Richard Nixon

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• 3/26/2023
  

  The "Madman Theory" Was Quintessential Nixon

  by Zachary Jonathan Jacobson

  Richard Nixon's famed foreign policy ruse—encouraging adversaries to think him capable of seemingly insane decisions—had one essential component: Nixon himself, and his commitment to the tightrope-walking performance. 

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• 3/19/2023
  

  The Nixon Library's Vietnam Exhibition Obscures the Truth about the War's End

  by Brian Robertson

  The exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords chooses its sources selectively to present the negotiations as the product of Nixon's grand strategy, ignoring the role of domestic political machination. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  2/20/2023
  

  Ford's Pardon of Nixon and Leads Americans to Doubt Accountability, Democracy

  by Garrett M. Graff

  Democracy won't be secure unless those who hold positions of power can be assured of being held to account if they break the law or abuse the public's trust. 

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• 1/29/2023
  

  "Cut His Head Off if Necessary"—The Flimsy, Politically-Driven "Peace" Nixon Made in Vietnam

  by James D. Robenalt

  Months after inflicting a brutal bombing campaign on North Vietnam to push them to the negotiating table in Paris, Richard Nixon pressed the South to accept a deal that doomed their survival, in order to claim the mantle of peacemaker for himself. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  12/17/2022
  

  Frank Shakespeare, 97, Helped Nixon Campaign Redefine Campaign Ads

  Influential ads produced by Shakespeare helped Nixon to associate crime and disorder with opponents and overcome suspicion of Nixon's character and personality. 

• 
• 10/30/2022
  

  Understanding the Political Power of Nixon's "Silent Majority"

  by George Case

  Nixon's comment, arguably a throwaway line at the time, has become prophetic as the public across the political spectrum fears they are being manipulated and deceived. 

• 
• 10/23/2022
  

  After 50 Years, the Truth About the Vietnam Peace Agreement Remains Elusive

  by Arnold Isaacs

  In October 1972, Henry Kissinger declared "peace is at hand" in Vietnam. Why, then, did the United States continue bombing North Vietnam? Official deception still colors American foreign policy and military strategy today. 

• 
• SOURCE: NPR
  9/25/2022
  

  How Richard Nixon Alienated Allies after Watergate (and Lessons for Trump)

  "Along the way, when it mattered most, Nixon and his crew found that people who might have been political allies in the past were not especially sympathetic to his case."

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• SOURCE: National Security Archive
  9/12/2022
  

  49 Years Later, Nixon's Knowledge of Pinochet Coup Remains Secret

  It is beyond time for the Biden Administration to declassify presidential records related to American operations in Chile around the overthrow of democratically elected President Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973.  

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• SOURCE: Politico
  7/22/2022
  

  Is Trump the New Nixon? The Young Custodian of the Nixon Library Would Rather Not Say

  Jim Byron, the CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation, is the unofficial guardian of the former president's legacy, having worked his way up in the organization after starting as a teenaged summer intern. 

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• 6/19/2022
  

  Watergate at 50: Did Kennedy Loyalists Squelch a 1968 "October Surprise" that Could Have Beaten Nixon?

  by James H. Barron

  Did Democratic party insiders bury the story of Richard Nixon receiving campaign funds from the Greek military junta because they disliked the Greek exile journalist who broke the news? 

• 
• SOURCE: Democracy Now!
  6/15/2022
  

  Garrett Graff: A "Conspiratorial Mindset" Links Trump and Nixon Actions

  Garrett Graff, author of "Watergate: A New History" argues that both January 6 and Watergate were the logical culminations of the broader politics of the Trump and Nixon administrations and the movements that sustained them. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  6/12/2022
  

  From Trust in Institutions to Partisan Polarization: The Legacy of Watergate at 50

  Garrett M. Graff calls the events set in motion by the 1972 burglary a dividing line in history that changed the political culture forever. 

• 
• 4/12/2022
  

  On "Smoking Guns"—Yesterday and Today (and Tomorrow?)

  by Jim Zirin

  As text messages between Donald Jr. and Mark Meadows surface, it seems the last roadblock to a prosecution of Donald Trump over January 6 is a lack of will, not a lack of evidence.

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  4/6/2022
  

  Trump Can't Just Erase History the Way Nixon Tried to Do

  by Tim Naftali

  "The newly reported Trumpian gap may actually be easier to fill in, and therefore less of a threat to the historical record than Nixon’s."

• 
• SOURCE: The Watergate Story
  4/4/2022
  

  Watergate at 50: The Consequences of Impunity

  by Barry Sussman

  The Washington Post's City Editor at the time of the Watergate breakin launches a series of posts on the ongoing legacy of the scandal. This one discusses the legacy of elite impunity that resulted from the failure to prosecute Richard Nixon. 

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• 3/13/2022
  

  Richard Nixon Made one of the Most Successful Political Comebacks in History. Trump Ignores His Playbook

  by Donne Levy

  Donald Trump is departing in multiple ways from the comeback strategy of Richard Nixon. Is this a political mistake, or a reflection of a different Republican Party and a different age of politics? 

• 
• 2/27/2022
  

  Irwin Gellman Asks: Did JFK Steal Victory in the "Campaign of the Century"?

  by Justin P. Coffey

  Irwin Gellman's latest volume in his political history of Nixon argues the 1960 election returns in Illinois and Texas were rigged for Kennedy. A reviewer finds the case is intriguing but falls short of solid proof, though it does resonate with charges of stolen elections and media favoritism that are all too familiar today. 

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• 9/12/2021
  

  The Missed Lesson of Vietnam: Plan for Unconditional Victory or Don't Intervene at All

  by James D. Robenalt

  Comparisons between American withdrawal from Vietnam and Afghanistan miss a key point: failure was overwhelmingly likely from the beginning because, if the United States was unwilling or unable to secure unconditional surrender, time was on the side of its foes. 

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• 6/6/2021
  

  Whataboutism Didn't Get Nixon Off the Hook. It Shouldn't Stop Investigation of the Capitol Riots

  by James Robenalt

  There's a long and ignominious tradition of playing "whatabout" to thwart investigations into official misconduct, so it's no surprise the move was part of Republicans' rejection of a January 6 commission.