Nixon's the One

Most of us know the legendary story of the group of blind men who touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each one feels a different part, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk or the tail.. They then compare notes and learn that they are in complete disagreement about what they experienced

This is the story of Richard Nixon.

So much has been written about Nixon. Much of it has come in waves. There was the period after his resignation, of the bad Nixon. Then after his death, the better Nixon. Now writers, journalists and historians are trying to tie all the threads together.

Perhaps Bill Clinton put it best in his eulogy for Nixon, when he said that “the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career must come to a close.”

Two very distinguished journalists, Evan Thomas and Tim Weiner, have, almost simultaneously, penned new books about Nixon. Evan Thomas has written Being Nixon: A Man Divided
and Tim Weiner One Man Against the World: The Tragedy of Richard Nixon

I recently had the opportunity to speak with both of them.




















My conversation with Evan Thomas:




My conversation with Tim Weiner

Ike's Bluff

Donald Rumsfeld had an interesting philosophy. He often said that sometimes the solution to a small intractable problem, was to create a much bigger problem or crisis which would, he thought, often make the bigger problem easier to solve.

In some ways Dwight Eisenhower, our 34th President, subscribed to a similar idea. In order to avoid fighting small wars, which he was totally opposed to, he created the bluff of the potential for a much bigger nuclear Armageddon. In so doing, he helped set the country on a path to prevail in the Cold War. Now, award winning journalist Evan Thomas looks at Ike's unique talents in Ike's Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Battle to Save the World.

My conversation with Evan Thomas:

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