No

by Charles Ray

Created on: December 05, 2009   Last Updated: December 06, 2009

When he resigned from the office of the Presidency to avoid impeachment for his role in Watergate, Richard Milhous Nixon was one of the most reviled presidents in U.S. history. Here was the man who had opened the door to relations with the Peoples' Republic of China; had faced down Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev; so successful in foreign and security affairs - and such a disaster domestically.

Distrustful of the American people, and disdainful of those who did not agree with him, Nixon presided over a presidency that was marked by deceit and wrongdoing, with Watergate being just the final sign that the administration was rotten to the core.

Nixon, as was revealed by the tapes leaked shortly after he left office, was a profane and vulgar man, given to language that would make a sailor blush. He was also exposed as a racist, anti-Semitic person, with little regard for the common man.

Nixon was also a paranoid who saw enemies behind every bush, and in every remark that seemed critical. Those who opposed or irritated him found themselves investigated by the IRS, or otherwise hassled by the bureaucracy.

He was strongly anti-Communist, and had a penchant for accusing his detractors of being soft on Communism. No one should have been surprised by his behavior as President, however, given his participation in the Joe McCarthy Red Scare witch hunts of the 1950s.

Paranoia, suspicion, duplicity; all of these character traits were on display during that period. By the time Nixon was elected to the White House, these traits were hardwired into his character. Worse, he surrounded himself with people who were like-minded.

In the televised interviews with David Frost after he left the White House, Nixon literally confessed his guilt before the American public. The sad thing is, he seemed to really think that what he did was not wrong.

Richard Nixon did other things that have never been widely publicized, and have probably been forgotten by most Americans. While Watergate showed disdain for the rule of law, his effort to get term limits for the presidency abolished was nothing less than an assault on the Constitution itself.

He truly wanted to emulate Franklin Roosevelt and serve more than two terms - in fact, one can probably assume he wanted to serve as President-for-life. The very idea of a 12 to 16 year reign of Richard Nixon is enough to make one shudder.

So thoroughly discredited was Nixon when he resigned, it is hard to imagine any further revelations that would cause his reputation to sink any lower. There is probably much about the man we don't know, but what we know already is more than enough.

Learn more about this author, Charles Ray.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.