The Nixon Presidency

            Richard Nixon has a reputation, a reputation of a liar a cheater and even a criminal. Are all these harsh allegations fair to Richard Nixon? Should a man be measured by his failures or by his accomplishment? As Americans are we to quick to judge people of power for their wrong doings? Do we remember that they are human to? I believe there is a lot to learn from the Nixon presidencies. Richard Nixon could be used as the poster child for what can be great in a presidency and what can be disastrous in a presidency. I believe Nixon’s presidency should be used as a learning experience instead of looked at as a dark corrupt stain on our countries past.

            Let’s start off with that dark corrupt stain. Obviously the stain on the presidency we are talking about is none other than the infamous Watergate scandal. This scandal was a huge part of our countries history. The Watergate scandal changed how America’s people will look at government. To most government is looked at as a corrupt system where scandals and under the table dirty deeds are done every day. Sure this is mostly true but, Watergate opened the eyes of the masses. This is good because we are now aware of this disease we call corruption that controls our government, but even after Watergate we did nothing to stop it. Corruption still happens today. I sometimes think maybe if we never heard of Watergate maybe the American people would still trust our system of government. Maybe the people would care and take pride in electing officials and strive to be part of government instead of just turning a blind eye to all of it. I think the worst thing Nixon did was losing the trust of the American people.

            Nixon I do believe was a good negotiator. He was a man with patients and nerves of steel. Nixon and his staff did what was thought to be impossible by easing tensions with the communists. I think Nixon was crucial in deescalating the tensions of the cold war. He made things fair with our adversaries. He could see how one situation could benefit or hurt another and that’s why I think he was such a valuable negotiator. He was a man out for the betterment of the planet not just our nation.   

            Nixon’s troop withdrawals from Vietnam were a logical choice. It wasn’t his war. He tried to finish it by trying to cripple VC supply lines in Cambodia, but that did little to stop the communist rebels. Nixon saw further troop deployment into Vietnam was futile and would only result in more loss of human life. I can understand why people were angry about the troop withdrawals. It was an American defeat. People felt as if their sons and husbands had died for nothing. I would feel the same way if I was a soldier or family member. But it wasn’t Nixon’s war. We had no reason to be there in the first place and Nixon got blamed for it.

            Richard Nixon was not the luckiest man alive. He got caught abusing his power and he paid for it by his name forever being linked to lies and corruption. I think he shouldn’t be looked down upon for his failures but I believe he should be equally praised for his accomplishments.