CDR Salamander: Say what you want, he was a pro

Sunday, August 08, 2010

Say what you want, he was a pro

16 comments:

Retired Now said...: Despite his eccentricities, I would vote Richard Nixon back in a heartbeat, to replace the current president. Nixon and his strange group of White House team members were loyal Americans, who did not attempt to destroy the very fabric of our country, as is being accomplished so rapidly by both the current president and his "democratic" partners in crime in the House / Senate.

Never thought I'd pine for the good old days under Richard Nixon's leadership. Head and shoulders above the 2008 - 2012 "leadership".; 07:14
Tregonsee said...: I was in SEA in 1972, and had to go to great lengths to insure my ballot was received in time to be counted. (Funny how 40 years later, that STILL isn't fixed.) I voted for RMN, and have no regrets, even knowing all we know about him, and how the war ended. I give at least a 50-50 chance that the incumbent will leave, early, under a significant cloud.; 08:22
DM05 said...: Recall resignation day clearly as a teen, and visited the Yorba Linda gravesite several years ago to be fascinated with the man & the times... A patriot, during an unpopular war, who was a bit quirky and made mistakes, and faced intense pressure. His price/wage controls were flat out stupid. Nuff said, 'cept to agree with Retired Now about the current gang's shortcomings.; 09:15
Byron said...: My first Presidential vote was for Nixon, even when my peer group was calling him every filthy name in the book. Regardless of the one stupid mistake he made (agreeing with advisers to go coverup when immediately denouncing the burglars would have been smart) I will always respect him. He fulfilled his promise to get us out of Vietnam, and he got our boys back. Unlike Johnson, when faced with communist duplicity at the Paris talks, Nixon got tired of the BS they were dishing out about the method of getting our POWs home. He told the CJCS and the Pentagon to blow the hell of of NVN and they got a virtually free hand to do so. In two weeks time the PAVN was out of missiles, low on AAA ammo and the infrastructure was a smoking heap. The only thing they didn't do was destroy the dikes holding the Red River back from flooding Hanoi. The "negotiators" for NVN were begging Kissinger to come back to the table so they could agree to everything we wanted about getting our guys back.

Just imagine what would have happened had we done that in 1967...; 11:05
Casey Tompkins said...: Nixon was great, as long as you ignored the fact the man was a raving paranoid. ;)

Not to mention he passed more bloated, invasive nanny-state programs than the Johnson administration did. One example: you can thank Nixon for the EPA. Let's not forget the warts.

That said, Byron is exactly correct. The actions his administration took in Vietnam were at the least very necessary. It's a pity Watergate derailed his 2nd administration, else he might have been in a position to do something about the 1975 invasion.; 14:29
MR T's Haircut said...: Hey Nixon gave Elvis a Badge! How cool is that!?; 14:39
Byron said...: Oh, no, Casey, the Great Society (hawk, spit) belongs soley to Johnson and his vote buying Democrats and the Dems have not forgot how easy it is to buy votes with the taxpayers wallets. I hope that SOB roasts in a special hell.; 15:44
Sparticus said...: Even Jimmy Carter, as bad and worthless as he was would be less destructive than the current boy king.; 16:43
Grumpy Old Ham said...: That special part of hell seems to be getting pretty full with LBJ, Chappaquiddick Teddy, "Sheets" Byrd, and last, but certainly not least, "I can make DoD run like a business/oops, I'm sorry about Vietnam" McNamara...; 16:44
Outlaw Mike said...: I cannot speak out on his domestic policies since I don't know anything about them.

But I do find it strange that... well, twas a democrat who got the US involved in Vietnam. It was a Democrat who let things escalate.

And it was a Republican who extricated the US out of Nam without losing face and in a relatively clean way, leaving the South Vietnamese with a decent chance to sort things out. IF the US kept supporting them just like China and the USSR kept backing up North Vietnam.

And exactly this president is vilified till this day over six lousy microphones.

As far as I'm concerned, he was a good enough president. By any means, a millon times better than the current WH occupant who's only there because of a cosmic anomaly.; 17:37
C-dore 14 said...: I was a Ltjg standing my final CDO duty aboard USS FIRST SHIP (DE XXXX) and watched Nixon's resignation speech on the wardroom TV. I used Watergate as an example for my Mids as how a cover-up can get you in more trouble than the initial action.; 20:10
Quartermaster said...: Since supporting the south was a treaty matter, Nixon could have ordered it done, and teh NVA would have been sent packing as they were with the easter Offinsive of 1972 (the NVA lost about 50% of its strength in that fiasco). The mistake was asking Congress "Mother may I" when the treaty already spoke to that.

Byron is absolutely correct about the great society and LBJ. NEPA, and the EPA can be placed at the feet of Nixon, and that is turning out to be just as bad as the great society trash.

There are a few otehrs I'd like to send to that special corner of hell along with the other Grumpy names. Obama, more than a quarter of the Federal Judges, Mullin, Roughead. Did I say Obama. Rhambo, Axelrod, Romer. Fowler. All teh diversity Zampolits. Did I mention Obama? Just want to be sure.; 20:24
ewok40k said...: He managed to exit Vietnam victoriously, only for future Congress to cut it off from all help...; 03:39
DeltaBravo said...: Are you paranoid if everyone really IS out to get you? Do you remember how hated he was by the press and the rest of the usual suspects?; 11:31
Casey Tompkins said...: Just to be clear, QM, I agree 100% in this respect. It's just sad Nixon felt he had to stonewall & cover-up, instead of a quick mea culpa.

What made it worse was that -after Watergate and the resignation- the GOP had about 0% influence in Washington for a while. Dick pretty much burnt every ounce of the political capital he gained in his '72 trouncing of McGovern during the cover-up.

Even back then, CAS had been developed to a fine art. Add a healthy number of BUFFs, and one could reasonably expect South Vietnam to exist for the forseeable future.; 01:54
Casey Tompkins said...: Um, no. First, it was Eisenhower who "got the US involved in Vietnam," albeit to the tune of only several hundred advisors, but Kennedy kicked that up to c. 15,000 by 1963.

Not to mention -by your own peculiar logic- 'twas a Democrat who got us into WW1. 'Twas a Democrat who got us into WW2. And Korea. And -if I follow you correctly- the fact that it was a Democrat who performed each of these actions makes said actions worthy of condemnation. So apparently we never should have becomed involved in either world war, or defended South Korea from aggression.

And Watergate wasn't "six lousy microphones." Such an opinion demonstrates a remarkable ignorance of actual events. In order: breaking & entering, illegal domestic surveillance, illegal wiretapping, perjury, subornation of perjury, and obstruction of justice. For a start. You might want to include bribery as well.; 02:23

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