In Praise of Richard Nixon

I was in my twenties when the Watergate scandal brought down the Nixon administration, and ever since I have endured the barrage of insults and outright lies against the man without whom we would not have the country we have today. Today’s youth know almost nothing about him, except that they associate him with the word “crook” and the epithet, "tricky Dick."

What a low blow to one who tried so hard for the United States and accomplished so much. Richard Nixon saved the United States, yet few acknowledge it. Few remember the monumental achievements under his watch. It was Nixon who opened the door to hostile China, removing the threat of war with them. It was Nixon who opened up a dialogue with Russia that reduced the very real threat of nuclear war that most citizens felt on a daily basis. It was Nixon who ended the war in Viet Nam that was tearing our country apart from within. It was Nixon who passed the most sweeping environmental reforms without which this country would have far more serious problems than it currently has (J. Brooks Flippen in his book Nixon and the Environment called Nixon and Teddy Roosevelt the top two environmental presidents). It was Nixon who created the all-volunteer Armed Forces that have served this nation so well for the past 30 years. And yes it was Nixon who saw the threat Communism posed to our nation and determined it must not be permitted to take hold here.

Nixon’s “crime” was that he stood up to the communists in the early fifties, by prosecuting an aide to Franklin Roosevelt, Alger Hiss, for providing the Soviets with documents from our government. This aide played an important role in the treaty of Yalta in which the United States conceded much of Eastern Europe to the Soviets (Only in the past few years have these countries begun to recover from the terrible suffering they endured under Soviet domination).

All of this may not seem to matter to our youth that never experienced a world threatened with domination by the Soviet Union. It is too easy to forget the long and painful struggle of those years and the very real possibility that tomorrow might be the last day for all of us. Yet Nixon struggled hard with these problems, and found answers that are still benefiting us today. No one but Nixon could have found those answers. No one understood better than he did the dangers of worldwide communism. Yet it was those in this country sympathetic to communism who eventually brought Nixon down.

The issue never was about Nixon abusing power. Nixon's "crimes" were far less serious than some of the actions of FDR, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and other previous presidents (FDR attempted to pack the Supreme Court with six additional justices who would rule in favor or his programs. This was clearly unconstitutional and some called for his impreachment. Can you imagine the uproar that would ensue if a modern president tried that?). But because Nixon was serious about defeating communism, including defeating it within our own country, the left, often sympathetic to communism, targeted Nixon as an enemy. The press scooped up a complaint by the second in command at the FBI, a man disgruntled because he had not been picked to run the FBI. He claimed to be concerned about the country, but he ended up almost tearing it apart. Whatever crime there was in Watergate paled in comparison to lasting damage that was done by the left and the press to America, for this country emerged with a weakened presidency, ushering in decades of gridlock that continues to this day. During the perilous years of the Cold War this was the worst crime. Ford replaced Nixon, but he was not the strong leader Nixon was. Carter followed Ford and brought on the worst economic crisis since the depression. We were fast declining internationally and domestically. It was only through the efforts of one Ronald Reagan that we gained a reprieve from our demise.

When Nixon ran against Kennedy in 1960 the election was very close, and it came down to a handful of electoral votes to decide the winner. The outcome was uncertain even after the votes had been counted. There was evidence of unprecedented voting fraud especially in the Chicago area. The election could well have been Nixon’s, but Nixon felt that leaving the election winner hanging for days would tear the country apart. Rather than put the country through the turmoil and uncertainty of an undecided winner, he conceded defeat. Long after the election was over recounts were done and it became clear Nixon had won the election. But you never heard a peep or complaint from Nixon. He was no sore loser, because he cared about America more than himself. Would that some of our modern day politicians cared one-tenth as much as Nixon did about doing what is right for the good of the country.

It has been drilled into the American psyche so much that Nixon was a crook, a sneak and liar that it is difficult to say anything in defense of him. For many people it is a foregone conclusion that Nixon did no good, so thoroughly did our media instill it into our people. It is time to wake up out of this deep sleep and realize what Nixon did for us, and to be thankful for him.

Always be mindful, if there is incredible pressure to think ill of someone without permitting you the opportunity to think otherwise, there is a chance that person is very good. Bad people don’t get talked against that way. There is pressure to support and never question bad people and pressure to doubt and distrust the ones best able to save us.

Nixon did much good for this nation and we are still reaping the benefits of it. In this time of divisiveness may we ponder and appreciate the good this man did for our nation.