[Scott from the Left Coast]

What I'd like to know is what was so bad about Nixon's strategy in '72 anyway???? He won that election with a greater margin in the popular vote than Reagan got in either '80 or even '84 (and you can look that up). It was the largest in the popular vote in the 20th century (62% of the vote).

That's pretty damn successful politics! How can you fault someone if indeed they are following a pattern that was that successful??? Would you rather have him follow Goldwater's pattern in '64?

Now Goldwater may (or may not depending on what age you are talking about) have had a better governing philosophy...but he never did get to govern. Nixon won a tough, tight race against a sitting Vice-President and then won a landslide of monstrous proportions.

So, someone tell me, what's so bad about that?

[Dane]

What I'd like to know is what was so bad about Nixon's strategy in '72 anyway????

Nothing, he kicked McGovern's rear end, but that isn't what Nixon will be known for. He will always be known for Watergate and to the casual non-political listener of Rush it could be construed that the casual non-political listener says to themselves, Nixon-Bush connection, "Watergate-Bush is also a liar, yada, yada, yada.."

That's why I think the Rush's Bush-Nixon connection is not only factually wrong, but also disingenuous.

[sarasmom]

I have never bashed Nixon in my entire life.
But for Richard Nixon, my oldest brother would have been drafted to serve in the Vietnam War.
He would have served, and he might have wound up as a statistic in a war the Feds decided in advance not to fight to win.
Whenever I hear people deride Nixon,I remember how I prayed God to bless him, for not sending my brother to fight a war the politicians in the USA had already decided not to win.
Some people will remember Watergate.I will remember that my brother lived, although several of the older boys in my neighborhood did not, and those who did, were never the same, and the bitterness they felt was not for having fought in war, it was for not being allowed to win.

[FreeReign]

What I'd like to know is what was so bad about Nixon's strategy in '72 anyway???? He won that election with a greater margin in the popular vote than Reagan got in either '80 or even '84 (and you can look that up).

From my point of view, the objective should not be to win by a landslide. The objective should be to win an election with the votes the top 51% of the voting population who are most freedom loving.

Nixon's landslide was bad -- he moved too far left.