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Nixon Vol 2 The Triumph of a Politician 19621972 Stephen E Ambrose Books

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Nixon Vol 2 The Triumph of a Politician 19621972 Stephen E Ambrose Books

Stephen Ambrose's biography "Nixon" volume 2 covers a ten-year period: 1962-1972, starting right after Nixon's defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election to his landslide re-election as president in 1972.

Following his 1962 defeat, on Nov 7, 1962, Nixon gave what he called his "last press conference": "You won't have Nixon to kick around any more." He bitterly denounced the biased press and never apologized for doing so.

But campaigning and politics were Nixon's life blood. A corporate friend recommended he establish himself in New York City, a powerhouse in national politics. He took his family to New York and took a job with a law firm.

The job gave Nixon ample time for politics. He gamefully insisted he wasn't running for president even though in reality he was the leading candidate for the 1964 GOP nomination. The former vice president devoted his efforts to lambasting the Kennedy Administration, an exercise in pure politics since Nixon actually shared many of JFK's policies (increased defense spending, sending combat units to Vietnam).

Nixon's failure to win the 1964 GOP nomination proved to be a god-send. The far right wing of the GOP had been looking for restitution after having to accept a moderate in Nixon back in 1960. But their candidate Barry Goldwater, as well as the GOP party in general, was trounced in the 1964 election.

Who better to pick up the pieces than Richard Nixon?

Between 1964 and 1968, Nixon hammered away at Lyndon Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War. Ironically, Johnson actually did a lot of what Nixon was demanding, especially increasing American troops. But Nixon remained the attack politician: no matter what Johnson did, it would never be enough for Nixon.

Nixon was easily the frontrunner for a 1968 GOP nomination. He was known all over the world, and appealed to the right-wing GOP'ers who opposed JFK and LBJ. His law job in NYC paid well and gave him plenty of time for politics. He was highly praised for his lawyering skills, but he did not find the work satisfying.

In 1966, Nixon was at his campaigning best. For the first time in a decade, Nixon was campaigning for the GOP with confidence.

The Democrats' huge electoral mandate in 1964 was falling apart: bigger federal deficits, race riots, civil rights demonstrations, and most of all the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement at home. It all spelled good news for the GOP.

Nixon was the chief manager of the GOP resurgence: Goldwater was disgraced, and Eisenhower and Dewey in retirement, Reagan was busy campaigning for governor in Calif. Nixon campaigned in 35 states (including all 11 Confederate states) and for 105 candidates.

The 1966 GOP comeback was striking. The Republicans added 47 House and 3 Senate seats (NY Times predicted 28 and 0) and 540 seats in state legislatures. Still, the Democrats managed to retain both houses of Congress.

Nixon rode the wave of change that the 1966 voters were demanding. Nixon traveled all over the world, visiting many of the foreign leaders he had known as vice president. He continued to hammer away at Lyndon Johnson, and self-righteously condemned the race riots and the student demonstrations that were leaving the country hemorrhaging.

Nixon's biggest threat to the nomination was Ronald Reagan who was a favorite among the Goldwater conservatives. But while there was a fear that the GOP right wing would go to Reagan, it didn't happen. Nixon outspent Reagan, and beat him handily in the primaries.

Spiro Agnew, the feisty governor of Maryland, was considered an excellent choice for running mate by the Nixon team. But Nixon would only appear with him once between the GOP Convention and the Nov election. Nixon hardly even mentioned him.

The 1960 election was a squeaker for Kennedy. The 1968 vote was in turn a squeaker for Nixon: Nixon (43.4%), Humphrey (42.7%), Wallace (13.5%). And once again, the Democrats retained large majorities in both houses of Congress.

The Democratic Congress proved a major drag on Nixon's first term. As the author put it, they resisted Nixon on Vietnam, opposed welfare reform, sharply cut back on Nixon's revenue-sharing proposal, forced him to adopt wage-and-price freeze, opposed a moratorium on busing, threatened to cut funding to war while launching an investigation into Watergate and the Nixon campaign (CREEP).

With the Supreme Court, Nixon put four members:Chief Justice Warren Burger, Blackmun (on the 3rd try), Powell, and Rehnquist. But the Burger court didn't overturn Miranda v Arizona, did not restore prayer in schools, did not outlaw pornography, struck down state laws that banned the distribution of contraceptives, upheld the rights of welfare recipients, struck down all Nixon's attempts to soften Brown v Topeka, it ruled in favor of busing, and told the Nixon Justice Dept it had no right to wiretap domestic radicals (even though JFK and LBJ did it all the time). It wouldn't be until 1986 when Rehnquist (a staunch Goldwater supporter!) succeeded Burger as Chief Justice when the court would finally achieve its current conservative tone.

The author notes that Nixon didn't seem to enjoy being president; he was almost never happy. But given the endless roadblocks he faced from Congress and the US Supreme Court, it is probably not that surprising.

Despite the Democrat control of Congress and widespread antiwar sentiment, Nixon was a shoe-in for re-election: trips to China, Russia, SALT talks, the Edmund Muskie meltdown. Other than the Washington Post, no one was covering Watergate. Polls showed that 48% had never even heard of Watergate. Everything was working in Nixon's favor.

The 1972 election was a landslide for Nixon who got 60.7 % of the total. But Democrats still controlled Congress: the GOP gained 12 House seats but lost two more Senate seats.

Nixon had won 49 states, but still felt like he lost. States the author, the war wasn't over, the courts wouldn't stop busing, the CIA refused to cooperate with the Watergate cover-up, and the FBI was continuing their investigation and leaking to the press. Congress was ready to attack Watergate with both barrels.

The next day, Nixon had letters sent to all presidential appointees demanding their resignation letters.

Nixon was going to clean up shop. But he forgot to clean up his own.

Volume 2 of Ambrose's bio of Nixon continues to use the straightforward, non-politicized style that made Volume 1 such a pleasure to read. It not only discusses the man but also his era. The book is arranged in strict chronological order, and presents the facts in a nonjudgmental way. His discussion of Watergate is a good example of his only-the-facts approach. He examines the man's character flaws objectively without resorting to outlandish psychological theories.

A fascinating read.

Highly recommended. AAA+++.


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Nixon Vol 2 The Triumph of a Politician 19621972 Stephen E Ambrose Books Reviews

Ambrose's "Nixon Volume ll" is an excellent history of US politics 1962-72, and a very insightful bio of Richard Nixon, and as a study of how the White House worked during his first term. I have not read the other two volumes but do plan to read the third at some point in the future. I was old enough during those years to have many vivid memories of the times, but as Ambrose comments many Americans recollection of events is sometimes short-lived and distorted. I might add that in addition to refreshing our memories on a lot of the details, he does an excellent job of analyzing and assessing impacts.

The book was written in 1989, so the author has the benefit of having available for his research thousands of documents, hand-written notes, tapes, and memoirs written by the principals, including Nixon, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Dean. Many documents were still not available at that time; many others, but not all, were subsequently released in 2012. Midway in the book, Ambrose admits that even after all the research he still felt that he didn't know Nixon, didn't have a real understanding of him. This is not a failure on Ambrose's part, rather it is further revelation of Nixon's character. Here was a man, with virtually no friends, mistrustful of everyone, hateful toward many. Yet Ambrose clearly respects Nixon for his many accomplishments as President, for his unique ability to foresee the eventual dynamic shifts in World politics, and for his intellectual abilities. Ambrose is neither a Nixon hater, nor lover, though interestingly he does admit to being in a group (along with his wife) that heckled Nixon during a famous Kansas State University speech in the 60's.

The book is very well written; it is very readable, and enjoyable to read. For example, Ambrose cites a number of one on one meetings between Nixon and Haldeman that are very revealing and sometimes quite shocking. The book does not bog down with a lot of stodgy footnoting, rather there are many interesting anecdotes that give insight into how the White House was run from '68 to '72. Pat Buchanan and other aides prepared daily a 50+ page summary of news stories from around the globe, a document Nixon eagerly awaited each morning. In the margin, Nixon would then scribble marching orders to his top aides, e.g., a note to H (Haldeman) to get big Democrat contributors investigated (by the IRS). Sometimes the orders would be followed out, other times they would be recognized as blowing off steam and disregarded.

There are many revelations in the book that came as a surprise, others bought back memories, many of them sad ones. Items like the high percentage of our troops in Viet Nam hooked on heroin, Secretary of State Rogers learning of the first Nixon trip to China by reading of it in the morning newspaper, how Nixon pitted people in the WH against each other, why the Plumbers were first created, all of the other secret domestic deals that had to be protected by the Watergate coverup, Pat Nixon's reaction to no women nominated for Supreme Court appointments, the high level secret negotiations with the Soviets, Chinese, Vietnamese. While much of the book deals with Viet Nam, Watergate (June 17, 1972) arises shortly before the November election. It is incredible to read of the shortsighted efforts to bury Watergate pre-election, and "deal with it later".

An excellent read, highly recommended.
Stephen Ambrose's biography "Nixon" volume 2 covers a ten-year period 1962-1972, starting right after Nixon's defeat in the 1962 California gubernatorial election to his landslide re-election as president in 1972.

Following his 1962 defeat, on Nov 7, 1962, Nixon gave what he called his "last press conference" "You won't have Nixon to kick around any more." He bitterly denounced the biased press and never apologized for doing so.

But campaigning and politics were Nixon's life blood. A corporate friend recommended he establish himself in New York City, a powerhouse in national politics. He took his family to New York and took a job with a law firm.

The job gave Nixon ample time for politics. He gamefully insisted he wasn't running for president even though in reality he was the leading candidate for the 1964 GOP nomination. The former vice president devoted his efforts to lambasting the Kennedy Administration, an exercise in pure politics since Nixon actually shared many of JFK's policies (increased defense spending, sending combat units to Vietnam).

Nixon's failure to win the 1964 GOP nomination proved to be a god-send. The far right wing of the GOP had been looking for restitution after having to accept a moderate in Nixon back in 1960. But their candidate Barry Goldwater, as well as the GOP party in general, was trounced in the 1964 election.

Who better to pick up the pieces than Richard Nixon?

Between 1964 and 1968, Nixon hammered away at Lyndon Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War. Ironically, Johnson actually did a lot of what Nixon was demanding, especially increasing American troops. But Nixon remained the attack politician no matter what Johnson did, it would never be enough for Nixon.

Nixon was easily the frontrunner for a 1968 GOP nomination. He was known all over the world, and appealed to the right-wing GOP'ers who opposed JFK and LBJ. His law job in NYC paid well and gave him plenty of time for politics. He was highly praised for his lawyering skills, but he did not find the work satisfying.

In 1966, Nixon was at his campaigning best. For the first time in a decade, Nixon was campaigning for the GOP with confidence.

The Democrats' huge electoral mandate in 1964 was falling apart bigger federal deficits, race riots, civil rights demonstrations, and most of all the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement at home. It all spelled good news for the GOP.

Nixon was the chief manager of the GOP resurgence Goldwater was disgraced, and Eisenhower and Dewey in retirement, Reagan was busy campaigning for governor in Calif. Nixon campaigned in 35 states (including all 11 Confederate states) and for 105 candidates.

The 1966 GOP comeback was striking. The Republicans added 47 House and 3 Senate seats (NY Times predicted 28 and 0) and 540 seats in state legislatures. Still, the Democrats managed to retain both houses of Congress.

Nixon rode the wave of change that the 1966 voters were demanding. Nixon traveled all over the world, visiting many of the foreign leaders he had known as vice president. He continued to hammer away at Lyndon Johnson, and self-righteously condemned the race riots and the student demonstrations that were leaving the country hemorrhaging.

Nixon's biggest threat to the nomination was Ronald Reagan who was a favorite among the Goldwater conservatives. But while there was a fear that the GOP right wing would go to Reagan, it didn't happen. Nixon outspent Reagan, and beat him handily in the primaries.

Spiro Agnew, the feisty governor of Maryland, was considered an excellent choice for running mate by the Nixon team. But Nixon would only appear with him once between the GOP Convention and the Nov election. Nixon hardly even mentioned him.

The 1960 election was a squeaker for Kennedy. The 1968 vote was in turn a squeaker for Nixon Nixon (43.4%), Humphrey (42.7%), Wallace (13.5%). And once again, the Democrats retained large majorities in both houses of Congress.

The Democratic Congress proved a major drag on Nixon's first term. As the author put it, they resisted Nixon on Vietnam, opposed welfare reform, sharply cut back on Nixon's revenue-sharing proposal, forced him to adopt wage-and-price freeze, opposed a moratorium on busing, threatened to cut funding to war while launching an investigation into Watergate and the Nixon campaign (CREEP).

With the Supreme Court, Nixon put four membersChief Justice Warren Burger, Blackmun (on the 3rd try), Powell, and Rehnquist. But the Burger court didn't overturn Miranda v Arizona, did not restore prayer in schools, did not outlaw pornography, struck down state laws that banned the distribution of contraceptives, upheld the rights of welfare recipients, struck down all Nixon's attempts to soften Brown v Topeka, it ruled in favor of busing, and told the Nixon Justice Dept it had no right to wiretap domestic radicals (even though JFK and LBJ did it all the time). It wouldn't be until 1986 when Rehnquist (a staunch Goldwater supporter!) succeeded Burger as Chief Justice when the court would finally achieve its current conservative tone.

The author notes that Nixon didn't seem to enjoy being president; he was almost never happy. But given the endless roadblocks he faced from Congress and the US Supreme Court, it is probably not that surprising.

Despite the Democrat control of Congress and widespread antiwar sentiment, Nixon was a shoe-in for re-election trips to China, Russia, SALT talks, the Edmund Muskie meltdown. Other than the Washington Post, no one was covering Watergate. Polls showed that 48% had never even heard of Watergate. Everything was working in Nixon's favor.

The 1972 election was a landslide for Nixon who got 60.7 % of the total. But Democrats still controlled Congress the GOP gained 12 House seats but lost two more Senate seats.

Nixon had won 49 states, but still felt like he lost. States the author, the war wasn't over, the courts wouldn't stop busing, the CIA refused to cooperate with the Watergate cover-up, and the FBI was continuing their investigation and leaking to the press. Congress was ready to attack Watergate with both barrels.

The next day, Nixon had letters sent to all presidential appointees demanding their resignation letters.

Nixon was going to clean up shop. But he forgot to clean up his own.

Volume 2 of Ambrose's bio of Nixon continues to use the straightforward, non-politicized style that made Volume 1 such a pleasure to read. It not only discusses the man but also his era. The book is arranged in strict chronological order, and presents the facts in a nonjudgmental way. His discussion of Watergate is a good example of his only-the-facts approach. He examines the man's character flaws objectively without resorting to outlandish psychological theories.

A fascinating read.

Highly recommended. AAA+++.