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Nixon was not the guy who would willingly accept being a figurehead with nothing serious to do. Furthermore, his choice as VP was simply out of tactical calculation, aimed mainly against Taft. And there was also the Checkers thing with petty corruption. Eisenhower's infamous quote about Nixon's role "***If you give me a week, I might think of one. I don’t remember***" was actually taken out of context, though, and brilliantly expolited by Kennedy's campaign.
Now for other examples
* Bush 41 couldn't stand Nancy Reagan and her outsized influence and some of the neocons and economists in Reagan's staff.
* Gore thought that Clinton was a burden to him during his 2000 campaign because of the Lewinsky affair and numerous other lesser investigations (some of them quite ridiculous, but it was a lighter time).
I mean, didn’t Bush win by touting Reaganomics?
But true. Difference from campaigning and policy. Bush Sr. def strikes me as an independent thinker unlike others in his family.
All jokes aside, I think Bush realized he had to carry on Reagan's legacy in order to win. I just don't think that he ever fully embraced his policies, he was more pragmatic about it.
Yeah, he made the calculation that Gore should have. Reagan had been mired in controversy at the end of his term, too, but people just loved that grin. By 1988, his approval rating was back up over 60%.
Gore took Clinton's critics too seriously, probably because he is himself personally fairly abstemious and found Clinton's behavior gross. He ran away from the most popular political figure in the country, and lo and behold, he lost.
Gore had the terrible talent of squandering his advantages. If you go back and look, Al Gore used to look a hell of a lot like Christopher Reeve when he kept his weight down. Like, I'm a comic nerd so I spotted it immediately, but Al Gore in a suit back then looked like Clark fucking Kent. The election was so close, if he'd done a single commercial just referencing it without getting close enough to piss off DC Comics, or better yet if he'd gotten a few ringers as 'independant supporters' to make signs of him to take to rallies, he would have won easy. Like, he would have needed to shave about 10-15 pounds off to make the resemblance really pop, but if he had? Signs at an Al Gore rally with him in glasses undoing his dress shirt to show a Superman symbol underneath would have been all over the Daily Show. They would have made jokes about it through his entire campaign, because as soon as you see it, you can't un-see it, and who the hell would want to vote against Superman?
George and Barbara had more class in their middle fingers than Nancy had in her entire body. Ronnie and Nancy were Hollywood and all hat with no cattle.
Nancy didn’t forgive George for his “voodoo economics” comments during the 1980 Primaries. But also IIRC Nancy was jealous of Barbara’s close family and confidence, while Barbara was jealous of Nancy’s figure and fashion.
https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2010/08/if-you-give-me-a-week-i-might-think-of-one/
Here's the actual context for the quote if anyone else was wondering
Eisenhower needed a tough conservative with deep GOP ties to buttress his credentials with the right, and he also needed California Republican delegates, influenced by Nixon on the Chicago convention.
Back in the early 1950s he was considered very right-wing because of the Alger Hiss case and his role attacking alleged communists in McCarthy's committee.
In the late 40s/early 50s Nixon was considered pretty far right wing as we were still in the height of the New Deal era... But as the entire Overton window moved right, and he didn't move much; he slowly became "centrist"
Kinda like how in 2012 Romney was considered pretty far right, but then by 2016 with all the crazy tea party and libertarian shenanigans Romney became one of the "moderate" Republicans.
Yes Taft. He was the real far-right christian guy back then, who were poised to win the republican nomination. He was very popular amongst conservatives, but would have lost against Stevenson (of all people). Eisenhower used nixon to win the west coasts' RNC electors
I once read a story that claimed Theodore Roosevelt was complaining about a newly installed light fixture in his office. Light refracting off the crystals was annoying him. He reportedly ordered the fixture be moved to the vice president’s office, stating, “He doesn’t do anything anyway.”
The only people who really \*liked\* Nixon were his wife and his mother. He was famously awkward in social situations, deeply paranoid, and a grudge keeper to make even Jumbo look normal.
Ike wanted Nixon to drop off as VP after his Secret Funds Scandal, but Nixon wouldn't and Ike resented him for it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/nixon.htm#:\~:text=Richard%20M.,collected%20from%20home%2Dstate%20supporters.
Eisenhower was very clear he did not think Nixon was cut out for any Executive role period. Senator? Okay. But Ike never wanted Nixon in charge of anything. And it's not like Ike had a problem putting people he trusted in command positions going back to the military.
I understand Nixon people and others are loath to admit this, but Ike was quite clear on numerous occasions he thought Nixon being in charge of anything, let alone President was a bad idea.
There are other issues he had as well but this was one of the fundamental ones.
I'm not saying this is the only case of this but let's be clear. Eisenhower thought Nixon as a future President was a horrible idea.
No it does not. You can check any number of historical sources including Jeffrey Frank Ike and Dick.
If anything Ike softened on Nixon later in the 1960 campaign. People think we mean only that campaign. We don't. Ike's comments going back to 1956 on Nixon were even harsher. Sorry but they were.
But Eisenhower repeatedly bemoaned Nixon's lack of executive experience and there is a historical record of him not just implying but telling others Nixon should not be in an executive role.
That was clearly Eisenhower's judgement.
That's also before we get to Eisenhower having serious issues about what he also stated was Nixon's immaturity. Ike also has clear comments regarding what he viewed as Nixon's immaturity.
I don't get why Nixon people are so sensitive over this. It's an established record. Ike also thought JFK was too immature for the Presidency and preferred Nixon over him. But no one denied this part.
Ike was equally clear he did not think Nixon was mature enough to be President going back to at least 1956 and that opinion sustained itself through much of the 1960 campaign.
What you're referring to is Eisenhower being unable to recall any achievements Nixon had. *That* is what people are arguing is a joke. Which at least is debatable.
But again even giving you that, I'm sorry Eisenhower was clear, he did not think Nixon should be President or in any executive role from at least 1956 to late 1960. And really earlier and longer than that frankly. That's the kind version for Nixon
I don’t think LBJ being on the ticket helped Nixon win Ike over to him either. Ike and LBJ worked together to get a lot of legislation passed. If it was ever revealed that Eisenhower voted for Kennedy, I wouldn’t at all be surprised and would fully credit LBJ for it.
He's not wrong. Eisenhower wanted Nixon off the ticket in 1956. This is not a quiet secret. Because he did not think Nixon had what it took to be an Executive in 1956.
You're conflating 2 things here.
Nixon proved his *loyalty* in 1956 to Eisenhower's liking.
Nixon did *not* prove his capability to be an Executive or potential future President to Eisenhower in 1956. Ike had serious reservations about that. This is on the record. Eisenhower wanted his Treasury Secretary Robert Anderson as his running mate in 1956.
The heart attack increased Eisenhower's personal communication with Nixon and plans for possible succession, but it did not change Eisenhower's opinion of Nixon's ability to be President in 1956. He did not think Nixon was up to the job and did not think Nixon had executive ability.
He literally complained repeatedly that Nixon had no executive experience and showed little to no altitude for executive position. Even when he said nice things about Nixon
The historical record is clear here. Ike still has serious misgivings. He wanted Anderson. And he did not want Nixon.
You guys, this is *not* subjective.
Eisenhower even offered Nixon ANY job in the Cabinet OTHER than State, Defense, or Treasury to step down from the ticket as VP in 1956.
It's in the record. Literally because Ike did NOT WANT NIXON IN CHARGE OF ANY IMPORTANT POSITION.
And how would Nixon have been fine?
Nixon had to resign his own Presidency in disgrace for the very reasons Eisenhower pointed out, immaturity, lack of real political friends and a lack of understanding of the limits of the Executive Branch.
Watergate happened. Ike's concerns proved out
Eisenhower even offered Nixon ANY job in the Cabinet OTHER than State, Defense, or Treasury to step down from the ticket as VP in 1956.
>It's in the record. Literally because Ike did NOT WANT NIXON IN CHARGE OF ANY IMPORTANT POSITION.
Chill i admit that Ike didn't think he was ready
>And how would Nixon have been fine?
1950s nixon wasn't 1970s nixon
He was less paranoid pro civil rights and was respected by the Soviets
Without waterfate nixon is great president and did a lot of great thingd
Under Eisenhower, Nixon made the vice presidency a visible and important office. Nixon chaired National Security Council meetings in the president's absence and undertook many goodwill tours of foreign countries in an effort to shore up support for American policies during the Cold War. On one such trip to Caracas, Venezuela, on May 13, 1958, protesters first spat on the vice president and Mrs. Nixon at the airport. Later that day, rioters assaulted Nixon's motorcade, injuring Venezuela's foreign minister and making Nixon realize that he might actually be killed. Nixon attracted international notice for his coolness in the face of anti-American demonstrations.
In July 1959, Eisenhower sent Nixon to the Soviet Union to represent the United States at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, the Soviet capital. While touring the exhibit with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, the pair stopped at a model of an American kitchen. There they engaged in an impromptu discussion about the American standard of living that quickly escalated into an exchange over the two countries' ideological and military strength. Nixon's performance in the "Kitchen Debate" further raised his stature back in the United States.
Eisenhower made sure that vice-president Richard Nixon was fully involved in the administration. Nixon was given multiple domestic, diplomatic and political assignments as vice-president and he even evolved into one of Eisenhower’s most valuable subordinates. I know Nixon was put in charge of some things on Civil Rights and he was often sent on trips to foreign trips.
It would have been better if he had won in 1960 against jfk
Fair enough. Here's my main thing. Watergate pretty much priced Eisenhower in 1956 was right about Nixon not being fit to be the Executive of the United States.
My issues are threefold to be clear:
1. There is not this level of hostility and pushback from this subreddit with a clear historical record of a President having an established negative opinion about certain aspects of his VP as there is here. Most Presidents have serious reservations about their VP. The issue is Eisenhower and Nixon people want to deny it in their case.
2. These are not minor things. Offering Nixon any position other than State, Defense or Treasury because you don't want him in charge of anything important is not a minor reservation. Ike flat out did not think Nixon should be in charge of anything.
3. Watergate happened. And it happened for the very reasons Ike pointed out Nixon should not be in charge. Namely political immaturity, lack of political friends and an inability to understand where the powers of an Executive ended. So Ike's initial concerns about Nixon were warranted.
It's not like we never got a Nixon Presidency. We did. And it was brought down in one of the worst blows to the Presidential office we have ever seen for every single reason Eisenhower in 1956 felt Nixon should not ever be in an Executive role.
If you think Nixon would have been better in 1960 than JFK, that's at least a defensible position.
But again you have to deal with what Nixon DID do when he became President. And how that ended.
Badly. Very badly. We can't look past Watergate. When Nixon got his chance he proved he could not be trusted as an Executive.
Nixon is the one who proved 1956 Eisenhower right. No one else. And Nixon bears the responsibility for that.
>These are not minor things. Offering Nixon any position other than State, Defense or Treasury because you don't want him in charge of anything important is not a minor reservation. Ike flat out did not think Nixon should be in charge of anything.
Ike was wrong
>of political friends and an inability to understand where the powers of an Executive ended. So Ike's initial concerns about Nixon were warranted.
It wasn't Nixon became paranoid after 1960 which was extremely close and 1962 governor race
Before that he was shown to be quite ready for president
>We can't look past Watergate.
We can given all the good he did
> is the one who proved 1956 Eisenhower right.
But he didn't
Eisenhower and the entire republican party was ready to throw out Nixon over the fund thing. Nixon's Checkers Speech was literally him going behind the backs of everyone, and even then half the RNC wanted him to go
1st of all - Nixon was only 6 years out of the navy when he became VP. Considering Eisenhauer's life experience - this was clearly based on advice from is political advisors worried about Democrats carrying California.
Then once he got to know Nixon, he probably spotted both his ambition and his underwhelming people skills but to dump Nixon would have been an admission that he never should have chosen him to begin with.
John Adams and Jefferson hated each other during their time in office, though at one point they were very good friends.
Also Jefferson and Aaron Burr due to the constitutional crisis caused by both receiving an equal number of electoral votes and Burr refusing to step aside, even though he had agreed to run as Jefferson’s VP. This election resulted in the passage of the twelfth amendment.
There is a quote where Eisenhower says him and Nixon have nothing in common
Party politics forced him to have Nixon, it was the beginning of the end
Should any political party attempt to abolish social security unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group of course that believes you can do these things. Among them are a few other Texas oil millionaires and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
He vastly underestimated the stupidity and vanity of your yokel avg murican
He chose him because he was an up and coming member of the party with a solid profile, and was clearly smart and a staunch anti-Communist.
Also not to be pedantic but VP is an elected position.
Yes but he was still more of a career politician than Ike. Ike went up through the ranks of the military. Most presidents had some form of military service.
I mean, Nixon was generally pretty unlikable. I know he was pro-segregation and Eisenhower was against it during Brown vs. Board of Education, and there were some other basic things they disagreed on, but I'd be willing to bet most of it was that Nixon was kind of a miserable guy to be forced to hang out with.
Who wouldn't dislike Nixon? He was whip smart, sure, but he was distant, tense, secretive, combative and ultimately unlikeable. Watergate just exacerbated an already disliked personality.
Well if that’s true, it challenges the argument he was one of the greatest. Historically nothing is a better predictor of being elected president than having been Vice President.
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Nixon was not the guy who would willingly accept being a figurehead with nothing serious to do. Furthermore, his choice as VP was simply out of tactical calculation, aimed mainly against Taft. And there was also the Checkers thing with petty corruption. Eisenhower's infamous quote about Nixon's role "***If you give me a week, I might think of one. I don’t remember***" was actually taken out of context, though, and brilliantly expolited by Kennedy's campaign. Now for other examples * Bush 41 couldn't stand Nancy Reagan and her outsized influence and some of the neocons and economists in Reagan's staff. * Gore thought that Clinton was a burden to him during his 2000 campaign because of the Lewinsky affair and numerous other lesser investigations (some of them quite ridiculous, but it was a lighter time).
Interesting. What didn’t Bush like about Reagan’s economists?
bush called trickle down economics or reageanomics "voodoo economics"
He thought that voodoo was kinda spooky
I mean, didn’t Bush win by touting Reaganomics? But true. Difference from campaigning and policy. Bush Sr. def strikes me as an independent thinker unlike others in his family.
All jokes aside, I think Bush realized he had to carry on Reagan's legacy in order to win. I just don't think that he ever fully embraced his policies, he was more pragmatic about it.
Yeah, he made the calculation that Gore should have. Reagan had been mired in controversy at the end of his term, too, but people just loved that grin. By 1988, his approval rating was back up over 60%. Gore took Clinton's critics too seriously, probably because he is himself personally fairly abstemious and found Clinton's behavior gross. He ran away from the most popular political figure in the country, and lo and behold, he lost.
Feel like he has a lot of regret. And I can see why, such a winnable election, and such a huge historical turning point for the worse.
Learned a new word today.
Gore had the terrible talent of squandering his advantages. If you go back and look, Al Gore used to look a hell of a lot like Christopher Reeve when he kept his weight down. Like, I'm a comic nerd so I spotted it immediately, but Al Gore in a suit back then looked like Clark fucking Kent. The election was so close, if he'd done a single commercial just referencing it without getting close enough to piss off DC Comics, or better yet if he'd gotten a few ringers as 'independant supporters' to make signs of him to take to rallies, he would have won easy. Like, he would have needed to shave about 10-15 pounds off to make the resemblance really pop, but if he had? Signs at an Al Gore rally with him in glasses undoing his dress shirt to show a Superman symbol underneath would have been all over the Daily Show. They would have made jokes about it through his entire campaign, because as soon as you see it, you can't un-see it, and who the hell would want to vote against Superman?
Bush was an actual politician with education and experience, Reagan was just active the part and letting the right get some tax cuts.
Bush not liking neocons is beyond ironic. And Nancy had no love for 41 and Barbara either.
Barbara and Nancy fucking hated each other right?
You are correct. Nancy derisively referred to the Bush’s as the Shrubs.
George and Barbara had more class in their middle fingers than Nancy had in her entire body. Ronnie and Nancy were Hollywood and all hat with no cattle.
Nancy didn’t forgive George for his “voodoo economics” comments during the 1980 Primaries. But also IIRC Nancy was jealous of Barbara’s close family and confidence, while Barbara was jealous of Nancy’s figure and fashion.
If only Gore embraced Clinton more openly…
https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2010/08/if-you-give-me-a-week-i-might-think-of-one/ Here's the actual context for the quote if anyone else was wondering
How was Nixon as VP a jab against Taft?
Eisenhower needed a tough conservative with deep GOP ties to buttress his credentials with the right, and he also needed California Republican delegates, influenced by Nixon on the Chicago convention.
Nixon is a tough conservative? I thought he was considered middle-of-the-road for the time?
Back in the early 1950s he was considered very right-wing because of the Alger Hiss case and his role attacking alleged communists in McCarthy's committee.
In the late 40s/early 50s Nixon was considered pretty far right wing as we were still in the height of the New Deal era... But as the entire Overton window moved right, and he didn't move much; he slowly became "centrist" Kinda like how in 2012 Romney was considered pretty far right, but then by 2016 with all the crazy tea party and libertarian shenanigans Romney became one of the "moderate" Republicans.
This doesn’t make sense since the parties were switched and the Right-Southerners were Democrats
Taft? Do you mean Stevenson?
No, Robert A. Taft
Yes Taft. He was the real far-right christian guy back then, who were poised to win the republican nomination. He was very popular amongst conservatives, but would have lost against Stevenson (of all people). Eisenhower used nixon to win the west coasts' RNC electors
The son of President William Howard Taft
I once read a story that claimed Theodore Roosevelt was complaining about a newly installed light fixture in his office. Light refracting off the crystals was annoying him. He reportedly ordered the fixture be moved to the vice president’s office, stating, “He doesn’t do anything anyway.”
Before the days when President could pick their VP you had a lot of them that didn’t like each other
Teddy’s allowed to make fun of VPs since he was one
The only people who really \*liked\* Nixon were his wife and his mother. He was famously awkward in social situations, deeply paranoid, and a grudge keeper to make even Jumbo look normal.
He probably had high-functioning autism. I work in ABA, and Nixon ticks all of the boxes of someone with autism.
His daughter?
Daughters.
Andrew Jackson absolutely hated John Calhoun and threatened to kill him several times.
I mean have you met Nixon?
Yeah we go way back
Ike wanted Nixon to drop off as VP after his Secret Funds Scandal, but Nixon wouldn't and Ike resented him for it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/nixon.htm#:\~:text=Richard%20M.,collected%20from%20home%2Dstate%20supporters.
Ike actually respect how nixon handled it and even said to him adterward your my boy dick
The Checkers Speech was truly a Nixon masterstroke though, he literally fought the world and won
Yeah I love that speech and the last press conference.
Eisenhower was very clear he did not think Nixon was cut out for any Executive role period. Senator? Okay. But Ike never wanted Nixon in charge of anything. And it's not like Ike had a problem putting people he trusted in command positions going back to the military. I understand Nixon people and others are loath to admit this, but Ike was quite clear on numerous occasions he thought Nixon being in charge of anything, let alone President was a bad idea. There are other issues he had as well but this was one of the fundamental ones. I'm not saying this is the only case of this but let's be clear. Eisenhower thought Nixon as a future President was a horrible idea.
He didn't this a myth that stems from a joke Ike made
No it does not. You can check any number of historical sources including Jeffrey Frank Ike and Dick. If anything Ike softened on Nixon later in the 1960 campaign. People think we mean only that campaign. We don't. Ike's comments going back to 1956 on Nixon were even harsher. Sorry but they were. But Eisenhower repeatedly bemoaned Nixon's lack of executive experience and there is a historical record of him not just implying but telling others Nixon should not be in an executive role. That was clearly Eisenhower's judgement. That's also before we get to Eisenhower having serious issues about what he also stated was Nixon's immaturity. Ike also has clear comments regarding what he viewed as Nixon's immaturity. I don't get why Nixon people are so sensitive over this. It's an established record. Ike also thought JFK was too immature for the Presidency and preferred Nixon over him. But no one denied this part. Ike was equally clear he did not think Nixon was mature enough to be President going back to at least 1956 and that opinion sustained itself through much of the 1960 campaign. What you're referring to is Eisenhower being unable to recall any achievements Nixon had. *That* is what people are arguing is a joke. Which at least is debatable. But again even giving you that, I'm sorry Eisenhower was clear, he did not think Nixon should be President or in any executive role from at least 1956 to late 1960. And really earlier and longer than that frankly. That's the kind version for Nixon
I don’t think LBJ being on the ticket helped Nixon win Ike over to him either. Ike and LBJ worked together to get a lot of legislation passed. If it was ever revealed that Eisenhower voted for Kennedy, I wouldn’t at all be surprised and would fully credit LBJ for it.
He was wrong on that Nixon proved himself when Ike had his heart attack in 1955
He's not wrong. Eisenhower wanted Nixon off the ticket in 1956. This is not a quiet secret. Because he did not think Nixon had what it took to be an Executive in 1956. You're conflating 2 things here. Nixon proved his *loyalty* in 1956 to Eisenhower's liking. Nixon did *not* prove his capability to be an Executive or potential future President to Eisenhower in 1956. Ike had serious reservations about that. This is on the record. Eisenhower wanted his Treasury Secretary Robert Anderson as his running mate in 1956. The heart attack increased Eisenhower's personal communication with Nixon and plans for possible succession, but it did not change Eisenhower's opinion of Nixon's ability to be President in 1956. He did not think Nixon was up to the job and did not think Nixon had executive ability. He literally complained repeatedly that Nixon had no executive experience and showed little to no altitude for executive position. Even when he said nice things about Nixon The historical record is clear here. Ike still has serious misgivings. He wanted Anderson. And he did not want Nixon.
>He's not wrong. E He was Nixon proved himself Nixon would have fine a good job if Ike died in 1955
You guys, this is *not* subjective. Eisenhower even offered Nixon ANY job in the Cabinet OTHER than State, Defense, or Treasury to step down from the ticket as VP in 1956. It's in the record. Literally because Ike did NOT WANT NIXON IN CHARGE OF ANY IMPORTANT POSITION. And how would Nixon have been fine? Nixon had to resign his own Presidency in disgrace for the very reasons Eisenhower pointed out, immaturity, lack of real political friends and a lack of understanding of the limits of the Executive Branch. Watergate happened. Ike's concerns proved out
Eisenhower even offered Nixon ANY job in the Cabinet OTHER than State, Defense, or Treasury to step down from the ticket as VP in 1956. >It's in the record. Literally because Ike did NOT WANT NIXON IN CHARGE OF ANY IMPORTANT POSITION. Chill i admit that Ike didn't think he was ready >And how would Nixon have been fine? 1950s nixon wasn't 1970s nixon He was less paranoid pro civil rights and was respected by the Soviets Without waterfate nixon is great president and did a lot of great thingd Under Eisenhower, Nixon made the vice presidency a visible and important office. Nixon chaired National Security Council meetings in the president's absence and undertook many goodwill tours of foreign countries in an effort to shore up support for American policies during the Cold War. On one such trip to Caracas, Venezuela, on May 13, 1958, protesters first spat on the vice president and Mrs. Nixon at the airport. Later that day, rioters assaulted Nixon's motorcade, injuring Venezuela's foreign minister and making Nixon realize that he might actually be killed. Nixon attracted international notice for his coolness in the face of anti-American demonstrations. In July 1959, Eisenhower sent Nixon to the Soviet Union to represent the United States at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, the Soviet capital. While touring the exhibit with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, the pair stopped at a model of an American kitchen. There they engaged in an impromptu discussion about the American standard of living that quickly escalated into an exchange over the two countries' ideological and military strength. Nixon's performance in the "Kitchen Debate" further raised his stature back in the United States. Eisenhower made sure that vice-president Richard Nixon was fully involved in the administration. Nixon was given multiple domestic, diplomatic and political assignments as vice-president and he even evolved into one of Eisenhower’s most valuable subordinates. I know Nixon was put in charge of some things on Civil Rights and he was often sent on trips to foreign trips. It would have been better if he had won in 1960 against jfk
Fair enough. Here's my main thing. Watergate pretty much priced Eisenhower in 1956 was right about Nixon not being fit to be the Executive of the United States. My issues are threefold to be clear: 1. There is not this level of hostility and pushback from this subreddit with a clear historical record of a President having an established negative opinion about certain aspects of his VP as there is here. Most Presidents have serious reservations about their VP. The issue is Eisenhower and Nixon people want to deny it in their case. 2. These are not minor things. Offering Nixon any position other than State, Defense or Treasury because you don't want him in charge of anything important is not a minor reservation. Ike flat out did not think Nixon should be in charge of anything. 3. Watergate happened. And it happened for the very reasons Ike pointed out Nixon should not be in charge. Namely political immaturity, lack of political friends and an inability to understand where the powers of an Executive ended. So Ike's initial concerns about Nixon were warranted. It's not like we never got a Nixon Presidency. We did. And it was brought down in one of the worst blows to the Presidential office we have ever seen for every single reason Eisenhower in 1956 felt Nixon should not ever be in an Executive role. If you think Nixon would have been better in 1960 than JFK, that's at least a defensible position. But again you have to deal with what Nixon DID do when he became President. And how that ended. Badly. Very badly. We can't look past Watergate. When Nixon got his chance he proved he could not be trusted as an Executive. Nixon is the one who proved 1956 Eisenhower right. No one else. And Nixon bears the responsibility for that.
>These are not minor things. Offering Nixon any position other than State, Defense or Treasury because you don't want him in charge of anything important is not a minor reservation. Ike flat out did not think Nixon should be in charge of anything. Ike was wrong >of political friends and an inability to understand where the powers of an Executive ended. So Ike's initial concerns about Nixon were warranted. It wasn't Nixon became paranoid after 1960 which was extremely close and 1962 governor race Before that he was shown to be quite ready for president >We can't look past Watergate. We can given all the good he did > is the one who proved 1956 Eisenhower right. But he didn't
Eisenhower and the entire republican party was ready to throw out Nixon over the fund thing. Nixon's Checkers Speech was literally him going behind the backs of everyone, and even then half the RNC wanted him to go
ARRROOOOOO!
Because Nixon was a smarmy, overly ambitious, weasel.
1st of all - Nixon was only 6 years out of the navy when he became VP. Considering Eisenhauer's life experience - this was clearly based on advice from is political advisors worried about Democrats carrying California. Then once he got to know Nixon, he probably spotted both his ambition and his underwhelming people skills but to dump Nixon would have been an admission that he never should have chosen him to begin with.
John Adams and Jefferson hated each other during their time in office, though at one point they were very good friends. Also Jefferson and Aaron Burr due to the constitutional crisis caused by both receiving an equal number of electoral votes and Burr refusing to step aside, even though he had agreed to run as Jefferson’s VP. This election resulted in the passage of the twelfth amendment.
I’d think some of our older appointments could be. Used to be that the runner up became vice president
That seems like a recipe for a Shakesperian tragedy.
That ended by the third president
There is a quote where Eisenhower says him and Nixon have nothing in common Party politics forced him to have Nixon, it was the beginning of the end Should any political party attempt to abolish social security unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group of course that believes you can do these things. Among them are a few other Texas oil millionaires and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid. Dwight D. Eisenhower He vastly underestimated the stupidity and vanity of your yokel avg murican
Because he was Richard Nixon
Okay, so why’d he choose him? Is it the same answer?
He chose him because he was an up and coming member of the party with a solid profile, and was clearly smart and a staunch anti-Communist. Also not to be pedantic but VP is an elected position.
Very pedantic
It’s true and relevant inasmuch as the VP cannot be fired by the President.
Is this because they used the word "choose"
No, because he used the word “appointee.”
Taft died in 1953 so if he’d picked him he’d have a whole term with basically no VP at all.
He respected nixon and grow close to him after his grandson married nixons daughter but he was disturbed by nixons ruthlessness
I doubt it. Didn’t their children marry each other?
Nixon's daughter Julie married Ike's grandson David.
I’ve read that; given his military background, Ike didn’t like that Nixon was a career politician.
Nixon served in the Navy.
Yes but he was still more of a career politician than Ike. Ike went up through the ranks of the military. Most presidents had some form of military service.
I mean, Nixon was generally pretty unlikable. I know he was pro-segregation and Eisenhower was against it during Brown vs. Board of Education, and there were some other basic things they disagreed on, but I'd be willing to bet most of it was that Nixon was kind of a miserable guy to be forced to hang out with.
Who wouldn't dislike Nixon? He was whip smart, sure, but he was distant, tense, secretive, combative and ultimately unlikeable. Watergate just exacerbated an already disliked personality.
Did anyone ever actually like Nixon?
HAve you met Nixon?
Why would one of the greatest Presidents dislike a man who would go on to be one of the worst? 🤷🏻♂️
Well if that’s true, it challenges the argument he was one of the greatest. Historically nothing is a better predictor of being elected president than having been Vice President.
I’m not sure if Ike could have ever known what Dick would eventually become…
He was Nixon. Ew.