Upon doing some reading, I actually have alot of sympathy for Richard M. Nixon.
Dick Nixon, I think, will go down in history as one of the most misunderstood presidents of all time and should justifiably be remembered as a man with good intentions who let his paranoia and autocratic management style destroy his presidency.
Here are some actual facts and statistics that you can find in Lewis Gaddis'
Strategies of Containment, any book on Military spending produced by the United States Government (availible in university and government libraries and perhaps your local library if it is well funded and expected to serve many interests).
1. During Nixon's presidency through the application of Detente military spending in both the Soviet Union and the United States of America FELL substantially.
2. Nixon helped bring The People's Republic of China out of isolation, and with his reputation as a red-baiter and a staunch anti-communist, was able to resist cries of being soft on communism.
3. Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon broke with the Democratic strategy of flexible, symmetric response to perceived communist threats that was based on a Bi-Polar conception of world affairs and brought about a Multi-Polar strategy that was far from perfect (I'll be the first to admit that Nixon and Kissinger firmly wanted America in the driver's seat everywhere and all the time and often came off as arrogant and high-handed) but allowed for allies to feel as if they were an important part of Diplomatic and Strategic effort towards the Soviet Union.
4. During Nixon's presidency, troop withdrawals began in Vietnam and money allocated to the war shrank. Although Nixon disagreed with the congress when it terminated the war before he felt the time was right, it was Nixon who started the process and had it end during HIS presidency.
5. Nixon brought about, with Kissinger, a series of trade deals that saw the movement of food, technology and loans to the Soviet bloc which eventually placed the entire communist world in Europe in DEBT to the west, diminishing the credibility of the Soviet Union.
6. By recognizing China and opening up relations, Nixon split the International Communist Movement and was able to pit communist against communist, thus making the West's security obligations less expensive.
Ok, now here is what is wrong with Nixon's presidency.
1. He was highly secretive, to the point of paranoia.
2. He broke the law.
3. He failed to define the powers of the presidency clearly and to give congress the perception that their Constitutional powers were intact (They were, but congress in the wake of extreme war weariness, felt the need to assert itself)
4. HE BROKE THE LAW!
Those of you who know me, know that I believe in order. But I believe in Justice more. And it is unjust for a ruler to break the laws of his own country. Any ruler. No matter the excuse or the times.
That being said, I do NOT like Richard M. Nixon. But I respect the good things he tried to do and have some sympathy for him as well.
