University of Virginia Library

Two Views Of Nixon

"If Nixon Ran The Country"

By Robert Rosen

This may appear to be campaign
pamphleteering, or just plain
mus-slinging. It may appear to be
diatribe. But what it really is a
fable-in more ways than one.

The innocent little child was
only ten years old. He turned to his
father one October morn' and said,
"Daddy, what would it be like if
Richard Nixon were elected
President of the United States?"

His father was a kindly old man,
the President of his local union, a
Democrat of long standing, and a
liberal. He thought for a moment
and replied:

"Why son, if Nixon ran the
country things would go from bad
to worse. The Republicans just
don't care about the little man-the
worker whose only concern is
keeping Nigras out and getting
color TVs in, the working man, the
plain and simple American who
deserves a better wage at the hands
of the Democrats but who will vote
for Wallace to insure that the Nigras
don't get a piece of the pic. Why
son, if Nixon ran the country
there'd be repression of our civil
liberties, which the Democrats have
done so much to protect. Why, big
city bosses would feel free to crush
the skulls of demonstrators...and
they'd have the approval of the
President and the Vice-President in
doing it. The Negroes would be
called Negroes instead of blacks;
race relations would deteriorate to
the point that all black people
would be mad as hell at the system.
There'd be riots in our big cities.
There would be police brutality.

"But that's not all, son. Why,
the Republicans have a dismal
record on foreign affairs. They're
the isolationists who do not believe
in America's fulfilling her
world-wide obligations to interfere
in every other country's
government every other month.
Why, our foreign policy would fall
into disrepair if Nixon were
President. No other country would
respect our flag, our leaders, our
moral position in the world. Nixon
would probably bumble us into an
unwinnable land war on Asia, or
some other godforsaken place. Our
boys would be dying while our
citizens were protesting if Nixon
were elected... It's not a good thing
to think about, son."

"Gee, Dad," the little boy, in all
innocence remarked, "I sure am
glad Richard Nixon isn't.
President...He isn't, is he?"

"No, he's not, son. And we're
going to keep America strong by
voting against Nixon and his kind
this November. We're going to vote
for Hubert Humphrey, a man who
understands these problems, a man
who stood up for decency not only
in 1948, but also in 1949."

"The Phenomenal Mr. Nixon"

By William G. Allen

For nearly a decade, Richard M.
Nixon has sought to be the
President of the United States.
Eight years ago, Vice President
Nixon trod that treacherous path to
the White House on a sure mark for
victory. His story is somewhat like
that of the Tortoise and the Hare.
Nixon did not actively seek to build
national support until the election
year arrived. He went into the
election unaware that JFK, who
had been laying intricate
groundwork throughout the nation
for four years, was to be his
opposition. He had no conception
of the highly organized and
financed Kennedy blitz that was
about to appear on the American
political scene. Nixon had such a
vantage point that few men
doubted that he would be elected.
Yet, to his dismay, and the
astonishment of the nation, JFK
sprinted into the winner's circle,
leaving Nixon just one step short.
Nixon was defeated by only
one-tenth of one percent of the
popular vote, though the electoral
vote was more distinct.

Two years later, Nixon ran in
his home state for the governorship
of California against Pat Brown.
Here again, he was favored to win.
But disaster and lightening both
struck in the same place. Former
Vice President Richard M. Nixon
lost again by a minute percent of
the vote. Crushed by a humiliating
loss, and angry with the press, he
made a very human decision-to
withdraw from politics and return
to his law profession in one of the
top ten law firms in the country.
But quitting was neither in the
cards nor in the nature of Richard
Nixon. In 1964, he made speeches
for Republican candidates. Of the
ones he backed, a significant
percentage was elected even though
the party split and crashed with
such force that it was doubtful it
would revive for years. In 1966,
Nixon revitalized the Republican
Party and led an assault on the
Democratic Congress. He spoke on
behalf of Republican candidates
everywhere he stopped,
singlehandedly pulled the
Republican Party from abyss of
defeat, and, in less than two years,
organized it for the battle that is to
take place in November.

George Romney first sought the
nomination of the "New"
Republican Party. His campaign
fizzled, so Nixon accepted the lead
after Governor Rockefeller
hesitated to accept the challenge.
Nixon consolidated support for the
nomination at a rapid pace. When
Governor Rockefeller finally
convinced himself that he could
win, he jumped into the race. Until
then, Nixon had gone unchallenged.
Rockefeller avoided the primary
route by allowing Nixon to run
alone, thereby taking much
significance from his victories.
Governor Ronald Reagan never
announced his candidacy until his
hand was forced by his own
delegation just prior to the
convention. Reagan tried to
undermine Nixon's support in the
South while Rockefeller poured
millions into a campaign to label
Nixon a "two time loser" in the
North.

Richard M. Nixon certainly won
a magnificent victory when he
captured the Republican
nomination for President this year.
He is probably the first American
to win the nomination of a major
political party&lose the
election-and come back two terms
later to win the nomination on the
first ballot again, after defeating his
image as a "loser," and a ten
million dollar campaign launched
by his opponents. Yet, the most
phenomenal aspect of his victory
was that he could not even claim a
home state. His opponents were
governors of the states most needed
to obtain the nomination. Reagan
held Nixon's previous home state of
California, and Rockefeller held his
new home state of New York, as
well as most of the other large
Northern states.

Four years ago, former Vice
President Richard M. Nixon rescued
a distraught, divided, and throughly
smashed Republican Party and
unified it into a highly organized
and streamlined political machine
which is favored two to one to
carry him to victory in 1968.