RICHARD NIXON: 1913-1994 : IN MEMORIAM

Richard Nixon was one of the most intriguing and perplexing public figures of the last half of the 20th Century. As President, he pioneered arms control and detente with the Soviet Union, steps that led the superpowers out of the Cold War. He understood that the real power center in Asia was Beijing, not Taipei, and restored diplomatic relations with The People’s Republic of China. He was the first U.S. President to visit Jerusalem, and to take the Arab world seriously. Yet Nixon was also the first chief executive to resign from office in a scandal that launched an age of cynicism that dogs government to this day. Before Nixon’s time, never had so many high-ranking White House officials been convicted and sent to prison. Nixon was also legendary for his capacity for punishment as well as recovery, even from the worst political setbacks, even from Watergate. At the time of his death, his rehabilitation was so complete that he enjoyed a close relationship with President Clinton. It was as if Nixon had never left the national arena. No doubt, the world is a far different, and perhaps safer, place because of him. But his legacy has yet to be set in stone. Though he joined the pantheon of elder statesmen in later life, Nixon’s place in history is as ambiguous, complicated and vexing as he was.