Kicking Dick Nixon

A fantastic presidential memo sent from Richard Nixon to his Chief of Staff regarding press portrayals of the notoriously aloof President is now available online – here. What a treat to read Nixon’s own ramblings, paranoia, criticisms and perceived slights. As a historical document and how Nixon viewed Truman, Ike, and Kennedy is fascinating. The irony of his citing personal examples of his warmth, and suggestions about ways in which to leak it to the press are hysterical.

 

My favorite lines from the Nixon memo:

 

“No President could have done more than I ha ve done in this respect and particularly in the sense that I have treated them like dignified human beings, and not like dirt under my feet.”

 

“All of this must be handled subtly and under no circumstances am I going to sit d own with anybody and start telling them all the good deeds I have done.” [as Nixon goes on to cite chapter and verse his good deeds]

 

“Again, such things, to be believable, have to be discovered, and one of the great factors that should be emphasized is that the President does not brag about and the good things he does for people.”

 

“There is a mystique which goes far beyond that which has to do with basic elements of character and, due to the fa ct that we have had no one on our staff who understood public relations, we have been utterly deficient in creating that mystique.” [this is a pretty savage criticism to the memo reader, HR Halderman, who was a noted PR executive before signing on with Nixon].