Edward F. Cox, the son-in-law of Richard Nixon and newly elected Chairman of the New York Republican party gave this year’s Nixon Legacy lecture in the East Room at the Nixon Library.
RN’s son-in-law and the newly elected Chairman of the New York Republican Party, Edward F. Cox, gave the annual Nixon legacy Lecture in the East Room Saturday.
Introduced by his son Christopher, Cox described the astute leadership and the complexity of President Nixon.
“He had a great and active intellect.” Cox said. “But he was also a man of action.”
Cox further discussed how these attributes translated into a unique strategic vision and an uncanny ability to follow through on it.
Recalling a time he went to the Nixon home to pick Tricia up for a date, Cox asked RN how he was going to end the Vietnam War. RN told him first he was going to go to China and then to Moscow to bring the Russians to the peace table.
He had a vision to change the world, Cox explained. “In 1972 he went to China. It was the week that changed the world.”
After RN resigned from office in 1974, Cox described how he went on to write a series of books, advise future Presidents, and travel the world as the country’s elder statesman.
“In 1986, he made the cover of Newsweek with a title that read HE’S BACK.” Cox said. “And he was back.”