Crushing on Nixon

By Victoria Marshall

To all the ladies who will be adorning their Valentine’s Day cards with pictures of Jacob Elordi, Timothee Chalamet, or x American heartthrob this year, may I posit another formidable beau for your consideration: the 37th president of the United States of America, Richard M. Nixon. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “A scandal-ridden former president who chose to resign instead of face near-certain impeachment?” And I reply, “Yes, that very one.”

While the Official Narrative paints Nixon as a paranoid, vengeful, and bitter man, it obscures the traits that contributed to his incredible success. Only a handful of Americans can come close to touching Nixon and his achievements: member of the House of Representatives, senator, vice president, and president of the United States. The man was driven and relentless. And if you ask me, that’s super sexy.

So, for your consideration, here’s a list of Nixon’s sexiest traits, or reasons why he deserves Valentine status:

Identified the Real Enemy 

At the beginning of his presidency, Nixon identified the real enemy to America: unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch. Specifically, the bureaucrats in the country’s intelligence agencies. Nixon observed that the CIA, FBI, and military bureaucracies were used to operating independently from the president and were more interested in preserving their own interests than enacting the policies he set. To remedy this, Nixon sought to exert more control over the agencies by wielding his own National Security Council against them. Led by his national security advisor Henry Kissinger, Nixon used the NSC to gather intel about the agencies while also shielding them from his own motives.

Not only did Nixon try to reassert presidential control of the intelligence apparatus, he also tried to downsize it and other bloated executive branch agencies (***HOT***). After he cruised to reelection in 1972, Nixon asked all political appointees to send in letters of resignation. Nixon was especially interested in downsizing and reorganizing the CIA. 

As he wrote in his diary around this time, “It is the only way, and probably the last time, that we can get government under control before it gets so big that it submerges the individual completely and destroys the dynamism which makes the American system what it is.” 

Consequently, Nixon successfully fired 1,000 CIA agents.

With this noble mission in mind, Nixon tried to reassert presidential control over the intelligence machine and make it more accountable to the American people. While this boldness was exactly what the country needed, it eventually led to Nixon’s downfall. 

Never Gave Up

Before he was president, Nixon faced several crushing political defeats. He narrowly lost the 1960 presidential election to John F. Kennedy by a vote margin of 0.2 percent. After that, he was further humiliated by losing the 1962 California gubernatorial race. At that point, his name was synonymous with “pathetic loser.” Yet Nixon did not give up. He shrewdly maneuvered himself such that he successfully won the 1968 GOP presidential nomination and from there became president. Four years later, Nixon won reelection by a landslide, taking more than 60% of the popular vote.

Chose His Battles

After his crushing defeat to JFK in 1960, some Republicans urged Nixon to contest the results (Kennedy won by just 112,000 votes out of 68 million cast). Many believed Illinois’ votes were suspect as the Chicago mob was notorious for rigging elections in favor of Democrats.

In the newly-ratified state of Hawaii, Nixon had won the state on the first count. But after Kennedy’s team requested a recount, the state ended up being counted in his favor. As a result, two sets of electors – one set for Nixon and another for Kennedy – traveled to Washington to be counted. As vice president at the time, Nixon presided over the counting of electors in the Senate. Nixon refused to contest the Kennedy electors for Hawaii as he believed it would’ve caused a constitutional crisis. Nixon wasn’t willing to sacrifice the health of the country for his own personal political ambitions. He realized he could bide his time and run for the presidency later.

Distrusted the Media

Nixon knew from firsthand experience that journalists were not impartial observers dedicated to reporting the facts. He understood they were partisan activists intent on achieving specific ends with their reporting. This is why he was the first president to refer to the press as “the media.” He understood the press was another powerful institution in American public life with the capacity to make or break a presidency. 

In a 1972 conversation with advisors Henry Kissinger and Alexander Haig, Nixon warned, “Never forget the press is the enemy, the press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy, the professors are the enemy, the professors are the enemy. Write that on a blackboard 100 times.”

Family First

Nixon grew up in a poor family in Whittier, California. When he received a scholarship to attend Harvard University, Nixon declined so he could run his family’s business and take care of his ailing brother.

Admitted His Mistakes

Nixon was an astute politician and a visionary. He also carried anxiety, grievances, and vendettas. This baggage did not serve him well, as he realized later on and admitted publicly. But he developed self-awareness around his flaws as his career matured, and that's more than many men can say. 

In his 1974 farewell speech to White House staff, Nixon said “Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.”

So, next time you find yourself crushing on a celebrity, ask yourself this: does he measure up to Nixon? 

Victoria Marshall is a reporter for The Family Research Council. She lives in Washington, DC.