You are hereForums / RFO Feedback / General Discussion / New Nixon tapes released
New Nixon tapes released
Source: MSNBC
December 2, 2008
Richard Nixon's reputation takes a fresh pounding every time the National Archives releases another batch of audio tapes from his presidency, and today's opening of nearly 200 hours of Nixon White House recordings is no exception.
Again and again, Nixon comes across as ruthless, cynical and profane in conversations with staff members.
Here are some examples:
-- On July 1, 1971, Nixon instructs Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman to have someone break into the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.:
"I can't have a high-minded lawyer ... I want a son-of-a-b----. I want someone just as tough as I am. ... We're up against an enemy, a conspiracy that will use any means. We are going to use any means... . Get it done. I want it done. I want the Brookings Institution cleaned out and have it cleaned out in a way that has somebody else take the blame."
-- On April 4, 1972, Nixon discusses the press with Haldeman:
NIXON: “Return the calls to those poor dumb bastards ... who I know are our friends. Now do it ... We made the same mistake Eisenhower made, but not as bad as Eisenhower made, because he sucked the Times too much ... G-d damn it, don't talk to them for a while. Will you enforce that now?'
HALDEMAN: "I'll try."
-- On May 18, 1972, Nixon talks to Henry Kissinger about the National Security Adviser's meeting with Ivy League college presidents regarding the war in Vietnam:
NIXON: "The Ivy League presidents? Why, I'll never let those sons-of-b------ in the White House again. Never, never, never. They're finished. The Ivy League schools are finished ... Henry, I would never have had them in. Don't do that again ... They came out against us when it was tough ... Don't ever go to an Ivy League school again, ever. Never, never, never."
Interestingly the LBJ tapes actually enhance his reputation because on them he talks passionately about his committment to the poor and civil rights and is shown as a master politician, while Nixon's tapes show him as just a vile creep. I voted for him. 
But, Nixon is small potatoes compared to GW and Cheney.
Misty... as a young adult during Nixon's reign, I remember all of this very well. His taped statements and his attitudes don't surprise me; they simply reinforce my abysmally low opinion of the man. I remember commenting more than once during the early 70's that I normally reserve my odium and hatred for certain people whom I have actually met, but in Nixon's case I made an exception. The ensuing years have not mellowed my opinion of Nixon.
And, yes, I agree that Bush and Cheney were even worse for our country... not because they were more evil than Nixon but because they were so incompetent. For all his faults, Nixon had some executive ability and he did open the doors to China in a way no Democrat could have gotten away with doing. The Bush/Cheney debacle, by contrast, has virtually no redeeming characteristics.
----
And there's no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake.
A followup to my earlier comment on Nixon: This is a true story. I was in graduate school in 1974 in Massachusetts. That August I went with a friend to the White Mountains in NH to do some backpacking and mountain climbing. On the night before Nixon resigned (though we didn't know it at the time), we hiked into the Pemigewasset Wilderness and camped out.
The next morning broke overcast and the clouds socked us in. Nevertheless, we made our way to the summit of Mt. Garfield (named after another president), arriving shortly before noon. We were fully enveloped in the clouds at the time. Some other people had come up the mountain from the other side.
As we sat down to lunch, I remembered that things were coming to a head in Washington, so I asked one of the other hikers if they knew anything about the Nixon situation.
"Oh!" he replied, "He resigned!"
Me: "Really?! Effective when?"
Him: "Noon today."
At that point I looked at my watch. It was high noon.
At that moment the clouds parted and we had a beautiful view of the Pemi Wilderness. The rest of the day was clear.
Absolutely true story. On my mother's grave.
Thank you Douglas. The resignation made a strong impression on all of us then.
I will never forget the statement by Gerald Ford, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over". I was twenty-seven yrs. old, and becoming more and more disenchanted with politicians. Hearing Obama's speeches during the campaign, I felt he was talking to me, not to give up. I took him up on it.