Opinion of Richard Nixon (by party)

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Nixon was a very complex man, certainly our most "human" president. I see aspects of myself, good and bad, in him. I have a lot of admiration and hatred for him. I would have voted for McGovern in 1972 with and without hindsight, but it is not a vote against Nixon himself as much as it is a vote against Vietnam. The monster Richard Nixon became wasn’t made by Richard Nixon; it was made by the media who clearly had it in for him from the start. It became a cat and mouse game, with Nixon and the collective press each sinking to new lows to outdo the other.

Let’s remember, Nixon opened up China, signed SALT I, and fought for a public option healthcare program (which I would have opposed at the time, but now feel we need in post Obamacare America), among other great things. Several of his aides went on to do great things-Brian Lamb founded C-SPAN, for example, and Pat Buchanan has had an incredible career since Watergate as well.

He also (possibly) continued the war on purpose, took us off the Gold Standard, allowed busing to go on, and failed to properly cover-up several minor dirty tricks. And then, let us not forget that he also rounded up student protestors and locked them in RFK stadium in 1971, Chile, and his association with shady, washed up CIA operatives from the Kennedy era (Liddy, Hunt, etc).

Nixon was a horrible president on the whole, yet for some reason, I cannot bring myself to call him a horrible human being. Look into a mirror, and all of you, whether you like it or not, will see at least one aspect of Richard Nixon in yourself.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

HP, but not as much of an HP as Democratic Nixon apologists.

I agree with Sanchez that Nixon wasn't entirely a monster of his own making, but it's stupid to blame the media for that. What was wrong with him clearly went back before his political career, far enough back that we end up looking at a part of his life that it would be hard to try to analyze without running smack-dab into Donald Winnicott...

Agreed, but I feel his relationship with the media enhanced the feeling of rejection. Had he just been elected and never had the hatred of the media, he might have felt vindicated by winning elections.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

HP, but not as much of an HP as Democratic Nixon apologists.

I agree with Sanchez that Nixon wasn't entirely a monster of his own making, but it's stupid to blame the media for that. What was wrong with him clearly went back before his political career, far enough back that we end up looking at a part of his life that it would be hard to try to analyze without running smack-dab into Donald Winnicott...

Agreed, but I feel his relationship with the media enhanced the feeling of rejection. Had he just been elected and never had the hatred of the media, he might have felt vindicated by winning elections.

The media don't hate people at random though - they hate people who make themselves "hatable", and Nixon was exactly the kind of politicians who was very easy to hate. His entire political career was built on his denunciation of an "enemy" that must be fought, pitting Americans against each other. Even when nothing of his corruption was known, he already appeared as an incredibly nasty, spiteful person.

Anyway, now that I got that off of my chest I will just say that this thread, and the apologist posts I've seen so far (especially from Democrats who insist that Nixon was "not that bad") all show what is wrong with America.  If you purposefully sabotage peace talks of a war that has already killed millions just so you can win the presidency, you are not a sympathetic figure by any means.  If you then give the finger to people who voted for you expecting an eventual exit from the war theater instead of mass bombings that kill even more innocent bystanders, you are not a sympathetic figure.

You see, I could give a rat's ass about Watergate.  Nixon's real crime was that he didn't think twice about how many lives he needed to destroy to advance his political career.  ANd that in my mind far outshadows the EPA, peace talks with China, his push for universal healthcare (conveniently done right before he got kicked out of office), anti-missile treaties, desegregation, etc. etc.  Oh yeah, he also began the so-called "War on Drugs", which has become the New Jim Crow for the African American community.

So yes, fuck Richard Nixon.  He's easily in the top five of the worst presidents we ever had.  A decade ago or so in high school it was almost accepted as common fact that Richard Nixon was a horrible terrible guy by both Republicans and Democrats.  Nowdays it seems that moderate heroes in both parties seem to be wanting to give his dead corpse a handjob and a nice thumbs up for "not being as bad as (insert later Republican President here)."  As much as I hate Reagan and Dubya, their pathetic kill scores pale in comparison to the amount that died just so that Dick Nixon could have (or attempt to have, given Watergate) his precious two terms in office.

Enthusiastic HP vote here.  And seriously, fuck you to every single one of you who voted FF.

I know better than to try and challenge you on history....so I won't, as my ass will be whipped so bad that I won't be able to show my face (or R-FL avatar) here on this forum for a week. So I'm just gonna say this: there is some dark luster to Richard Nixon that I am attracted too. I don't know what it is.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

HP, but not as much of an HP as Democratic Nixon apologists.

I agree with Sanchez that Nixon wasn't entirely a monster of his own making, but it's stupid to blame the media for that. What was wrong with him clearly went back before his political career, far enough back that we end up looking at a part of his life that it would be hard to try to analyze without running smack-dab into Donald Winnicott...

Agreed, but I feel his relationship with the media enhanced the feeling of rejection. Had he just been elected and never had the hatred of the media, he might have felt vindicated by winning elections.

The media don't hate people at random though - they hate people who make themselves "hatable", and Nixon was exactly the kind of politicians who was very easy to hate. His entire political career was built on his denunciation of an "enemy" that must be fought, pitting Americans against each other. Even when nothing of his corruption was known, he already appeared as an incredibly nasty, spiteful person.

Anyway, now that I got that off of my chest I will just say that this thread, and the apologist posts I've seen so far (especially from Democrats who insist that Nixon was "not that bad") all show what is wrong with America.  If you purposefully sabotage peace talks of a war that has already killed millions just so you can win the presidency, you are not a sympathetic figure by any means.  If you then give the finger to people who voted for you expecting an eventual exit from the war theater instead of mass bombings that kill even more innocent bystanders, you are not a sympathetic figure.

You see, I could give a rat's ass about Watergate.  Nixon's real crime was that he didn't think twice about how many lives he needed to destroy to advance his political career.  ANd that in my mind far outshadows the EPA, peace talks with China, his push for universal healthcare (conveniently done right before he got kicked out of office), anti-missile treaties, desegregation, etc. etc.  Oh yeah, he also began the so-called "War on Drugs", which has become the New Jim Crow for the African American community.

So yes, fuck Richard Nixon.  He's easily in the top five of the worst presidents we ever had.  A decade ago or so in high school it was almost accepted as common fact that Richard Nixon was a horrible terrible guy by both Republicans and Democrats.  Nowdays it seems that moderate heroes in both parties seem to be wanting to give his dead corpse a handjob and a nice thumbs up for "not being as bad as (insert later Republican President here)."  As much as I hate Reagan and Dubya, their pathetic kill scores pale in comparison to the amount that died just so that Dick Nixon could have (or attempt to have, given Watergate) his precious two terms in office.

Enthusiastic HP vote here.  And seriously, fuck you to every single one of you who voted FF.

I know better than to try and challenge you on history....so I won't, as my ass will be whipped so bad that I won't be able to show my face (or R-FL avatar) here on this forum for a week. So I'm just gonna say this: there is some dark luster to Richard Nixon that I am attracted too. I don't know what it is.

Well I don't recall you voting FF, so you're off the hook for now.

I voted FF, though it was sort of a troll vote.....sorta. He was, as I mentioned, a terrible President. But like Cathcon said, I just can't root against him. I have to be mentally ill or something .