Joke Archeology -- who's heard an older version of this often recycled joke?
I heard this one the first time back in the early 70's.
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger were giving a young hippie hitchhiker a ride home in Air Force One from the Camp David Area, they started having engine trouble, unfortunately there were only four parachutes and the drafted pilots jumped out with the first two! Henry Kissinger yells, "I'm ze smartest man in the world, I have much more to contribute" grabs a bag and jumps. Nixon looks to the hippie and says, "son, you're young and have your life in front of you, I"m facing impeachment and am ready to meet my maker, you take the last parachute". The hippie says "Groovy, but the smartest man in the world just jumped out with my backpack, we can keep on truckin'".