Reply #12: Nixon's Problems [View All]

[RoyGBiv]

The extent of Nixon's problems didn't surface until after his election. The Washington Post and to a lesser extent the New York Times were working on the Watergate story before the convention, but it didn't seem like a big deal to the public at the time.

Also, as was said, he was running a very effective negative campaign against his opponents that extended back to the primaries. As it turned out, this was the larger picture of which Watergate was a very small part. It's notable to realize that Karl Rove was a player in that campaign, and his performance is what brought him to the attention of the senior Bush.

It's more than a little disquieting to think about, actually. Supposedly, Nixon wanted to run against McGovern, but during the primaries, it didn't initially appear that McGovern would be the nominee. Then there were a lot of "dirty tricks" tactics leveled against Humphreys and Muskie, and sure enough, McGovern rose to the top. I don't mean this as a criticism of Kerry, because I firmly support him, but it makes me wonder a bit about the "Dean Scream."