[Semper Paratus]

He proposed wage and price controls as econimic policy and started the policy of affirmative action.

foreign policy good, domestic policy bad.

[Astronaut]

Sorry, but I think the greatest president after Abraham Lincoln (all he did was save the Union and end slavery!) has got to be Ronald Reagan. Destroyed the USSR without firing a shot. Tax cuts and massive economic growth. Restored the military after Carter decimated them. Plus so much more. Reagan was a true giant.

[Dog Gone]

He was a tragic figure, but outside of foreign policy, I'm no fan. Wage and Price controls should have been the cause of impeachment, IMO.

[My2Cents]

I don't think there's any doubt that Nixon was one of the most intelligent Presidents we've every had. The biography "Nixon, a Life, by former UK member of Parliment Jonathan Aitken, is a sympathetic rendering of Nixon's life, and shows Nixon in all of his fascinating complexity. I admire Nixon for his tenacity, his ability to survive against rabid opposition, and for what he achieved in spite of his obvious flaws. Nixon gives hope to all of us flawed introverts.

[montag813]

Nixon by current standards was a Liberal Democrat.

[Billthedrill]

I have to demur as well. The Wage and Price control thing was a disaster, and his Vietnam policy was to pull out and leave the ARVNs helpless against the armored blitzkrieg that finally won it for the North. That, IMHO, was a major strategic error, not to mention just a little hard on the 50,000 or so who died trying to prevent it.

Balance that against his approach to China, which I think may have re-cooled the Cold War at just the right time. But the press never forgave him HUAC, which is pretty rich for the employers of Walter Duranty. Overall, a man whose flaws were as great as his virtues, but quite unworthy of the hatred he still elicits from those who enjoy indulging in that sort of thing.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Reagan was the greatest President of the 20th century.

Nixon was, by comparison, a GD liberal

[Capitalism2003]

Ronaldus Maximus is easily the greatest President over the past century.

[Scenic Sounds]

I think he was the most entertaining of the presidents I've seen. ;-)

[Barry Goldwater]

#1 George Washington
#2 Thomas Jefferson
#3 Ronald Reagan
#4 Herbet Hoover
#5 US Grant

[Petronski]

Nixon was a fool...above all else because he refused to burn the tapes.

[x]

No. Nixon had a tough situation to deal with. It would have tried and tested any leader's patience, ability and resolve. So he won't be treated quite as shabbily by history as liberals have treated him. But he did make a mess of things and certainly won't be regarded as one of the best of Presidents.

Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself. -- Richard Nixon, Farewell Speech

Well, that's the point. He couldn't control his emotions and consequently destroyed himself. Of course his enemies helped ruin him, but it's hard to give the highest respect to a leader who contributed so much to his own (unnecessary) downfall.

[RightWhale]

Sorry, Nixon allowed 300,000 engineers and associated tech personnel to be laid off nationwide in 1970. He also allowed the Apollo moon program to die. America's decline in pre-eminence in science and technology began with Nixon. There were positive developments in other areas, but this is a huge negative.

[AlbionGirl]

Well if you don't mind paranoia, pettiness, insecurity and the tendency to sweat in a Prez, then he's your man.

He placed the abominable Harry Blackmun (sp?) on the Supreme Court, and for that he should be pilloried as much in death as in life.

One thing about Nixon though that held him in good stead was his absolutely loving and loyal family. His family was a piece of Americana not seen since in any administration.

I can still remember his final speech before boarding the plane that left the White House on the last day he served.

He conjured up images of his Mom and his Dad with language undoubtedly designed to shield them from any blame assoiciated with his disgraced departure. In effect, he was saying "I had good, decent parents. America please do not blame them, blame me." That speech almost fully redeemed him in my eyes.

He was smart, that's for sure. But not smart enough to tell the devil to go back to hell.

[ido_now]

What the hell are these people smoking?