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Lecture

William Tyler
The Bad Boy: Nixon

Monday 11.03.2024

Summary

Richard Nixon was elected to the presidency twice, but the Watergate scandal cut short his second term, inevitably casting a shadow over his achievements. In his resignation speech, he said, “Sometimes I have succeeded and sometimes I have failed,” which is a pretty good summary of Nixon’s presidency.

William Tyler

An image of William Tyler

William Tyler has spent his entire professional life in adult education, beginning at Kingsgate College in 1969. He has lectured widely for many public bodies, including the University of Cambridge and the WEA, in addition to speaking to many clubs and societies. In 2009, William was awarded the MBE for services to adult education, and he has previously been a scholar in residence at the London Jewish Cultural Centre.

I think the answer is hopefully yes, but the reality might have been otherwise.

He is known to have made some antisemitic comments in private, but he did appoint Kissinger and he supported Israel. Detroiter Max Fisher remained a close friend to keep him favorable to the US Jewish community.

Yes, Kissinger is a huge figure in this, but Nixon was not the sort of person that took advice. Remember what Nixon said in his first inaugural address about a peacemaker. Nixon and Kissinger were on the same page and together they did what they did.

His name was Mark Felt. The White House plumbers, which is the name ascribed to those who went in to the sixth floor the Watergate Hotel.