Herschensohn and Watergate

I refer to your July 5 article “Memos Show Herschensohn Watergate Role.” I was in daily touch with Bruce from August, 1973, through 1974 and I am perhaps in a better position to attest to his genuine qualities than the memos cited in the article, with which I take no issue. The memos reflect only the man’s duties at the time, which are only in contradiction with a sterling character because of their proximity to the Watergate scandal.

To believe Richard Nixon innocent does not disqualify Herschensohn from serving the good people of California in the U.S. Senate. To the contrary, it elevates him to the highest standard of human compassion. The concept of a man as innocent until proven guilty, even though evidence against him is piled up, is central to the American character, and Richard Nixon was never adjudged guilty.

Your article refers to Herschensohn’s innovative approach of enlisting Mrs. Lyndon Johnson in the defense of Nixon. I recall that Nixon was lamenting that there was no former President around to defend him, because only a person who had occupied the Oval Office would truly appreciate the complexity of the myriad of duties and attendant contradictions a President is called upon to reconcile. It was at that time that Bruce came up with Lady Bird Johnson, a perfectly legitimate response to a President in search of succor.

May I excerpt passages from a manuscript, which I am readying for publication, entitled “Nixon’s Rabbi”: “During his tenure at USIA, Herschensohn produced and directed some of the most memorable films to boost American prestige overseas. Among them were ‘Karma,’ narrated by Joseph Cotten, ‘The Five Cities of June,’ narrated by Charlton Heston (nominated for an Academy Award in 1964), and ‘Years of Lightning, Day of Drums,’ narrated by Gregory Peck (after the assassination of John F. Kennedy).

“Herschensohn was over-qualified as liaison for the President’s support groups. His gregarious personality allayed many grievances that were bound to arise in a multiethnic forum. He shepherded a widely dissimilar electorate to the White House and distilled confidence even among the wavering.”

RABBI BARUCH KORFF

Providence, R.I.