Emotional Cripples

The idea for this blurb came from an op-ed by Bill Whalen published in the Trenton Times on Wednesday, January 9.  That date was the 100th anniversay of the birth of Richard M. Nixon, perhaps our most vilified president.  Actually, it might be a close run between Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.  They both had the seeds of greatness and the weeds of insecurity.  The weeds took over.  They were both intimidated by JFK; back in the sixties Iwas too young to appreciate insecurity.  Now that the sun is setting on my life, I appreciate how some people can be overcome by it.  Yes, JFK had looks, brains, charm, money, sophistication, you name it - I also had in-laws who dismissed him as a lucky Mick on the Make.  They had more regard for Lyndon Johnson because he and his wife were truly a team - together they got Lyndon elected and together they made a lot of money!  And let us not forget that the civil legislation was pushed through by LBJ; in truth, the Kennedys were not terribly interested in civil rights till they realized they needed the votes.  But Lyndon got sucked into Viet Nam; JFK had a great plan.  There would a coup in Saigon; the new government would ask the USA to leave.  It didn't work as planned, and Johnson let lacked the emotional security to say, "screw Viet Nam.  If the Commies want it, let them have it."  Too bad LBJ didn't go talk to Eisenhower who would have said, "I know what I'm talking about - let it go."  Eisenhower did feel that way.   So Lyndon Johnson will have a bad rep for years to come.

Which brings us to Richard M. Nixon.  I'm sorry he picked Spiro Agnew, but that choice was not a personal failing.  Watergate was.  It was not only stupid but also unnecessary.  And the handling was bad.  Maybe he wanted to protect his friends.  I could never understand why people were upset by recording devices; I thought then, and still do, damn good move.  What did Nixon do that was good?  Well, he finally ended the Viet Nam war.  And he decided it was time to recognize China.  (By the way, as hard as reporters tried, they could never hook him up with another woman - one of our few presidents who did not commit adultry).  But like LBJ, Kennedy made him feel inferior - he wasn't.  Everything Richard Nixon had from his education, his law practice, you name it, he worked for it himself, even his commission in the navy.  Everything JFK had was handed to him; Blogolanders, think of this.  How far would, could John Kennedy have gone on his own? 

So we have two presidents, both of whom had the seeds of greatness and both of them were overwhelmed by the weeds of envy.  Fortunately, there is revisionist history.  Here's my prediction.  In one  hundred years, some historian will write about the greatness of LBJ and RMN and about what a dud president JFK was.