Nixon’s Gamble

5/5

Another Watergate book? Seriously, do we really need another one?

Well, yes, we do. Ray Locker takes a wide angle view of Nixon’s Presidency. He doesn’t take us back to his childhood, but he does examine his political career and offers some explanations, or rationalizations, of why Nixon may have acted the way he did.

=== The Good Stuff ===

* Locker writes in an easy-to-read style, and the pages seemed to fly by. He looks at various aspects of the Nixon administration, including foreign affairs, election campaigns and dirty tricks, his seeming inability to avoid conspiracies, obstruction of justice and finally his fall from power. While I suspect the author admires some of Nixon’s qualities, the book is a reasonably balanced look at the man and his struggles.

* Without giving away too much of the details, Locker postulates that Nixon’s success in foreign affairs (opening China to the West, SALT, Détente) could have only happened in an environment where the US Government could keep secrets. It was impossible for Nixon to make the progress he did if his every action and bargaining strategy was leaked to the press by those who did not agree with the initiatives.

* I was amazed at how “amateurish” various characters in the book seemed to be. No matter what, I always assumed that Nixon was shrewd, the CRP operatives were seasoned operators, Woodward and Bernstein were above reproach and Nixon’s key advisors (Haldeman, Erlichman, Dean, Kissinger, Mitchell) were seasoned Washington veterans. Locker provides examples that ruins this illusion.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* To enjoy the book, the reader has to approach it with an open mind. Locker’s hypothesis requires you to believe that Nixon, at least at first, had commendable motives and legitimate security concerns. Personally, I somewhat believe that, although Nixon’s inability to get through a day without a conspiracy, obstruction of justice and a secret agenda caused him serious troubles. Still, Locker’s analysis offers a glimpse of how Nixon started down the road to disgrace.

v* I have read many summaries of the events of “Watergate”, and I must confess I still don’t have a clear understanding of everything that happened. This book helped some, but especially toward the end, it just became too much a task for a summer reader to keep all the players, their motives and interests, and legal liabilities separate. I will take the blame, and just assume that if I read this as a more “serious” reader, it would be clearer. In any event, to explain the events clearly, the book would probably need to be 1500 pages and borderline unreadable.

* I have read many summaries of the events of “Watergate”, and I must confess I still don’t have a clear understanding of everything that happened. This book helped some, but especially toward the end, it just became too much a task for a summer reader to keep all the players, their motives and interests, and legal liabilities separate. I will take the blame, and just assume that if I read this as a more “serious” reader, it would be clearer. In any event, to explain the events clearly, the book would probably need to be 1500 pages and borderline unreadable.

=== Summary ===

The book is an excellent look at how the Nixon administration went off the rails. What were originally admirable goals soon turned in to one of the most abusive governments the US has ever had. No matter what your opinion of Nixon, it is certainly enlightening to see how the best of motives can turn into the worst of actions, and all by people who should have, and probably did, know better.

I am not sure the book would stand alone if you don’t have at least some knowledge of 1970’s US politics. It will mostly appeal to political junkies, or just those of us who find the “Watergate” saga worthy of further study.

I am not sure I agree with all of Locker’s analysis of the key players, but he certainly has a valid viewpoint and is able to make his case based on known and accepted facts.