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November 10[edit]

Spiro's catchphrase?[edit]

In 1970 there appeared in Pogo a hyena representing Spiro Agnew. In his first strip he said, "I can sit very heavy." And maybe he repeated it soon afterward.

The line did not clearly fit its context, so I wonder: did the real Spiro famously say something similar? —Tamfang (talk) 10:34, 10 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Does it mean something in some other context? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:56, 10 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

sit on as in to repress or stifle, or sit heavy suggests Richard III 5.3 "Let me sit heavy on thy soul to-morrow!". Is there a publication date for the stip? May help in finding it.—eric 14:52, 10 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I found a smallish copy of it in Google Images. It's dated 2-4 (February 4), with no year readable, but obviously it had to be during his VP tenure. The actual quote is "I can sit mighty, mighty heavy", as the turtle is checking the hyena's mouth for dentures. Sometimes Walt Kelly could be too obscure for his own good. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:06, 10 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

From our article on Agnew: "In 1973, Agnew was investigated by the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland on suspicion of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion and tax fraud. Agnew took kickbacks from contractors during his time as Baltimore County Executive and Governor of Maryland. The payments had continued into his time as vice president. After months of maintaining his innocence, Agnew pleaded no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion and resigned from office. Nixon replaced him with House Republican leader Gerald Ford."

We tend to forget about this scandal, because it was so immediately and thoroughly overshadowed by the Watergate scandal. However, for a brief period of time, it can be said that Agnew "weighed heavily on the Presidency". So, I assume your quote is related. (Note that if Agnew had managed to "keep his hands out of the cookie jar", he would have become President when Nixon resigned over Watergate, not Gerald Ford. So, there's a lesson to be learned here, one must wait until one becomes President, to engage in massive corruption, and even then, it's best to wait until near the end of the 2nd term, when there's not enough time left to impeach.) SinisterLefty (talk) 11:51, 11 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I think we are looking for the hyena of 1970, not 1973. The only strip I can find from February of that year has everyone thinking he is a bear, but it turns out he is just a hyena with a missing upper plate, and not yet wearing his uniform. Agnew by then had begun attacking the media and television networks, there is plenty of material there if you would like to connect the question to current events and give us all a lesson.—eric 13:40, 11 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I remember being amazed on hearing the small size of the bribes Agnew took while in office as VP. I had never realized that the favors of such a high public official could be so affordable. Even in 1970 dollars, $10K seemed awfully cheap for national-scale influence peddling. Agnew was a true man of the people, democratizing public corruption away from the patrician Kennedys and Roosevelts and bringing even the humblest local mobsters into the ranks of the DC well-connected. 67.164.113.165 (talk) 07:01, 12 November 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I'm sure, at the end of his life, Spiro regretted not asking for larger bribes. SinisterLefty (talk) 06:38, 17 November 2019 (UTC) [reply]