After the Fall
Page 24
Though no one has ever written of the entire Nixon post-presidency, many have taken exception to Nixon’s constant campaign to make his voice heard during this time. Some have accused him of having a secret plan. That is certainly not reflected in the evidence, nor in the memories of those who were around him in those days. What emerged from the abyss after Watergate was an organic effort by a restless mind. His presidency might have ended, but Nixon’s mind was still very much alive and he wanted to help shape policy in Washington.
In the end, Nixon prevailed because he refused to fail. He could not and would not let Watergate be the end of him. He set out on a course to be something and to do something with the rest of his life. Like a ship at sea amid stormy waters and stiff winds, he followed his compass and found his way back into the harbor. And once he was safely there, people wanted to hear what the old captain had to say. Presidents listened to him, foreign leaders respected him, and more and more average Americans began to forgive him.
“He didn’t just survive in those last years,” Ambrose said. “He thrived. He became important again. He became acceptable again. He almost became indispensable. Just incredible.”2
After the fall, Richard Nixon endured for twenty impactful years that helped shape the course of events for his country and for himself.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Years ago, as a young White House staffer, I had the fortune of hosting David McCullough as he prepared to give senior Bush White House staffers a preview of his book on John Adams. Before the briefing, I made small talk with McCullough in my little office in what was then known as the Old Executive Office Building (later renamed the Eisenhower Executive Office Building). McCullough took great (and undue) notice of me and asked what I wanted to do when I left the White House. When I told him that I might like to write history, he gave me two pieces of advice.
“It does no injury to history to make it readable,” he told me in what I would later learn was an axiom he often used. Second, he said when writing a biography to remember that one of the biggest myths in the world is “the myth of the self-made man.”
Years later, I can still recall both pieces of advice; years later, I still marvel at their wisdom.
This book bears my name, but many hands were involved in the researching, editing, and thinking that went into it. One of the greatest ironies—for a biography of Nixon—is that perhaps no one did more to help me shape this story than a Harvard professor.
While I was completing a graduate degree at Harvard, this book started as my thesis. My advisor, June Erlick, spent months helping me refine my research and my writing and get closer to the heart of the story to be told. Thanks to her guidance, the thesis eventually won a Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Thesis—something that would have amused Nixon, given his disdain for Harvard and other elite colleges. June’s own biography of journalist Irma Flaquer was known to me well before I arrived in her classroom at Harvard. I’m grateful that she spent so much time helping me on this project. She is a great writer, but she’s an even better friend.
Richard Norton Smith provided invaluable assistance throughout with his own insights into Nixon. Richard is not only the best historian in America, but he also knew Nixon. Plus, he’s been a wonderful friend to me for nearly twenty-five years.
The story of the journey to tell this story deserves to be told, as well. When I first began thinking of turning the thesis into a book, I immediately spoke with Eric Jackson. He took a chance on me when he served as president of World Ahead Publishing and published my first book, Ike’s Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality. At the time I pitched this new book to him, his publishing house was being sold and a new direction was being taken in the books it chose to publish. Diplomacy being one of his many gifts, Eric politely suggested a book about Richard Nixon might not be a good fit. Still, his advice and guidance over the years have been invaluable to me. And I am indebted to him for all he has done for me.
At that point, I hired Mike Hamilburg to shop the book around the New York publishing world. Mike, a legend as a literacy agent, sadly died two years ago. But in the time that we were together he did incredible work on my behalf. Richard Nixon remains a controversial subject in publishing. And there were many closed doors as we made the rounds pitching the book. Still, Mike forged ahead. The first offer came in 2012 from Skyhorse (a member of the Simon & Schuster family that published so many of Nixon’s own books). Though we eventually passed on the offer, it was proof that a market did exist for an objective look at Nixon’s final years. Then with the help of longtime friend Ken Mehlman, we reached an agreement with Regnery Publishing in 2013. And there are no words to express how grateful I am to the entire Regnery team. They believed in me and believed in this project from the beginning. Marji Ross, Harry Crocker, Elizabeth Kantor, Timothy Meads, and Alex Novak supported me throughout the process and were more than patient as I was continually delayed in turning in the manuscript.
I’d also like to thank the extraordinary team at the Richard Nixon Foundation and the Richard Nixon Library and Museum. I arrived at the Nixon Library not long after the two separate institutions—the library where the documents resided and the foundation which ran the museum and the exhibits—were finally merged. The media reported great tension between the two sides of the Nixon operation. But I never experienced any of it. The post-presidency papers are housed inside the library’s archives—though no other researcher had the access to them that I did. Still, I experienced no challenges in getting the documents I needed. The Nixon Foundation was vitally helpful to me, especially former executive directors Ron Walker and Sandy Quinn. And of course, Fred Fielding, one of my colleagues from the Eisenhower Institute, proved indispensable as always in his role as Nixon Foundation Board chairman. I’m also grateful to the archivists at the Nixon Library with whom I worked on this book: Tim Naftali, Greg Cummings, Pamela Eisenberg, Mike Ellzey, Mellissa Heddon, Ida Kelley, Meghan Lee-Parker, Ryan Pettigrew, and Jason Schultz.
The license for the photograph of the exterior of the Richard Nixon Research Library (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon_Presidential_Library_%26_Museum_(30873118546).jpg ) can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode. The license for the photograph of the interior of the Nixon Library (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon_Presidential_Library_%26_Museum_(30792944352).jpg) can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode. The license for the photograph of the reflecting pool on the grounds of the Library (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon_Presidential_Library_%26_Museum_(30873118236).jpg) can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode. The license for the photograph of Nixon's birthplace (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nixon_Presidential_Library_%26_Museum_(30274784204).jpg) can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode.
Of course, this project about the Nixon post-presidency could not have happened without the cooperation of the Nixon family. I’m grateful to Ed and Tricia Cox, David and Julie Eisenhower, and to Chris Cox, who first suggested to me that no one had written a complete history of his grandfather’s post-presidency.
Closer to home, a number of friends and family helped get me to the finish line. I’d like to thank Jerry and Sue Pipes, Kerry and Beth Pipes, Ella Pipes, Nina Pipes, Bruce and Chanda Harville, Nick and Trisha Troutz, Grayson Troutz, Hunter Troutz, Guinn and Elsie Arrington, Joe and Karen Arrington, Tommy and Judy Pipes, Robert and Julie Camacho, Micaela Camacho, Greg and Stacey Losher, Corey and Lisa Stone, Drew and Triniti Hall, Ken Mehlman, Troy and Meredith Okruylik, Brannon and Meredith Latimer, Doug and Ruth Denman, Chris and Emily Trigger, Ty and Natalie Smith, Tom and Betsy Price, Glen and Brenda Whitley, Devan Allen, Scott Corley, Kay Granger, Roger and Patty Williams, Colby and Jennifer Hale, Chris and Kari Freeland, Robert and Tricia Earley, Archie and Olivia Manning, Jay and Katie Danzi, the Ruben Zapata family, Robert Boulware, Brent and Leslie Stephens, Todd and Wendy Coll
insworth, Justin and Yvette Wardlaw, Ronnie and Darbie Brown, Steve and Stacy Hamilton, Joel Glenn, Robert and Brenna Head, George P. and Amanda Bush, Don and Susan Evans, Scott and Michelle Marlow, Mike Rushing, Alexis Groesch, Rita Eatherly, Dow Finsterwald, Conor Reeves, Brian Schorsten, Taylor Tivis, Mike Schultz, Jeff Hunter, Bryson Miles, Paul Muse, Casey Shane, Tim Fleet, Michael P. Shannon, Joe and Salome Regan, Bryan and Mary Beth Cox, Cade Harris, Blaine Bull, James Taylor, Tucker Eskew, Matthew Dowd, David Cooke, Jay Chapa, Bob Riley, Charles Daniels, TJ Patterson, Betsy and Tom Price, Carlos Flores, Sal Espino, Kelly Allen Gray, Gyna Bivens, Dennis Shingleton, Zim Zimmerman, Danny Scarth, Brian Byrd, Cary Moon, Randle Harwood, Susan Alanis, Jungus Jordan, Ann Zadeh, Chris and Sally Gavras, Jeff Hooper, Greg Blaies, Grant Blaies, Wes Hightower, Jimmy and Adrienne Garza, Paula Bledsoe, Mel Hailey, Roy Brooks, Marc and Tonya Veasey, Danny Jensen, J.R. Hernandez, Karina Erickson, GK Maenius, Chris Perkins, Ash Wright, Steve and Lisa Hotchkiss, Steve and Camille Pinkos, J.D. Johnson, Gary Fickes, Ryan Lindsey, Andy Nguyen, Casey and Chavon Taylor, David and Scooter Cox, Scott Hamilton, Shawn Michael, Jordan White, Jeremy Fudge, Lynden Melmed, Robert Caballero, Constance Pegushin, David Berry, Derek Stanley, John McConnell, Matthew Scully, Eric Schmutz, Betsy Holahan, Karyl Ford, Barrett and Jennifer Fischer, Bo and Hillary Parker, Jarod and Beth Cox, Derran and Sharon Lackey, Kim Gill, Alyse Chung, Justin Furnace, Archie and Olivia Manning, Brad Cunningham, Dick Lowe, Hunter Enis, David and Mattie Parker, Tom and Amanda Stallings, Marcus and Jamie Mainord, Brent Barrow, Gary and Sylvia McCaleb, Bryan and Dana McCaleb, Dak and Robyn Hatfield, Craig Smith, Allison Ball Swope, Matt and Mandy Orlie, Matt and Christy Tyson, Matt and Vivian Campbell, Albon Head, Brian and Jeanette Davis, John and Laura Barclay, T.J. and Corbin Wilson, Mark and Kim Jacoby, James and Ann Bankes, Bryan and Sandy Mitchell, Chris and Tristyn Anagnostis, Kelby and Sharon Pope, Matt and Shelly Kacsmaryk, Brookley Valencia, Stewart and Joby Young, Brian and Courtney Tulbert, Connie Smith, Dana McKenzie, Doug Mocek, Jimmy and Paige Biggs, Chandler Merritt, Tim Hood, Dorothea Wolfson, Gary Blake, Justin and Courtney Holt, Jeffrey and Kelly Blavatt, Brian and Vicki Tinsley, Kirk and Kristen Saarloos, Laura and Jack Goleman, Seth and Lana Peugh, Bill and Danna West, Jason and Samantha Skaggs, Mike and Patsy Thomas, Tory and Kelley Vieth, and Mike and Jan Flynn.
And of course, I am grateful for my family for allowing me to at times live what Stephen Ambrose called “a monk’s life.” The months and years spent researching and writing this represented times that I couldn’t always be with them. But they never failed to show me grace through it all. I’m especially grateful to my wife, Lacie, for being by my side, encouraging me in the project, and helping to run the household while I was away. And I’m thankful for our kids: Lincoln, Crosby, and Betsy. They, too, helped make this book possible. And it’s especially rewarding now that they are school-aged kids and have taken an interest in their dad’s work.
Most of all, I’m thankful to a loving and graceful God who guides me every day. He has blessed me beyond what I could have ever imagined. And long ago he gave me an innate interest in redemption. This to me is the story behind every story—the seed that leads to the flowering of life. How ordinary humans struggle to overcome extraordinary setbacks is the universal story. In a spiritual sense, no one succeeds this side of Heaven. But there is work to be done every day by everyone to try and make amends for our failings. This is a universal story because redemption is a universal struggle. This fascination with redemption led me to write about Dwight Eisenhower and civil rights twelve years ago; it also led me to write about Richard Nixon and the aftermath of Watergate. I pray that the reading of this story will bless others as much as the research and writing of it blessed me.
About the Author
KASEY S. PIPES served as an advisor to President George W. Bush and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is co-founder of the issues management firm Corley Pipes, partner at the public affairs firm High Water Strategies, and the Norris Fellow at the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College. His writings have appeared in USA Today and Politico, and he is the author of Ike’s Final Battle: The Road to Little Rock and the Challenge of Equality.
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Notes
Chapter One: The Beginning of the End
1. Nixon post-presidential papers.
2. Ibid.
Chapter Two: In Exile
1. Nixon post-presidential papers.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Jonathan Aitken, Nixon: A Life (Washington: Regnery, 1993), 523.
5. Robert Sam Anson, Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard Nixon (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984), 20.
6. Nixon post-presidential papers.
7. Anson, Exile, 23.
8. Ibid., 21.
9. Ibid., 22.
10. Nixon post-presidential papers.
11. Stephen Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1972–1990 (New York: Simon & Schuster), 447.
12. Author interview of Ed Cox, August 1, 2009.
13. Anson, Exile, 22.
Chapter Three: The Pardon
1. Jonathan Aitken, Nixon: A Life (Washington: Regnery, 1993), 529.
2. Ibid., 529.
3. Author interview of Ken Khachigian, April 3, 2011.
4. Stephen Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1972–1990 (New York: Simon & Schuster), 458.
5. Nixon post-presidential papers.
6. Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery, 460.
7. Anson, Exile, 60.
8. Nixon post-presidential papers.
Chapter Four: A Near-Death Experience
1. Nixon post-presidential papers.
2. Ibid.
3. John C. Lungren, Healing Richard Nixon: A Doctor’s Memoir (Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), 16.
4. Ibid., 19.
5. Robert Sam Anson, Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard Nixon (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984), 62.
6. Stephen Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1972–1990 (New York: Simon & Schuster), 466–67.
7. Anson, Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard Nixon, 67–68.
8. Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery, 466.
9. Lungren, Healing Richard Nixon, 21.
10. Ibid., 26–27.
11. Ibid., 32–33.
12. Ibid., 36–37.
13. Ibid., 85.
14. Ibid., 87–88.
15. Nixon post-presidential papers.
16. Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery, 473.
17. Nixon post-presidential papers.
18. Ibid.
Chapter Five: The Memoirs
1. Nixon post-presidential papers.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Author interview of Ken Khachigian, April 3, 2011.
5. Ibid.
6. Author interview of Loie Gaunt, May 13, 2011.
7. Robert Sam Anson, Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard Nixon (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984), 89–90.
8. Nixon post-presidential papers.
9. Anson, Exile, 116–17.
10. Author interview of Loie Gaunt, April 5, 2011.
11. Author interview of Ken Khachigian.
12. Nixon post-presidential papers.
13. Ibid.
14. Anson, Exile, 180.
15. Nixon post-presidential papers.
16. Author interview of Hugh Hewitt, July 9, 2019.
17. Nixon post-presidential papers.
18. Stephen Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery 1972–1990 (New York: Simon & Schuster), 489.
19. William F. Buckley, “Opening Up Détente,” National Review, March 19, 1976.
20. Nixon post-presidential papers.
21. Ibid.
22. Author interview of Ken Khachigian.
23. Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Pat Nixon: The Untold Story (New York, Simon and Schuster, 1983), 448.
24. Ibid., 450.
25. Ibid., 453.
26. Nixon
post-presidential papers.
27. Ambrose, Nixon: Ruin and Recovery, 501.
Chapter Six: Interviews and Apologies
1. Nixon post-presidential papers.
2. Robert Sam Anson, Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard Nixon (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984), 114.
3. Ibid., 151.
4. Jonathan Aitken, Nixon: A Life (Washington, Regnery 1993), 540.
5. Author interview of Ken Khachigian, April 3, 2011.
6. Anson, Exile, 154.
7. James Reston Jr., The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews, (New York, Harmony Books, 2007), 111.
8. Ibid., 106.
9. Ibid., 132–33.
10. Author interview of Ken Khachigian.
11. Ibid.
12. Anson, Exile, 175–76.
13. Ibid., 176.
14. Author interview of Ken Khachigian.
Chapter Seven: The First Steps Back
1. Nixon post-presidential papers.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Author interview of Ed Cox, August 1, 2009.
5. Nixon post-presidential papers.
6. Richard Nixon, In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat and Renewal (New York, Simon and Schuster 1990), 45.
7. Robert Sam Anson, Exile: The Unquiet Oblivion of Richard Nixon (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984), 191.
8. Ibid., 188.
9. “Nixon Welcomed to Kentucky by a Cheering Crowd,” New York Times, July 2, 1978.
10. Ibid.