Watergate and I Put a Spell On You
A Guide for Teachers
by Adam Selzer

In June, 1972, a group of men were caught breaking into a Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C. Few believed that President Nixon could have been involved in the break-in or the subsequent cover-up - why would he risk it? He was way ahead in the polls. But it turned out that Nixon was spying on himself, too! When I began to write I Put a Spell On You, I knew that there was going to be a break-in at some point in the plot, so I thought it would be amusing to the name the school after G. Gordon Liddy, the "mastermind" of the Watergate break-in. Then I thought it would be fun to name the school's unofficial detective after Bob Woodward, one of two reporters who broke the Watergate story in the press, leading to Nixon's resignation. Things sort of took off from there. Several people have pointed out to me that kids in school today may not know much about Nixon, since they weren't born yet when the scandal went on. Well, I wasn't born then, either. Knowing the first thing about Watergate isn't necessary to enjoy the book, but finding all of the allusions can be fun - and educational - for readers. Consider tying the book into American History lessons and having your students find the allusions in the book for themselves!

Here are a few examples:

Chrissie says "I know what kind of stretching exercises Mrs. Rosemary, the secretary, does in the morning. Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, was as cheerfully loyal to Nixon as Mrs. Rosemary is to Principal Floren. When Nixon turned over the Watergate tapes, she tried to take the blame for a particularly incriminating gap in the recordings, explaining that she had accidentally hit the pedal beneath her desk that activated the machine while talking on the phone. When she demonstrated at her desk, it looked like quite an athletic feat - the press dubbed it "The Rose Mary Stretch."

The Rose Mary Stretch

Johnny Dean paints the Principal's dog, Checkers, purple. The REAL John Dean was part of Nixon's cabinet. In the midst of the Watergate scandal, he was the first cabinet member to tell the press that Nixon had known about the plans to cover the break-in up. Checkers was also, of course, the name of Nixon's dog. John Dean never painted Checkers purple, but it would have been pretty funny if he did. Principal Floren videotapes the goings-on in his offce. Floren has different reasons for taping what went on in his office than Nixon did (although the results are pretty much the same). Floren's reasons for taping things are eventually revealed, but I don't think we'll ever know what in the heck Nixon was thinking when he left the recorder running during incriminating conversations - not to mention some of his more offensively racist conversations that were eventually transcribed from the tapes.

Principal Floren tells Mutual "as long as the principal does something, it's moral." Principal Floren is echoing Nixon's explanation: "If the President does something, it's not illegal." It didn't work for Nixon, either. Actually, Floren quotes Nixon directly several times. Here are a few examples: "If I want to look like a winner, I have to beat somebody." "Well, I screwed it up real good, didn't I?" "I welcome these investigations, because I believe the public has got to know whether their President's a crook. Well, I'm not a crook." "Let me just say this about that." What did Floren know? As soon as the break-in story hits the press, the newspaper is asking whether Floren knew that someone was planning to break-in, just as reporters in the 1970s wondered what Nixon knew about Watergate, and when he knew it.

Floren claims to be a "peacemaker." Nixon claimed this, too. Or, anyway, he claimed to WANT to be one. It says so on his tombstone. Jennifer's dad breaks into the school As with Nixon, it seems strange that Floren would have bothered with a break-in, since Jennifer's chances of winning were already great. Jennifer's dad is just about as bad at burglarly as the Watergate burglars. Incidentally, it is mentioned many times that he would have been better off just walking in dressed like a plumber - a reference to the "plumbers" in the Nixon administration whose job was to "plug the leaks."

Agnes Milhous and Helen Bernowski Agnes' last name was Nixon's middle name. Helen Bernowski, incidentally, is a name I ran across while shopping for coats in a thirft store. One coat I tried on had a funeral card for a woman named Helen Bernowski in the pocket - it had been there since 1967. The other pocket had a used tissue which was probably from the same year. I didn't buy the coat. Mrs. McGovern is brought in to negotiate peace between Marianne and Jennifer. Mrs. McGovern, of course, is named for George McGovern, Nixon's anti-war opponent in the 1972 election.

George McGovern

Nixon with Chairman Mao

Principal Floren brags of newly-strong relations with Principal Mao of Shaker Heights. Nixon's meeting with Chairman Mao opened relations with China, which had been cut off from America since the country became a Communist nation some years before. Marianne tells Jennifer that "even though there has been no formal declaration of war, it is ON!" There was never a formal declaration of war in Vietnam, but the fighting raged on. Nixon put an end to combat operations, but it was Ford who formally announced the end of the war in 1975.

Wallace Agnew, the former janitor who was fired due to a incident involving an unfortunate hamster and a whole lot of cheese. Wallace Agnew, who gets a brief cameo at the end of the book, is named after Spiro T. Agnew, Nixon's vice president who was forced to resign after it came to light that he'd been cheating on his taxes. The eighteen minute, twenty second gap in the tapes. The incriminating gap in the tapes Floren made is the same length as the infamous "missing minutes" in the Watergate tapes.

Spiro T. Agnew

These aren't ALL of the allusions. How many more can you and your students find?

Some questions to ask:
Was Principal Floren justified in rigging the bee "for the safety of the school"? Was Nixon justified in covering up the Watergate break-in?

Is it true that when a principal or president does something, that makes okay? If not, are there situations when it MIGHT be true?

What do you think should happen to Principal Floren next? Should he resign? Should he be fired? Arrested?

Can you think of why it might be unconstitutional to arrest Floren? (Don't worry, teachers; I'm covering this in the sequel).