President Nixon In The Rear-View Mirror

[Infinite Hope]

President Nixon had his flaws from ethics to some of his policies. However if one takes a closer look at his accomplishments while in office, they might see a version of President Nixon that is much different than that often portrayed in the media and I suspect President Nixon’s stock will continue to rise slightly over the next couple decades.

President Nixon was a traditional Republican who was progressive on many issues from the environment to health care, but sought proper balance with fiscal responsibility. On the environment, President Nixon signed the landmark Clean Air Act and established both the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agency to monitor environmental efforts. In 1971, he proclaimed the first Earth Week.

Presiding over the continuation of the Vietnam War, it is clear President Nixon was not opposed to the use of force. But he seemed to prefer diplomacy as a first resort and notably opened the door to relations with China. Today, Presidents and candidates are criticized for meeting with leaders of nations that do not share our values, but Nixon’s foresight and courage set a precedent for effective diplomacy.

http://thepoliticalpanorama.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/president-nixon-in-the-rear-view-mirror/">Read the full article and share your thoughts!

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Some liberal friends and I recently have had discussions about whether Nixon was all bad. Reading http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8643673&mesg_id=8643673|this post> on DU this morning inspired me to share this article.

[Fumesucker]

1. Extra butter and a Coke please..

:popcorn:

I already waded into this subject, it was an unsatisfying experience.. This time I'll just wait it out on the sidelines.

[leftstreet]

2. There's HFCS in that Coke

:beer: :popcorn:

[Fumesucker]

3. Not the Kosher kind..

;)

[Seneca]

10. nor the Mexican kind!

:toast:

[Ruby the Liberal]

4. I read that other thread and it really hit me.

This country has veered SO far to the right that Nixon is being heralded as a shining example of progressive ideals. Folks, that WAS the right 40 years ago.

Amazing.

[flor-de-jasmim]

5. You are so right!

[havocmom]

6. his stock is rising because current pols are so bloody owned by corporations

I really disliked/distrusted Nixon. But he did have his good points. What we have now is truly disheartening. Both parties serve the very top global corporations first. America? Not so much

[spanone]

7. nixon was an utter clusterfuck...NO TIME IN HISTORY WILL ERASE THAT

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. I love the Nixon apologia recently.

I mean I've seen support for Bobby Jindal, and Jan Brewer, and Dick Cheney. But this Richard Nixon stuff really takes the cognitive dissonance cake.

[ZombieHorde]

13. Do you think Nixon's policies were to the right of today's Democratic Party?

If so, which policies?

Nixon was before my time, I only know about a few of his policies, such as the continuation of the Vietnam war, the EPA, and he tried to pass health care reform.

Of course I have some awareness of Watergate, but that was not a policy, that was a crime.

[snot]

9. Sad state when modern Dems make Nixon look good.

[bobbolink]

11. And, where poverty is concerned, which is usually forgotten here, Nixon wanted

a liveable income level for all citizens.

Imagine.

[SunnySong]

14. Shh no talk about negative income tax you will scare away the moderates. nt

[tridim]

12. Racist fucks should not be celebrated

He sucked. Period.

[ZombieHorde]

15. I agree we should not celebrate our previous racist leaders, such as Nixon or FDR,

but examining them to determine where we have been, in contrast of where we are now, is interesting.

[izquierdista]

16. To really know Nixon..

...is to really despise Nixon. I grew up with Nixon haters. People who couldn't stand him from the first time he ran for Congress in 1946. But no one listened to them and he got elected and his accomplishments trail of destruction grew longer and longer. If you go back and really look, all the good things in the article were ideas of Democrats that got a late buy-in and Presidential signature. His original ideas were of two kinds: really foul, and even worse. Ideas like bombing Cambodia, letting HMOs and insurance companies run private health care, covering up the Watergate burglary. He was nastiness personified, as you can tell from one of his proteges, Dick Cheney.

[KonaKane]

17. "had his ethical flaws"?? Ohhhhh boy......

Yes, some little flaws like gave the green light to fix a national election, and then lie about it when caught. Little flaws like swearing he was going to "get the Jews in the Democratic party" who opposed him, by using the IRS against them. Little flaws like referring to his gardner as "the little wetback".

Any other little flaws you are in a hurry to gloss over while canonizing this creep?