The bit at the end about there being a rumour that Batman was going to California to run for governor was a spoof on the 1966 campaign in that state. At that time, the state was going through the Berkeley protests and Watts Rebellion, and there were at least five serious Democratic candidates challenging incumbent Pat Brown, and five Republicans, including Ronald Reagan. Brown and Reagan easily won their primaries, and Reagan won the election in a landslide, winning all but three counties close to Brown's home turf of San Francisco.