The American Spectator : Far From the Rotten Crowd

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Far From the Rotten Crowd

By Ben Stein on 1.10.13 @ 8:48AM

Celebrating the great Richard Nixon at the Mayflower.

Wednesday
Up in the morning here at the Watergate for a long e-mail exchange with my smart friend, Cathy Rasenberger, on the subject of Al Jazeera’s planned purchase of Al Gore’s “Current” unsuccessful cable system. Cathy, a friend for close to four decades, literally since she was a student at Madeira, is now an extremely able and accomplished guru in the world of TV, and cable in particular.

Without dwelling on Al Gore and his personality, we talked about the economics of the deal. She explained that the relevant number was not how many people were watching “Current” now but how many households could potentially watch it. By that measure, said Cathy, the price paid by Al Jazeera is not excessive. It would be difficult and extremely time consuming for Al Jazeera to build up to as many households as Current potentially reaches right now, she explained, and perhaps impossible.

By shelling out $500 mill right now, Al Jazeera gets those households in one fell swoop.

Plus, Cathy said, Al Jazeera was a far fairer and more balanced news entity than I gave it credit for.

As I said, I have known her for a long time, know her to be extremely fair minded and competent, so let us wait and watch about the subject for a time. I am happy to learn new facts, and I guess I have now.

Then, off to CNN to do a short interview. The highlight was running into Wolf Blitzer. He has a major, pivotal role in Skyfall and I told him I had seen it nine times and always got a thrill out of seeing him on the screen. He was obviously extremely happy to have been in the movie, as well he might have been.

He pointed out that his scene in the movie is key — I won’t tell you how — and was pleased to have been so helpful to James Bond.

Then, a lightning trip to the National Gallery of Art. Then, back home for a haircut. I have been going to the Watergate Barber Shop for about forty years now and I feel comfortable there. The barbers all cut my father’s hair before me, and they can recall exactly their conversations with him about the Redskins, the poor doomed Redskins.

Then a nap, and then Alex and I raced off to The Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue, NW, to attend the Centenary of Richard Nixon’s birth, a celebration of Nixon hands from long ago honoring the greatest peacemaker America has ever known.

I was exploding with emotion as Alex and I walked into the hallway of the Mayflower. I remembered walking in there with my Pop to see a Cadillac with gold trim from the movie, The Solid Gold Cadillac, and also seeing preparations being made for Ike’s inauguration in 1953. (My father held me on his shoulders to watch Ike go by in a Lincoln convertible, if I recall correctly.) Long time passing. How I wish my father were alive. I wish I wish I wish.

There were cocktails in a large reception room. I saw my mentor and kind guardian, former Commerce Secretary and kind heart, Fred Dent; old pal and war hero, and helper in life, Peter Flanigan and his lovely wife; my great friend Ken Khachigian and his Meredith and two lovely daughters; Aram Bakshian, world’s smartest human; and many others whom I remembered more or less well from Nixon White House days.

The men and women in the room were uniformly intelligent looking, alert, friendly, but much more than that — they looked sane.

More and more I notice that at airports and shopping centers, the other people look insane and frantic. I guess I do, too. But these men and women looked relaxed, happy, content. Different by far from what I usually see in L.A., very different from what I see in Malibu, but oddly similar to what I see in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Off at the corner of my eye was Henry A. Kissinger, getting a lot of attention from the press and autograph seekers. He looked cheerful.

Then the lights flashed and some men rang a chime, and we all went across the hall to dinner. It was in a room where I have spoken in the past. We found our table, and then out of the blue appeared my dear pal, Phil DeMuth. Now, talk about an astoundingly great friend: Phil had a head cold, but even so, had flown all the way from LAX just for this event, arriving just in time to get to it before we even did, but out of sight at the cocktail hour. With him was his wonderful brother, Chris, and his charming sister in law, Susan. Chris was head of the AEI for dogs’ years and has been a fantastically good friend to the Steins. (He and AEI threw an 80th birthday party for my father that Pop called “the happiest day of his life.”) Also at our table were wonderful Wlady and his lovely wife, Joanna.

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About the Author

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (68) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Jack in Wi| 1.10.13 @ 8:57AM

The old gang was all back together again. Well I am glad you had a good time.

BleedingHeartKneeJerkLIBrooks | 1.10.13 @ 4:40PM

G. Gordon Liddy got a radio show. Cripes.

BleedingHeartKneeJerkLIBrooks | 1.10.13 @ 4:42PM

so did the guy who hung out with Fawn Hall- what's his name? Oliver North, or something? HE gets a radio talk show as well.
Egad.

doramin| 2.12.13 @ 9:28AM

And why wasn't he invited?

And John Dean, and Jeb Magruder and Ron Zigler?

Cobalt| 1.10.13 @ 9:08AM

"Plus, Cathy said, Al Jazeera was a far fairer and more balanced news entity than I gave it credit for."

Cathy is full of poo poo.

CJW| 1.10.13 @ 9:11AM

Far fairer and more balanced compared to what?
Stein does not want to criticize his buddy Spitzer, one of Aljazeera Gore's partners.

Anthony| 1.10.13 @ 10:46AM

Of course Stein doesn't want to criticize "Socks" Spitzer. That's because after the dinner, Stein,"socks"and Stein's shrink, retired to the bridal suite at the Mayflower to watch porn on Al Jazerra.
Of course, one needs quite an imagination to get a sexual kink off of women in burkas, but if anybody can do it, ole Bueler Stein can.

Jack in Wi| 1.10.13 @ 11:46AM

You mean socks on rubbers off Spitzer who made killing with Gore?

Occam's Tool| 1.10.13 @ 6:04PM

Jack: please inform me which of Al Jazeera's views regarding America you disagree with. I'll wait.

CJW| 1.10.13 @ 1:26PM

Anthony
Aljazeera Gore's other partner, Joel Hyatt, was the son in law of Howard Metzenbaum, one of the disgusting senators, along with Biden and Teddy, on the Judiciary committe that destroyed Judge Bork. An incestous scum bunch.

Anthony| 1.10.13 @ 1:42PM

Yes, I know about Hyatt and his father-in- law, the uber leftist Metzenbaum.
Joel Hyatt, who almost singlehandedly made ambulance chasing an olympic sport is the poster child of legal bottom feeders.
How typical of clueless leftist Jews like Metzenbaum, who paled around with Ted Kennedy, whose father Joe, was a champion and apologist of Hitler, rooting for the demise of Great Britain.
Metzenbaum was too stupid to comprehend that ole Joe Kennedy would have been happy to see Howard and his kind stuffed into boxcars to be taken to the ovens.,

CJW| 1.10.13 @ 3:58PM

Joel also packaged his Hyatt Legal as a prepaid legal plan for unions and companies, then sold it to Met Life.

doramin| 2.12.13 @ 9:47AM

Were there rumors that Hyatt was thinking of trying to restart his aborted political career?

His first stab was at running to replace Metzenbaum when Metzenbaum retired in 1994. It was derailed when it got out that it was HIS law firm that was the model for the villain of the 1993 Tom Hanks/Denzel Washington hit movie "Philadelphia" .

In 1990 Hyatt had to pay a $157,000 judgement to one of the associates--Clarence B. Cain--in his Philadelphia office when he was illegally fired for having AIDS. Hyatt won the dem primary but lost in the general. The militant fudgepackers did not take to the streets against a loyal democrat moneybags but word got out nevertheless among the general public.

Joellen| 1.10.13 @ 6:01PM

I am sorry, but I'm STILL trying to digest Stein's "it has great people, like my pal Eliot Spitzer".

doramin| 2.12.13 @ 9:49AM

I think Chuck Colson must be spinning in his grave at that remark.

Bob Grant| 1.10.13 @ 9:29AM

"Plus, Cathy said, Al Jazeera was a far fairer and more balanced news entity than I gave it credit for.

As I said, I have known her for a long time, know her to be extremely fair minded and competent, so let us wait and watch about the subject for a time..."

----

With all due respect, Ben, just because you've "known her for a long time" does not give you license to turn turn off your brain and instruct us to "wait and watch". We don't have to "wait", just go to their web site and "watch".

NO, they are not fair and balanced; not by any stretch of the imagination.

You are so removed from the people of flyover country it's frightening. And no, Sandpoint Idaho is not REALLY flyover country.

CJW| 1.10.13 @ 10:22AM

Does Stein have some compromising photos of Tyrell? Why is Stein here?

Bob Grant| 1.10.13 @ 10:41AM

CJ,
He's a "celebrity", don't you know. I suppose that gives him clout.

I must say, I'm not impressed with his thoughts. And the coyness about his obvious liberalism is annoying to the extreme.

CJW| 1.10.13 @ 11:40AM

Bob
Did I explain that the Zamobini guys were only doing their job to clear the field of snow so the Steelers could run a play?

Bob Grant| 1.10.13 @ 11:57AM

Well,

I was referring to the Snowplow Game back in the the 80's between the Dolphins and Patriots. I was mistaken when I said Zamboni Incident.

The Patriots coach ordered the snowplow operator to clear a spot for the kicker so he could plant his cleat to make a kick. Watch it on YouTube, it seems like obvious cheating. But then again, the Patriots have a long, glorious history of cheating.

CJW| 1.10.13 @ 12:28PM

During one game in Oakland, the Raiders ball guy sent in balls not fully pumped when the Steelers had to punt and kick field goals.

Remember the Raiders against the Patriots, one of the Raiders kicked the ball downfield and Casper fell on it in the end zone for a TD.

Sir Al Roker| 1.10.13 @ 9:46AM

It's been 40 years since RM Nixon walked the halls of the White House. To illustrate the time frame, just think of some aging New Dealer writing in 1973 about the "good ol days" of 1933 (Happy Days Are Here, Again! was the theme song).

But, almost all of the major New Dealers were dead by 1973 (Frances Perkins, died 1965; Thurman Arnold, died 1969;Rexford Tugwell was in his dotage). Today, things are not much different (Al Haig died in 2010, HR Halderman died in 1993, John Mitchel, died 1988). But, Nixon had several young speechwrites and activists. Ben Stein was among them. Pat Buchanan was a 28 year old editorialist and reporter from St Louis, and Ben was right out of college. What is interesting is that you have a fire-breathing Paleocon and an East Coast liberal intellectual (Ben at heart is a liberal) devoted to the memory of a man their generation despised. Few remember the vitriol RM Nixon inflamed amongst the intelligentsia. He was Eisenhower's point man on flushing Commies out of government; and for that the Left never forgave him. Few remember, however, that it was Nixon who engineered the fall of McCarthy's Senate Career (Nixon's biggest aide was McCarthy's love of drink). And for that, many on the Right never forgave him. Not even Eisenhower liked Nixon (they rarely if ever met, despite Nixon being his VP).

RM Nixon had few friends, even fewer allies. But, he did inspire a generation of young devotees as dis-similar as Ben and Pat.

TLP| 1.10.13 @ 11:38AM

I swear. I just went to Websters most recent Dictionary and, I'm tellin ya: Go to the word BORING, and there's Ben Stein's Picture. I kid you not. It's the exact same picture that's on TAS. It's unbelievable.

You believe me, don'tcha?

Bob Grant| 1.10.13 @ 11:45AM

TLP,

Don't be "zoomin'" Sir Al Roker!

After all, he's soiled the carpet of the whitehouse. Just imagine what he can do to your property.

TLP| 1.10.13 @ 1:47PM

I actually did that, ON A DATE, while driving the car, so I have nothing but Sympathy for Big Al.

Bob Grant| 1.10.13 @ 4:35PM

Perhaps you should refrain from taking your dates to Pancho's Mexican Buffet.

That stuff will run right through you.

GobBluthe| 1.10.13 @ 3:34PM

I think Pat was born in the 1930s. He was close to 40 in 1973. Stein was in his late 20s.

Seek| 1.10.13 @ 8:47PM

Pat Buchanan was born in November 1938. That would make him 74. That's six years older than Ben.

JP| 1.11.13 @ 4:51PM

Pat was hired by RM Nixon in 1968 to write campaign speeches. Pat wasn't yet 30 years old.

C. Vernon Crisler | 1.10.13 @ 4:36PM

I don't think Nixon "engineered" McCarthy's downfall. The main problem is that McCarthy started attacking the Eisenhower administration, and alienated all of his Republican support. After that he was vulnerable and was left twisting in the wind. It was a case of pride going before a fall. McCarthy overreached.

JP| 1.11.13 @ 4:49PM

Nixon was Eisenhower's hatchet man - whether it was Commies or Senators who lived past their usefullness. I don't blame Eisenhower. He was probably the most sublte Post-War President we had. But, like other Establishment types, he couldn't stand Tricky Dick.

Occam's Tool| 1.10.13 @ 6:06PM

Stein loves a guy who would put him in a camp. (Buchanan, not Nixon.)

doramin| 2.12.13 @ 9:58AM

Funny you should bring up the New Deal. 1973 was the year of Oil Embargos, (Nixon's) wage and price controls and shortages of everything with soviet-style lines for meat snaking around the block.

As a child, I still remember that TIME cover of an emaciated, shivering Uncle Sam holding an empty Horn Of Plenty.

Frank Drackman| 1.10.13 @ 9:52AM

OK, I was a Nixon fan too.
WHEN I WAS 11!!! I also thought the Mom on "the Partridge Family" was hot, you grow up, realize some things you thought were so, weren't.
If in 1971 I told you a theoretical President not only taped highly confidential discussions, but willingly gave them to Congress, you'd laugh, no, you'd ridicule my fanciful childish imagination.
And This President had the authority to hike the Nuke-Ular Football? Oh yeah, Vietnam? We lost, as a visit to any strip mall in America will demonstrate.
OK, he did pardon, actually he didn't, he just Commuted William Calley's sentence(a nice guy actually) way to go Tricky Dick.

Frank

Rhoetus| 1.10.13 @ 11:02PM

I found out that my parents were Democrats in 1962 ( I was 9) when I put a Nixon - Governor sticker on my desk in my bed room. LOL Pestering them was so much fun. ;-)

nathan| 1.10.13 @ 10:04AM

Although I don't watch Al Jareeza the value of doing so is this: seeing ourselves as others see us. There was a documentary on HBO whatever last year. In it we saw a US army unit in Iraq enter a civilian house to search it. The army unit was following standard procedure. But seeing small kids, maybe 4/5/6 sitting on the ground, hands on their heads, scared out of their minds REAL assault weapons pointed at them by foreign invaders whose language they don't speak . . . Frankly I was disturbed by that and trust me for tens of millions of otherwise we don't care about this conflict around the world folks, I guarantee we didn't look good to them, we didn't look like the the "greatest country on earth". We just looked like any other bad guy bullying a bunch of defenseless kids. (And consider for a moment if some foreign army did that to your kids whatever THEIR good intentions were. Wouldn't y0u be furious beyond belief? Why shouldn't they?)

Understanding that can help us take steps to correct it. Maybe bring along local people who can deal with the kids calm them down. But we can't and shouldn't ignore it. Al Jareeza like it or not plays a useful role that way. If all you do is watch Fox News you're not getting the whole picture, sorry.

JP| 1.10.13 @ 11:20AM

One of the first rules of counter-insurgency is to make sure the civilians know you mean business. The second rule is to live amongst them. The Marines were very good at counter-insurgency from 1964-1966. Too bad the Army pulled them out of that mode.

We just do not have the forces large enough to do COIN. Nor do we have the will. And AlGorzirra TV's only role is to play is to aid the enemy. The other problem with AlGorzirra is that they never, ever show Jihaddists killing civilians, blowing up mosques, or mutilating thier own people. You will never see AlGorzirra TV film the murder of civilian or UN contractors. So, please return to Huffpo where you belong.

Anthony| 1.10.13 @ 11:28AM

Yeah nathan, war conducted by warmongering imperialist America is hell ain't it??
Isn't so like our blood thristy warmongering troops to crash into an Iraqi hut scaring the hell out of kids. Why you think our stupid troops (who joined the military cuz they're too stupid to stay in school, so said soon to be Sec of State Kerry) would have thought these lovely angels might be hiding AK 47s behind their backs. God what barbarians we are.
You're so right nathen, our troops didn't look good. Now, if they had rousted them out of the hut, and shot them behind their ears, while on their knees, like Saddam's Republican Guard used to do, THEN they would have looked good.
But NO, our stupid troops probably gave this family some food, clean water, and told them to remain safe, yes, all in their own language.
Nathan, I can't wait until the left drag you out of your hovel and shoot you behind the ears, I only hope Al Jazeera shows it live.

Drunken Sailor| 1.10.13 @ 12:54PM

You do realize why the guns were pointed at the kids as well don't you? If not I can give you my nephews address. I'm sure he wouldn't mind telling you about the 10 year old that tried to shoot him. Even though he knew he had no choice, he still wakes up at night dreaming of that kid.

And of course, you leave off the fact that most GI's will give kids candies and treats. See they know that making the kids happy will change the opinion of the parents. Hard to hate a man, that makes your kid smile.

PolishKnight| 1.10.13 @ 2:40PM

As others have pointed out, it's not uncommon for 10 year old kids to be recruited by Muslims to attack soldiers. Military youth recruiting is also common in many other third world countries.

FYI, I don't watch only foxnews. There's this increasing knee jerk statement by leftists that right wingers are brainwashed by foxnews. All it does is reveal that the left really resents the existence of foxnews in the mainstream TV media. Most modern people get their news from the web, blogs, and even foreign media. I personally go to google news and search there.

JP| 1.11.13 @ 4:46PM

And don't watch Fox either. I get my news from Nick at Night.

Occam's Tool| 1.10.13 @ 5:24PM

I'm not interested in correcting their impression of us, really.

And enough 4 to 6 year old kids have bombs on them.

In my job I have been assaulted by violent psychotics who wanted to put a serious hurt on me. If you've never been in anything that resembles that type of situation, you are REALLY not in a position to criticize those who have. Again, you agreed with firebombing Japan in WWII. I do, as well, but it kind of undercuts your argument.

Nathan, the things you don't know greatly exceeds that which you do. That is true of me also, but I am a trained evaluator of "potential for violence." I suspect you are not.

The purpose of war is to convince your enemy to change their minds through the use of applied violence. We are dealing with people who cheerfully cut the noses off their own children's faces. My tush is not on the line, and neither is yours.

Occam's Tool| 1.10.13 @ 5:25PM

Sorry: what I'm interested in is correcting their image of us into "no better friend, no worse enemy."

They don't fear us or respect us, and they need to in the marrow of their bones.

Hardcard| 1.10.13 @ 10:07AM

Nixon was a good man but he was rolled over by the left, he became totally paranoid trying to appease the left and the constant media assault, he became confused, and his logic twisted. Nixon was a tough anti-communist, he went after the commie/prog/socialists with a vengence, alger hiss a commie spy was prosecuted and convicted of treasonous crimes against the USA and was a spy for the ussr, Nixon nailed hiss and the left eventually nailed Nixon. Where's woodward and bernstein you ask now?? There at CBS,NBC,ABC,CNN,MSNBC, NYT,WAPOST you name it the entire national media is woodberg and bernstein. It's pravda, tass on steroids, we are screwed. Take a nap benny.

c. j. acworth| 1.10.13 @ 10:14AM

Thanks for giving us the EPA, Dick. And for taking us off the gold standard.

JP| 1.10.13 @ 10:30AM

Tricky Dick thought he had no choice. French bondholders were demanding gold and not cash for their bonds. There wasn't enough gold to cover them. Inflation, for the first time, was making itself felt. If you wish to blame anyone, blame LBJ. But, Nixon was a Progressive of sorts. And Ben's father was one of his economic advisors.

avidyananda| 1.10.13 @ 10:42AM

I was born in 1946. I remember Nixon well as Eisenhower's VP and as JFK's opponent in 1960, when I was in the ninth grade. By college age, I was listening to 'Folk Music,' (little aware of how subversive it was amidst the plain, clear guitar playing and singing voices...). I was raised as the son of a career military man, and attended church every Sunday. I was unprepared for the sophistry of the leftists. And as I progressed to becoming a Really Cool Guy, Nixon and Republicans were the last thing I could admire. I was in the Peace Corps in Korea and listening to a very faint Armed Forces Network broadcast as it covered Nixon's resignation. I wasn't sure what to think, though I remember the amazement. Fellow PC volunteers were happy--one, just back from a visit to the States said he'd been in DC and there were bumperstickers that read "Honk If You Hate Nixon," and he gleefully recounted all the honking horns around the White House. But, with time, experience and lots and lots of learning, I have cmoe to understand the Left and their tainted premises, their unconscionable lying and their imperviousness to facts: and in large part, thanks to Ben's writings, I can appreciate Nixon. Florence King wrote on him and said that he was without charm, and that doomed him among the media and intelligentsia. And I believe that Nixon's anti-communism was the biggest factor in his being ousted. Now we see what such rotten folks have brought us.

Frank Drackman| 1.10.13 @ 12:08PM

What do people in the Peace Corps actually do?

JP| 1.10.13 @ 12:44PM

During the 1960s they avoided the draft and smoked weed. During the 1970s they listened to Pink Floyd and smoked weed. Since then, they just smoke weed.

CJW| 1.10.13 @ 1:06PM

Chris Tingles Matthews was in the PC

Seek| 1.10.13 @ 8:49PM

Hysterical. Actually, any number of conservatives, including Charles Murray, came out of the Peace Corps.

JP| 1.11.13 @ 4:45PM

... and they smoked weed.

avidyananda| 1.11.13 @ 8:21AM

Actually, I went to the Peace Corps after I finished thirty one months in the army and then my last three semesters of undergraduate study. I had been stationed in Korea in the army and liked the country and people. I met some Peace Corps people there and it seemed like a good thing to do. I wanted to learn the language, experience the country in some way other than as a GI. Now, when I go to former Peace Corps volunteer events, I am a bit of a loner. Lots of them have long gray ponytails (the guys and the girls) and are reflexively hyper-liberal. But my experience abroad gave me a perspective and a context with which to place America and what it is. I still believe America has always represented the Good Guys and stand as a model for other countries politically. Thus I mourn what our country has become and is becoming. My poor

avidyananda| 1.11.13 @ 8:26AM

To finish...my poor benighted former Peace Corps volunteer colleagues. Stuck in the nonsensical mindset of the 1960s and 70s. There are a few ex-Peace Corps people around who are conservative, though I've not met many.

And to answer your question more specifically, I taught English in a junior high in a small Korean town for two years, and then for one year in one of Korea's best universities. The current Korean president graduated from that university, though she was not attending when I was teaching there...

Bob K| 1.10.13 @ 11:06AM

I read up to the point where you said you had seen Skyfall" nine times and then threw up my hands and stopped reading.

I do not think I will continue reading this article.

Good grief man, get a life! Nine times!!! You have to have gone round the bend! And kissing Wolf Blitzer's ass is more evidence of that!

RCV| 1.10.13 @ 11:32AM

I'm generally a big fan of Ben Stein's writing and of him personally. But his slavish devotion to this very flawed insecure man, who gave us Watergate and Spiro Agnew, is sad to watch and tiresome to read.

TLP| 1.10.13 @ 1:51PM

Far be it from me to be a Boring Ben Stein apologist, but remember: His Father worked in the Nixon Administration.

I will allow him a Mulligan on this one.

Occam's Tool| 1.10.13 @ 5:28PM

Fair enough. By the way, I need to stop slamming Al Franken as part of a deal I outlined in the letter I sent: he would support expanded treatment for the violently mentally ill, I would vote for him as "Attila the Hun." He did that, very publicly. (He also supports getting rid of the medical device tax)

But I will still slam Harry Reid and the other scuzballs.

RCV| 1.11.13 @ 12:53AM

I'm aware, and understanding, of the root cause of Ben's blindness to the man's flaws. But the rest of us are not burdened with such paternal obligations, and surely Ben must understand that as well.

Seek| 1.10.13 @ 11:40AM

Richard Nixon, despite his flaws, was unquestionably one of the most remarkable figures of the modern age. Read Pat Buchanan's affectionate memoir on his old boss's 100th birthday appearing today on www.vdare.com.
Rare indeed are men such as Nixon.

Jim Adcox| 1.10.13 @ 12:54PM

Over the past 40 years, the Left has enjoyed their power thanks to the fall of Nixon. Whenever threatened with possible weakness or loss of power, the Left (if I may be crass) pull out their Dick and play with it in public until the people are convinced that Nixon was a much worse man than their own bad men.

Occam's Tool| 1.10.13 @ 5:29PM

Nixon was a great man with great flaws. Certainly preferrable to Obama.

nur8han| 1.10.13 @ 3:06PM

I once met President Nixon in the lobby of the Sheraton Istanbul.

He was utterly and delightfully charming..

Troon62| 1.10.13 @ 6:04PM

What a lovely, moving testament to the critical people in your life during the RMN years. Ben, you have a marvelous way of getting to the heart of the matter, whatever the subject. FYI, my mother was a trustee of the Madeira School during the chaotic Jean Harris years.

PCPSmokerII| 1.10.13 @ 9:01PM

Nixon was a liar, a scumbag, and one who created the EPA. Get over your daddy issues already.

Rhoetus| 1.10.13 @ 11:03PM

I just wish that Nixon had stayed in Red China and that Jimmy Carter had defected to North Korea.

deehra| 1.11.13 @ 11:06AM

When Richard Nixon was in office, I felt safe, irrelevant as that may sound. Yet four Americans murdered in Libya is barely a blip on the radar screen.

Bill8472| 1.11.13 @ 11:06PM

When Richard Nixon was in office, those of us who were of draft age did not feel safe.

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