[d-ray657]

I was not old enough to vote until Nixon's successor, Jerry Ford, was up for election. I was raised in a Union household, so Nixon was unpopular from the get go. Part of the irony is that he did not need dirty tricks. America was not yet ready for George McGovern, and Nixon would have won easily.

Another sad irony is that Nixon would almost be considered liberal in today's environment. He did institute a price freeze to combat inflation. Also, giving the man credit where credit is due, he opened diplomatic relations with China. Some historians have said that he was in a unique position to be able to accomplish that task. A Democrat who would have tried to do so at that time would have been labeled as soft on communism. Nixon, however had "solid" anti-communist credentials, having worked on the McCarthy witch hunts. Accordingly, he was able to convince a broader spectrum of the body politic that it was in America's interest to open that line of communication. Nowadays, we have to wonder if it was the foreshadowing of disaster for our economy.

One of my favorite bits of political humor came out of the Watergate affair. Ford was appointed Vice-President after Spiro Agnew resigned in disgrace. Ford then assumed the presidency after Nixon resigned. When Nixon was running against McGovern, his campaign was run by CREEP (the committee to re-elect the president). People came out with buttons for Ford - CRAP (the committee to re-appoint the president). I know, a lot of work for that punch line, but I always liked it anyway.

Regards,

D-Ray