Is Nixon's bad reputation justifying?

Question

I have the impression that this president has a really bad reputation, he has been called racist, anti-Semite, homophobic etc, sometimes he even has the image of a thug.

Is all this justified, has this president left nothing positive for the American nation?

abc3643 · Accepted Answer

Most of the people who will answer this question weren't alive when Nixon was President. I was and I remember the Nixon Administration well.

This is a very complicated question and we need to differentiate between Nixon, the person, versus Nixon, the President.

I could try and answer this question for hours on end, but I don't want to revisit some emotions or make any errors of omission.

As a President, Nixon was decent - probably the best GOP president in my lifetime, especially in foreign policy - but his Machiavellian nature was his undoing. In a bit of irony, the farewell speech that he gave to The White House Staff on the morning of his resignation, 07 AUG 1974, contains advice that he should have heeded during his life:

"Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."

At least the GOP then was a party that actually understood real patriotism and that included President Nixon had some class to resign because he knew it was in the best interests of the USA. This is unlike Trump who always does what's in the best interests of Trump even if it destroys the United States. If only Trump had learned from Nixon, Trump might have been a decent president.

Here is the speech Nixon gave the night before he resigned. Like most Presidential addresses, it was on almost every TV station, but this one was not ignored - we all knew what was coming.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zLHc8NR_v-8

President Nixon's Farewell to the White House Staff

https://www.youtube.com/embed/32GaowQnGRw

However, I do want to add President Nixon's "Checkers Speech". This speech is from September 1952 just before the 1952 Presidential Election which would be won by Republican Dwight Eisenhower, the famous general who commanded the Allied Forces in Europe during WW II, with Nixon as his Vice-President. Nixon was chosen for a variety of reasons, but Eisenhower wanted to drop him as the VP candidate because of questions regarding Nixon's finances. Instead, Nixon went on TV and gave this speech, now known as "The Checkers Speech" to defend himself. It was very successful, in no small part to Nixon's clear assertion that he would not give up the cocker spaniel, named Checkers, which was given as a gift.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JpWwgwytdzk

Nixon's younger daughter, Julie, would go on to marry Eisenhower's grandson David Eisenhower in 1968. But, in 1971, we all watched on TV Nixon's younger daughter, Tricia, marry Edward Cox. Nothing like that has happened since in the USA. Here is a documentary about it:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/0yYlIp9tHDU

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Do you have any specific questions about President Nixon or this time?

NamerOfStars · Accepted Answer

Kinda. He began the push of normalizing relations with China (the idea behind which was that contact with a wealthy capitalist democracy would rub off on them, and push them away from tyranny without needing another prolonged Cold War that threatened nuclear Armageddon; it didn't work out, but that doesn't mean it was a bad idea), pushed some civil rights legislation through, signed off on no less than SIX environmental preservation bills... If he had been running today- no, if he had been running ten years ago- he'd've been called a liberal.

But that's his political record- the unofficial stuff is where the damning evidence lies. Attempting to assassinate a journalist who's snooping around your misdeeds is pretty condemnation-worthy; OPENLY DISCUSSING it also suggests you're exceptionally stupid. The biggie, though- far bigger than even the spying that brought him down- was sabotaging the Vietnam peace talks. Had those succeeded, not only would tens of thousands of American (and goodness only knows how many Vietnamese) lives have been saved, but the war would've ended five years earlier, the invasion of Cambodia (and consequent rise of the Khmer Rouge) might not have happened (adding umpteen Cambodians to the "lives saved" group), and we might've had evidence that we could settle our political differences without building a mountain of corpses. As it turns out, the Cold War DIDN'T end in a nuclear bloodbath, but we came SO close SO many times... Anyway, not only does this mean that Nixon committed treason, but the final peace deal that was eventually brokered was very similar to the one that Nixon sabotaged- but now he and Kissinger could take credit for it.

sarahlumpkin · Accepted Answer

I remember as a child asking why I was old enough to know what got Nixon in trouble but not old enough to know what got Clinton in trouble.

TyroneJones · Answer

I don't think his reputation is justified. The only reason people dislike Nixon is because of the Watergate scandal. He did improve our relations with communist countries such as China during his presidency. He was also a very popular president as he won the 1968 and 1972 elections in a landslide you probably wouldn't see anytime in the near future. Nixon also eased the tensions between the USA and USSR. Nixon fulfilled his promise to get us out of Vietnam, although not immediately. Nixon also did quite a few things for the environment as president, including NEPA, EPA and the Clean Air Act. He also established OSHA which helped keep working conditions safe. Nixon also signed the National Cancer Act to increase productivity of cancer research and the fight against cancer. Overall Nixon was actually a pretty good president and gets a bad reputation because of the actions of people in his administration, the FBI, CIA, and IRS. At the end of the day he was one of the presidents who actually cared about the environment and US citizens, unlike most modern politicians.

Stoner710 · Answer

Yes not only did he spy on his political opponents (water gate). He sold coke to Pablo Escobar and help the cartels gain power, he normalized relations with China which was a horrible idea, Covid wouldn’t have been a thing if that never happened, He let the communist take over Vietnam and there was major gas shortages which wasn’t needed and he was a paranoid drunk. Nixon was a horrible president Carter wasn’t much better, regains was 1000x better especially when he ended the era of big government. But we’re going back to that now under Biden so fuck our lives

Still-alive · Answer

Yes he was terrible. he's responsible for starting the drug war and was a terrible racist too. He invaded cambodia during the Vietnam war which later led the pol pott kmer rouge killing millions of cambodians.
he did open up trade relations with China though… then again China has its own issues now and this move during nixons time may have led directly to china being a new hegemonic world power

888theGreat · Answer

One of the worst ever. Listen to his phone calls on Youtube. He would say things behind people's backs. He would say things in speeches and come back and admit he lied on the phone. He started the inflation of 1970's even though Carter got blamed. He said he would end Vietnam war, but increased bombing. He used price controls which failed terribly. He took US off gold standard which led to all this printing of dollars out of thin air. He started EPA which has been a disaster. He open the door to China and look what has happened. Most of the good jobs in America went to China. He had people break in buildings to steal information. So , he had no problem breaking laws and lying.

He was a great Vice President (maybe the best ever) but a terrible President.
He did have 1960 election stolen from him like Trump had 2020 election stolen from him.

Anonymous · Answer

Not at all. He improved relations with Russia and China, he gave back a lot of land to Indians. He founded the DEA, EPA and banned cigarette ads. He ended the Vietnam War. He believed each country should have a right to have whatever form of government they want (the actions in Chile were Kissinger's idea) He opposed the biased media. And he knew how to connect with the average American.

It's a shame that he's only remembered for his scandals and "bigotry". Obama, Kennedy, Bushes and the Clintons did far worse things and got off Scot free.

goaded · Answer

He established the EPA. His crimes, while impeachement-worthy, pale into insignificance compared to Trump's. The huge difference between then and now is that senators of his party would have voted to convict, because there was a line they wouldn't cross just for power.

dillbill561 · Answer

Removal from gold standard preserved our economy until today. He is also the one who started the treasury minting gold and silver coin again for collectibles starting in 1986.

Finally his resignation and fact of being the only president who rejected Secret Service protection after his presidency shows that he cares about our tax money and doesn’t fear reprisal from the people. He is a man of the people in fact.

loveslongnails · Answer

The 4 biggest things he did were:
1) End US involvement in Vietnam, although much of that was due to public pressure
2) Establish the EPA and signed the Clean Air Act
3) Commit major dollars to cancer research
4) Help to ease tensions with Brezhnev and Russia

On the other hand, he was a megalomaniac, a bitch to work with, and then there's that Watergate thing.

jeffryrobertbabb · Answer

Nixon was dealt the worst hand of any modern president -- cities in flames, bogged down in Vietnam, budget out of control, the French looting the gold window, losing the Cold War and so on. If Nixon was honest about Watergate, he might have survived. His personal attributes were not attractive, but he could have been an outstanding President.

Anonymous · Answer

Not if you look at his entire body of work. Nixon had so many things working against him though his entire career though. Some people make one mistake at the wrong time it labels them for life. While someone else can do the same thing repeatedly and never answer for it.

Bean2k · Answer

I find it funny how much emphasis people from other countries put on U. S. presidents. All U. S. presidents are expendable. You get 4 years to make a difference; i. e., you ain't shit, buddy.

BCA6010 · Answer

I wouldn't rate him as "good," but the negative aspects of his presidency, especially the infamous "Watergate" scandal are severely overblown.

Avicenna · Answer

Nixon was a bad President. He would have been better as a Secretary of State.

IncognitoBandito · Answer

He was a sneaky SOB who used smear tactics, though I don't know that he was any worse than LBJ or Kennedy in that regard.

Jamie05rhs · Answer

Well, seeing as we've just had Trump, Nixon doesn't look so bad anymore.

exitseven · Answer

He looks like a Boy Scout next to what we have now.

anylolone · Answer

I care about nothing else, but wasn't this the watergate guy?

rcljr · Answer

He was a liar and a crook,

DaveToo · Answer

Yes, and it's far worse than just Watergate.

MudRucker · Answer

Nixon was no more of a racist than LBJ.

phonetic_au · Answer

tricky dicky said im no crook

joeldalton · Answer

He started the drug war. He’s a fuck stick.

ItsMeItsMe1989 · Answer

Is being bad, a good thing? Huh. weird

karaspara · Answer

Was he Watergate?

Is Nixon's bad reputation justifying?

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