Clareified

“You won’ t have Nixon to kick around anymore.” -Richard Milhous Nixon

My advanced placement American History teacher was what you’d call a “lovely lady.”
She never raised her voice, always wore skirts, she was demanding (and was one of the toughest graders in school), but she would always kindly offer extra help or allow retesting by those who might have needed it.
She also loved history.
Our AP class was rigorous, every Monday there was a new 38 minute lecture, followed by a pagelong quiz on the previous Monday’s lecture. Tuesday was spent reviewing any areas that it seemed we weren’t getting and on Wednesdays, we had student lecture days. I don’t specifically remember what Thursdays or Fridays were for.
Mrs. B, who also had three daughters attending my school, was also Dean of the ninth grade. I had gotten to know her in that capacity, first. Thus, you can imagine, I hated her. But I loved history and I was good at it – history being one of those subjects that favor those with good memories and top-notch BSing skills. So, she easily won me over with my never ending string of As and teacher praise.
However, the one subject on which Mrs. B had absolutely no flexibility or kindness? The 37th President of the United States.
“Nixon was a disgrace and an embarrassment. The man did not have a moral compass or one iota of decency in his miserable body,” she said during one of her Monday lectures. I looked up at her face and scribbled the words down in my notebook. It would be one of those handy devices I could use later during the midterm or final. I’d spew my facts about the era and then casually throw in a line about how all that lead “some historians to assert that President Nixon did not have ‘a moral compass or one iota of decency.’” Cha-ching.
My mama didn’t raise no fool, I knew how the high school game was played.
Of course, I had studied President Nixon years before as part of an independent study I was working on in junior high school and well, I liked him. Heck, you might even say I loved him!
And watching Frost/Nixon last night reminded me why.
President Nixon wasn’t pretty, he wasn’t smooth, he wasn’t polished, he didn’t pander, he didn’t “bring people in,” and he rarely made excuses. He lost the presidential election to President Kennedy and did nothing to hide his contempt for a man he had little respect for. I always imagined that upon hearing about Kennedy’s murder, Nixon’s first reaction was “good.”
What Nixon may very well have been, ironically, is America’s last honest President.
Nixon paid his dues the way you’re supposed to.
He was a legislator and a U.S. Senator -he even served in the dreaded capacity of Vice President of the United States. He *worked* for the Presidency. And despite the job history has done to demonize him, Nixon, through his work with China may be one of the most important architects of today’s global economy. Can you imagine if his response to China was anything like President Kennedy’s idiotic freeze-out of Cuba?
Nixon also ended Kennedy’s other brilliant attempt to “fight Communism,” the Vietnam War.
Not to mention, Nixon succeeded where Kennedy and even President Johnson, had failed: he federally mandated real integration for the United States. Kennedy merely paid lip service to the idea of “rights for Negroes” and yes, to his credit he sent in the National Guard to put its foot up Governor Wallace’ ass in Little Rock, but beyond that, African-Americans were to Kennedy what the gay people are to President Obama. The Civil Rights Act in ’64 did little more than say “okay, see the 14th amendment in the U.S. Constitution? Well, when it says “all citizens,” it means all citizens.” Great.
Thanks. Awesome.
Now what?
And Nixon was the now what answer. And now you will hire “those people.” You will let them in your schools, they will be promoted in your companies, they too sing America.
It was finally affirmative government action instead of rhetoric.
And sure, he was a little paranoid — but dude, there were people out to get him! And yeah, he was a little vindictive. But hey, I’m telling you right now, if I am ever elected President of the United States, on January 22 there are going to be 79 people getting so audited. And 6 of those will be audited 11 times.
What reasonable man doesn’t have an enemies list?
Oh, AND I’m using my free Presidential murder. (Everyone knows 9/11 was an elaborate conspiracy to cover up President Clinton’s hit on Barbara Olson for talking smack about Hillary Clinton during her Senate campaign.)
Watergate was a disaster and unforgiveable…but mostly because he got caught at an unnecessary act of political espionage. Nixon was going to cruise to reelection, he would have finished out another admirable four years and he could have taken revenge on his political opponents in less heavy handed (read: blatantly criminal) ways.
But other than that, Nixon did what needed to be done. Was he a racist? An anti-semite? Probably a little bit with the crazy?
Sure. But that makes his accomplishments all the more laudable.
He served the country in the best way possible: honestly, if a little bit criminally.
And I’m glad we had him to kick around for a while.

This entry was posted by Dawn Summers on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at 8:14 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.