News
Tuesdays With Franklin
The sun had just risen over the Pearly Gates when RN threaded his way through the already crowded dining room. As always, the silver was gleaming and the glasses were sparkling and the napery…….everyone wondered how they managed to fold the starched linen napkins,...
Choosing a Veep
Many people are offering John McCain advice about a running mate. Various candidates would purportedly tip swing states into the McCain column, or improve his appeal to women and minorities. Maybe. LBJ did help JFK win Texas in 1960. But aside from that one case, it...
New York Times Endorses Nixon
Those who have not seen the New York Times editorial page today may be interested in the paper's editorial on Russia's elections, "Putin's Mini-Me (Or Not?)." Broadly speaking, the Times editors express concern over Russian democracy and wonder whether Putin's...
Making History by Agreeing to Disagree
My recent summary of last week’s news failed to recognize an important anniversary . It was thirty-six years ago last Tuesday (26 February) that the Shanghai Communique was signed by President Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou En-lai. February 22nd, the anniversary of...
Buckley, Nixon, and Mao – 1972
In February of 1972 three airplanes, two were charter flights, the third was Air Force One, made their way from the United States to China en route to a rendezvous with what historian Margaret McMillan has referred to as “the week that changed the world.” The two...
Richard Milhous Obama
Barack Obama sounds a bit like Richard Nixon. No, he’s not deliberately cribbing from our 37th president. It’s hard to picture him telling his writers: “I need to fire up the liberal Democratic base – so go get me some Nixon language!” But his rhetoric does include...
On Words, Pins, and Patriotism
Over the last couple of weeks, there seems to be a controversy in the presidential campaign over expressions of patriotism. Senator Obama is being criticized for not wearing a flag lapel, and not putting his hand over his heart when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance....
Nixon and Me
I was born in 1964, which technically makes me a Baby Boomer. It also means my first-hand memories of the Nixon presidency are meager ones. I remember being angry about Watergate, because the extensive TV coverage of the hearings frequently pre-empted cartoons. And I...
Reading the Nixon Bios
When John Taylor extended me the invitation to contribute occasional pieces to The New Nixon, I accepted immediately and knew instantly what I would point to in my first post: How I judge whether or not to read a new work on Nixon. Here's my test: I open the index and...
Exploiting a Heart Attack
Last week, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman quoted Adlai Stevenson as warning of “Nixonland” – “a land of slander and scare.” Ironically, a vivid example of scare tactics came from Stevenson’s own lips at the end of the 1956 campaign. Crudely exploiting President...