206 sLAde goRton: A hALf centuRy in poLitics
what Gorton calls “the most expensive cup of coffee Peter Ueberroth is
ever going to have in his life.” She returned forthwith, politely handed
over the steaming cup, sat down and began to take notes. Slade had yet
to get a word in edgewise. At one point, however, Ueberroth interrupted
himself, leaned in, guy to guy, and said, “Got a good joke. Can’t tell it in
mixed company.”
Finally they departed. The second the door closed, Gorton fell to the
floor, laughing so hard he couldn’t get up to scrape McGettigan off the
ceiling. “Well, Marianne,” he finally managed to say, “one thing we’ve
learned today is that Peter Ueberroth is never going to be president of the
United States.”
A few minutes later, the lobbyist poked his head back in sheepishly to
say he was sorry. When word of the incident made its way around the Hill,
Ueberroth called Slade to apologize for insulting his “secretary.”
Gorton was proud of the fact he had women in positions of authority
and offended that there were so many men “out there who still didn’t get
it,” says McGettigan, who in 1992 became chief lobbyist for the Major
League Baseball Players Association.^9
goonRt wAs ALwAys in the thick of something. He promoted bills to de-
regulate cable TV and ban “cop-killer” bullets. He also found himself
sparring with farmers and religious fundamentalists and ended up dis-
appointing the National Confectioners Association. In the end, he accom-
plished something no one in Congress had been able achieve in a decade
of trying: He pushed through a bill to lengthen Daylight Saving Time by
three weeks.
Backed by a coalition of barbecue and briquette-makers, convenience
stores, fast-food chains, sporting goods manufacturers, garden-supply
outlets and amusement parks, Gorton’s bill was the most popular of sev-
eral in the hopper. His original plan called for four more weeks of Day-
light Saving Time, from the first Sunday in April to the first Sunday in
November. The coalition represented some 8,000 companies. “From a
political standpoint, at least some of these companies were represented in
virtually every congressional district,” David Prerau notes in his history
of Daylight Saving Time. “And many had an indirect effect—increased
sales at McDonald’s, for example, led to greater demand for Kansas beef
and Idaho potatoes.” Washington State in fact produces 22 percent of
America’s potatoes.^10
The usual opposition was lined up against Gorton. Farmers said it
confused their cows; Bible thumpers said man was playing God with the