...
...1972 was still in the White House there wouldn't be no hostages still in Iran...
...I couldn't look for her too well because I kept bumping into people and overhearing their conversations...
...I'd wangled gilt-edged invitations from all the Major Political Parties—leaving out the Socialists, of course, who anyway did not have a telephone, just a PO drop in Cambridge...
...I decided to strike up a conversation with the bartender...
...As things turned out, Diane and I were in terrific demand...
...I asked...
...But as I said, I had cast my lot that night with the Reagan folks, even though the Anderson crowd seemed to be celebrating in a happier style...
...The gentleman in question turned around...
...Which bash looks best to you...
...I asked...
...Don't mention it," said Marty...
...States of the Union A NIGHT WITH THE WINNERS BY RICHARD J. MARGOLIS Since you don't know Marty, our dentist, you won't understand what a terrific shock it was for us to see him on Election Night in Boston, right there in the swim of things, so to speak...
...he asked...
...I exclaimed...
...Looking back, I see it was the best decision I ever made...
...In another part of the room a man wearing a sweater of painted elephants was saying he hadn't enjoyed himself so much since the 1972 election...
...We parked our little Datsun in the hotel's garage and took a self-service elevator to the third floor, where all the Republican action was...
...I'm here to see you, baby," said Marty, and he kissed her, right there in the midst of all those Republicans while Carter was conceding...
...When Election Day came around we wondered what to do with ourselves...
...Whoopee," he muttered...
...I found out that both groups had rented big rooms at the Sheraton—the Commonwealth Room for Reagan and the Republic Room for Anderson—and then I called Carol Nash, who just happens to be the hotel's Special Events Director...
...Definitely," she answered...
...The crowd in the Commonwealth Room was huddled around three television sets, with each set tuned to a different Major Network—in color...
...I felt that all America was represented here—young and old, males and females, Republicans and my wife and me...
...she shouted...
...But we hadn't been in The Greater Boston Area long enough to make the acquaintance of working Democrats, and besides, all the candidates this time were so nutty, we wouldn't have known whether to laugh or cry...
...I'm not one to keep my thoughts to myself, so I asked an elderly gentleman smoking a cigar why the people weren't being more hysterical with joy...
...I told Mr...
...I looked up to behold a short, gray-haired man wearing a gray topcoat that was buttoned to the throat...
...To give you an idea of the color, there were red fire extinguishers on the wall and the bartender was wearing a silky red jacket...
...I inquired...
...was her enthusiastic reply...
...The bartender gave me a sort of shifty look...
...Who wants to talk to aliens on Election Night...
...He took the cigar out of his mouth and stared at me...
...He seems the sort of guy who'd appreciate a good yarn...
...By this time a huge mob had gathered around the three Major Networks...
...That's when I pulled some strings...
...For another, the Anderson people seemed a lot younger and more cheerful than the Reagan people...
...If I hadn't made it we wouldn't have run into Marty...
...That's really the whole story, as you will see...
...I'm going to write Ronald Reagan and tell him about it...
...We're not especially proud of it, but we both voted for Jimmy Carter...
...No way," I said...
...Bains I'd enjoyed our little chat and that it was very educational to meet different politicians from around the country...
...Imagine turning down all those invites...
...So we were sitting pretty...
...Officials of all the parties were vying for our presence...
...Business," he responded...
...I asked in a hinting manner...
...A real cross-section...
...Are my wife and I invited...
...I asked the wife...
Vol. 63 • November 1980 • No. 21
