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What surprised me most was the number of similarities between Kennedy and Nixon's political views. From their ardent anti-communism to their disdain for the prevailing purveyors of liberalism, it's easy to see how they forged a friendship upon their election to Congress in 1947.
Kennedy and Nixon also shared a strong desire to move ahead and gain the ultimate prize - the Presidency - and this evenaully lead to their rivalry and ultimate disdain for one another. I never realized how Kennedy (and his family) consumed and impacted Nixon's political and physical psyche. But given Teddy Kennedy's significant behind-the-scenes involvement in Nixon's ultimate downfall, fully chronicled here, he had good reason.
If you're searching for a fresh analysis and interpretation of these two icons in American history, this is the book for you.
In it, Richard Nixon, the 37th president who resigned under pressure from the Watergate scandal, battles the ambitions, then the "Camelot" mythology of President John F. Kennedy, who defeated Nixon in 1960's close, contested election. Nixon is then shadowed throughout his political life by memories of the slain president: first by brother Robert, (a likely 1968 candidate before his assassination), and finally youngest brother Edward Kennedy.
"Kennedy vs. Nixon" tells a story of personal friendship souring under political differences and career paths. It shows how these cordial political colleagues who shared a hallway both opposed what they saw as Yalta's squandered victory after World War II, and fought Communist insurgency and infiltration domestically and internationally. Matthews traces their roles in the era's major events, all playing against a Cold War backdrop: tacit support for Joe McCarthy's investigations, distrust of Alger Hiss as Nixon prosecuted him, 1952's infamous "Checkers" speech preserving Nixon's vice-presidential candidacy even as President Dwight Eisenhower coldly minimizes Nixon's accomplishments and even attempts to remove him.
During these chapters Matthews reveals the start of Nixon's legendary personal distrust, hinted when vanquished Congressional opponent Helen Douglas branded him "Tricky Dicky." Here Matthews also introduces characters (Archibold Cox, Charles Colson, Larry O'Brien) who became household names less than 15 years later as henchmen for or targets of Nixon's need to retain power . You also see the slow roots of America's painful Vietnam involvement, and how it helped fuel Nixon's 1968 comeback victory.
The core of the book is dedicated to 1960's presidential election and TV's major role in its presentation and outcome. Matthews meticulously retells 1960's "Great Debate" and how Nixon's TV image which, compared to Kennedy's carefully crafted public persona (and what Nixon saw as creative counting) painfully cost him that election. But recounting private taped and untaped unconversations, you sense both men's anger and frustration against enemies foreign (Kennedy's Bay of Pigs, and 1963's assassination of South Vietnam president Ngo Dihn Diem) and domestic (Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre," his palpable need to discredit Ted Kennedy even after 1969's Chappaquiddick tragedy ended any hopes for his presidential run.)
Matthews effectively argues Ted Kennedy's threat as fueling Nixon's self-destruction, but adds Nixon's suspicions were justified. From being used by Kennedy's wealthy father as pawn for President-elect Kennedy before the inauguration, to investigated for loans given Nixon's brother Donald (for "Nixonburgers"), to Ted Kennedy's role in prosecuting Watergate, Nixon felt constantly chased by Kennedy legacy and perceptions he only held space until another Kennedy "restoration" and couldn't compete with Kennedy' carefully written legacy. This leads to several bitter but even hilarious anecdotes (the ones about the phony train conductor, the pregnant woman and the beach photo opportunity being three favorites).
Even in Nixon's declining, post-retirement years, his foreign policy expertise respected and presidency re-examined, he couldn't hide antipathy for his 1960 rival and events leading America to the Vietnam war always associated with Nixon's presidency. Even his 1994 death was shadowed a few weeks later by that of President Kennedy's widow Jacqueline (with whom Nixon shared sweet and sincere correspondence after Ms. Kennedy's family visited Nixon's White House in 1971.) It is a somber, fitting ending to Matthews' remarkably told story, whose details provided deeper, long-missing reasons behind some of history's tragic, yet seismic events. "Kennedy vs. Nixon" is a recommended story addressing personal and political clashes between two of American history's most significant, forever fascinating figures.
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