Hughes v. Nixon

It was a historic flight. With just a handful of close advisers, the great man stepped into his jet and vanished over the horizon. While he was in the air, wire service bulletins carried the news of his departure, and leaders in the host country busily prepared for his arrival.

As it turned out, Howard Hughes was upstaged by a mere President of the U.S. Not by all that much, however. At one point last week, on the day that Hughes headed for Nicaragua and Richard Nixon left for China, an Associated Press wire in Washington carried five items on Hughes and only three on the President. By late afternoon, however, the President was ahead, 9 to 7. Even so. the New York Daily News next morning bannered its report of Hughes' flight, with smaller front-page type for Nixon's mission. In a contest between history and fascinating trivia, the serial saga of an aging eccentric (see story, page 18) still has an extraordinary hold on the popular imagination.

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