Nixon’s Legacy: Criminal or Progressive, Essay Example

In Nixon land, Richard Nixon comes across as a complex character; repugnant much of the time, dishonest, obsessed with destroying his enemies and playing on the white backlash following the civil rights movement of the 1960s by focusing on the “silent majority of law-abiding citizens.” However, at the same time, despite his hatred of liberal causes, some of the most progressive legislation was enacted during his presidency: introducing the notion of universal healthcare, reforming the welfare system, including the notion of a guaranteed annual income (a “negative income tax”), and dramatic increases in social spending for environmental and social service programs. Given how much Nixon despised left-wing causes, it seems inexplicable that he was responsible for some of the most progressive programs passed up until that point. It raises the question: “Why?” Was he trying to compete with his liberal opponents? Did he have some genuine empathy for less fortunate Americans, although his verbal attacks on poor would seem to contradict that. His foreign policy with China was a landmark effort, as well as détente with the USSR. He tried to modernize American federalism by reorganizing the government and revenue sharing, and after expanding the war in Vietnam, he appeared to be trying to wind it down.

All of those accomplishments must be balanced with the paranoid, grandiose delusions that led to his taping all of his conversations in the Oval Office and ultimately, his downfall, however. He was an extremely nasty and bigoted man. Watergate overshadowed any of the good acts that he has done, and he was entirely to blame for that fiasco; I do not believe that anyone trying to manage the country through the 1960s would have necessarily broken the law and express the attitude that “if the president does it, it’s not illegal.” However, although my immediate reaction upon hearing the name “Nixon” is “terrible, disgraceful,” in light of some of the really progressive social programs for which he was responsible, I can see that he is not simply a black-and-white figure, but more of a  puzzlement. Ultimately, these domestic programs may be remembered longer than his currently better known activities in the realm of foreign policy, and they may even minimize his negative Watergate image (Hoff.)

“Nixon land” has relevance to today’s politics, because it sharpened the differences between liberals and conservatives in more definable ways. Nixon expressed extremely negative views about liberal causes, widening the chasm between conservative values (The Silent Majority of law-abiding citizens) implying that liberal core values were resulting in chaos and disorder. Another way in which Nixon had an impact on today’s politics was during the televised debates in 1960. Nixon came across as sweaty, uncomfortable, and unattractive as opposed to John Kennedy, who looked handsome and cool on camera; the debates reflected so negatively on Nixon that they resulted in candidates’ staffs making demands about such conditions as room temperature, lighting, etc. in order to make the candidates look as good as possible on television. Making up his face in order to look more presentable unlikable was included in the book The Selling of the President, a book that discussed in detail the marketing of Richard Nixon to the public in order to make him more appealing as a candidate. Finally, the Watergate era had an impact on campaign financing, after which political parties did not take public financing. For the first time since that era, presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama are not taking public financing, allowing them to spend unlimited amounts of money during their campaigns. As a result, both sides are able to afford to keep competing in the nine states that are evaluated to be the most competitive (Zeleny.) With so much money being invested in campaigns, each candidate can afford to spend as much time and money as is available, flooding the election process, with millions of dollars, in effect, purchasing the office of the president.

Works Cited:

Hoff, Joan. Reevaluating Richard Nixon: His Domestic Achievements. 2009. 28 October 2012 <http://www.nixonera.com/library/domestic.asp>.

Perlstein, Rick. Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America. New York: Scribner, 2009.

Zeleny, Jeff. Cash Flow to Fuels Fights to the End in Leaning States. 20 October 2012. 28 October 2012 <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/us/politics/cash-flood-allows-fight-to-the-finish-for-electoral-votes.html?pagewanted=all>.