what are you talking about? nixon used a teleprompter too. politicians dont need to use them but they use then so that they can always face the audience and not look down at their queue cards or paper. you're being overly cynical about the good and sentimental to nixon, who was a crook and a liar
eh... I had to think about this for a moment. Having a backbone usually reffers to stubbornes. Being educated usually is better. We Europeans know you are in general poorly educated. Now, Nixon wasn't. I'd go for the brains as he did.
Four more minutes of gold from Nixon. Truman, in my opinion, was a solid and highly underrated president. He was president during an extraordinarily difficult time, not just in the war, but the aftermath and during his second term. He is one of the major reasons why communism did not engulf the Korean peninsula and Western Europe, and his projection of American power through our business (Marshall Plan) was brilliant. Thanks for the clip.
Truman is my favorite Democrat. He made two decisions no other President had to do: (1) He dropped nuclear weapons on an enemy and (2) Fired an insubordinate but hugely popular general.
Truman left office with one of the lowest approval ratings in US history. Re-appraisal of his impact from historians, political scientists and other scholars has him at a wide consensus 5th best president behind Washington, Lincoln and the two Roosevelts, and some have him even as high as number one.
I read Harry Truman's biography not too long ago; he was a damned impressive man. I think he was the most perfectly suited man for the job, ever. He grew up on a farm in the midwest, taking great responsibility; he studied hard and read the Great Books in school and thereafter, he ran a successful business (which eventually failed), and he was tested by war as Captain of an artillery company - and never lost a man, despite participating in major battles. He was a successful politician from the beginning, and he gave a crap, never shirked his responsibility. Christ, we need men like him now...
In one sense, I can see how Nixon could appreciate Truman, despite their political differences. Both came from fairly humble backgrounds to be elected to the highest office in the land.
Nixon was a college graduate and lawyer. Truman had no academic background but was a voracious reader. Truman never enjoyed the 'spoils' of the office, had no secret service protection after he left office and no source of income from the government. He was a 'common man,' a poor farmer and failed businessman There is no one like Harry. 'Give 'em Hell Harry.'
@@messagesend8239 Nixon, in his early career as a Congressman from CA, had made Truman look like an incompetent boob (which, in many ways, he WAS with respect to dealing with Soviet espionage) with his part on HUAC, the Alger Hiss affair, etc. Truman already hated Nixon for that. But the REAL thing that earned the enmity of our 33rd POTUS towards the eventual 37th was his 1950 Senatorial campaign in CA against Helen Gahagen Douglas. Many Hollywood elites and Eastern liberals supported Mrs. Douglas, and Truman himself campaigned for her. Not only did she lose, and BADLY, to Nixon, it was seen as a complete rebuke of the Democrats. Truman never forgave anyone that made him look like a fool, so naturally he'd hold a grudge that lasted until he passed in December 1972.
RMN was very gracious with his comments on HST - especially given the absolute scathing things Truman would (later, on record) say about Nixon. Richard Nixon was not nearly as thin-skinned as "historians" today say he was.
Historians today say he was a crook. Now, in retrospect, as a European; i'd say: the Nixon presidency was'n't really that bad. But he fucked up at the end.
The presidency seems to attract people with BIG egos. RMN certainly had his histrionics. There is really no former president like Harry. He was a 'common man', a poor farmer and a failed businessman. He was also brutally honest. If you can't handle the heat, the truth then get out of the kitchen. 'The Buck Stops Here.' 'Give 'em Hell, Harry.'
He wasn't thin skinned? Listen to the paranoid, bigoted, and vindictive Nixon on the tapes. The thoughtful rational Nixon you see in these interviews is totally different than the often ranting and raving paranoid bigot on the tapes.
If Nixon hadn't gone down the Watergate path he would have gone down as one of America's greatest President's. So damn bright yet so damn unsure of himself. I was still a very young boy but was captivated with him.
There was a time I could not stand Nixon when I was younger- We used to call him “Tricky Dicky” in 1968 when he ran for president- I was 18 years old then same year I went into the Navy- I am 74 now- When I was a kid I was wrong about him- This guy was one of the better presidents that we had in the 20th century- His knowledge of foreign policy was superior- His domestic policy did not run the country into the ground- I am an old fart 74 years old now like I said though when I was young I was wrong about President Nixon so I have no problem admitting that
My feelings are similar to yours. I think it's important to note that Nixon's era was a time that the republican party would actually work, to some extent, with Democrats, for the good of our country. Now republicans will not work with Democrats in any meaningful capacity at all. Fox "News" has successfully taken over our nation and are determined to run it into the ground, at any cost, to enforce their fascist agenda.
Uhhh, he WAS TRICKY DICKY. HE WAS A CROOK. HE WAS A CRIMINAL. HE WAS AN OUT OF CONTROL MOB BOSS. HE COMMITTED MULTIPLE OBSTRUCTIONS OF JUSTICE IT MAKES SCHLUMP ENVIOUS. HE RAMPED UP THE WAR AND EXPANDED IT INSTEAD OF ENDING IT AS PROMISED IN 68. HE LIED. SERIAL LIAR. HE WAS THE WORST US PRESIDENT UNTIL THE ORANGE CULT TRAITOR CAME ALONG. YOUR INITIAL GUT INSTINCT WAS CORRECT.
Wow, he made our history so interesting . He was so careful, kind, and measured about how he spoke about anyone (friend & foe alike) publicly on camera it's almost humorous now. A huge vacuum for that kind of dignity. When one Listens to the Nixon Kennedy debates, wow were they so kind to each other, and so was Governor Reagan and Robert Kennedy when they appeared together in the 1960s. it is so funny to see such chivalry & Nixon resigned of his own volition, & the opposition let it go at that. The Democrats & Republicans were both superiors animals back then. Yep, sure enjoyed him waxing eloquent about how much he admired HT, a man he likely voted against. Well that's just the way they did things back then. Miss you bunches RN😢😢😢
hm... Harry was a good guy. In the war and all that. Not my political alignment but hey. I actually like Richard as a European too. But he was a crook at the end. So...
Yes the media worked full time, for 20 years discrediting him. To a large extent they were successful , then came other means of dissemination of information.
Nixon to me was not a politician by historical standards. He was a true Statesman, in many areas, in spite of his human frailties. Listen to his vocabulary & choice of words, his eloquence & dignified style. Observe his composure, & demeanor & self confidence. I saw him in person when on active duty, at Homestead AFB, Florida in the late sixties. He looked great! It's a pity the U. S. now is an Empire in (irreversible) decline. Its political class is but a vestige, of what it was decades ago. No Empire is eternal, Rome collapsed on 431 A. D.
It's not irreversible decline at all, all you have to do is reign in the lunatics that basically hold office in your land more often than you actually do.
He was a crook at the end. You will be remembered by your last deeds. It really ruined his legacy. So: pretty stupid. I could argue with your empire in decline, but no. It is besides the point. If I was an american I would not have voted Humprey or Nixon. I would not have voted at all. I
I remember those days very well. The Left absolutely hated him, and persuaded people to have NDS, Nixon Derangement Syndrome. They still use the very same tactics.
The most underrated president ever is still Harry Truman. He steered the world into the longest peace period, as patriotic as Washington and Lincoln and never bowed to powerful quarters that existed back then due to expediency. He was also super smart.
Truman is unique in our history. He was a farmer and a failed businessman. He served in WW1 as in the artillery. Harry was a voracious reader even though he had no academic credentials. A 'common man,' he was known for his very direct honesty. "Give 'em hell Harry." He told it like he saw it....."The Buck Stops Here." If only Harry was alive today. I'd love to see/hear him debate any present-day presidential candidate.
He is talking about a President who I had the great honor to be at his funeral. I was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. and we were assigned tasks to work on his funeral. He was a very humble man who was born in the county of Barton County, MO. I still remember being called a my mothers home and got ready to leave. I told her that President Truman had died and she didn't believe me because it had not been released to the news. She saw it on the news about 30 minutes after I left. Great man for Missouri and for all mankind.
I couldn’t have been more anti-Nixon when he was POTUS, but I had limited perspective of all that mattered back then. We all have our flaws but, now, hearing the elegant words of a most intelligent, thoughtful and moral man has opened my eyes.
As a Eurpean born in 1973, I would not be anti Nixon per say. Now, I am a liberal European, liberterian even to you standarts so not conservative as you lot tend to do. But he was a crook.
@@thesaw9988well, sir, we ALL make mistakes!!! Show me a man and i will show you a crime. I AM N O T DEFENDING THE MAN. JUST STATING THAT, ACCORDING TO ME, HE WAS A FOREIN POLICY GENIUS.
@@swamifakkananda4043 tell that to the families of the Laotians & Cambodians his illegal bombings killed. That was not brilliant foreign policy. He and Kissinger were were pretty much war criminals and he prolonged the Vietnam War, wasting precious American & allied lives, for no valid reason although he ran his campaign in 1968 on the promise of ending it quickly.
@@ronbo11 welll, i wld agree with u. But it does not diminish the fact that the man was a foreign policy genius. Flawed one too. But many are flawed. Except, of course, ne!!🤣
Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate just how far American education has fallen until you listen to men from a bye gone generation having a somewhat ordinary conversation. And it wasn’t all that long ago. Mr. Nixon was president when I was born.
Truman was straight as an arrow and a thoroughly honest man. He saw himself as a servant of his country. After his term ended, he and his beloved wife were living on a meager income (for an ex-President.) Congress voted to give him a decent pension so they could live more comfortably. He despised Nixon for corrupting the office of President.
@@eileenhetherington3704Yes!And rightly so. Truman knew Nixon better than these fawning clips from the Nixon Foundation whuch show him at his best. If anything his intelligence makes his odious arrogant corrupt behaviour worse
@@eileenhetherington3704 Truman honest? Jack Kennedy said Truman accepted a $2mm bribe on a train during his presidential campaign. He was a product of a very corrupt Democrat machine in his home state .
What I find most great about President Nixon was his class, dignity and the ability to find the positive. If you watch these interviews of how he spoke about presidents like Kennedy, Johnson, and Truman it is apparent he did not agree with the decisions they made, but he respected the office of the presidency enough to not degrade them. He knew what a tough job it was.
@@j.b.delaney3444 degrade the office? Show me such, your rhetoric counts for nothing. I’m not a conservative by any means but what they did to Nixon is playing out exactly today 50 years later.
@@michaellazuka654 "They" didn't do anything to him...he did it to himself. Perfect example being his "...but it would be wrong." comment for the taping system regarding paying millions in campaign contributions to the plumbers to keep their mouths shut. They also had him dead to rights on obstruction, and income tax evasion. And no, Trump isn't a victim of "they" either. Like Nixon, he did it all to himself, and has no one else to blame for his troubles.
@@michaellazuka654 Oh, and speaking of the tapes...let's not forget all the vile racist and anti semitic remarks he made on those. Do you admire him for those too?
@@j.b.delaney3444Johnson was the very same. He was a true racist. And a womanizer with a filthy mouth. And many believe he was behind Kennedys assassination.
This guy Nixon was off the charts a political genius! Super intelligent man. One of our true best presidents that ever walked this planet. And yes I don’t give a flying F about Watergate.
The funny thing is his poor VP Agnew had to resign because of "kickbacks." Poor guy got vilified for the crime of being ahead of his time.🤣🤣🤣 If he were alive today they would probably give him a NOBEL for giving all those bridge construction workers solid high paying wages🤣🤣🤣 with their sweet slush enginering contracts.
I think by now most of us are mature enough to see Watergate as a coup run by the FBI and the Washington Post to replace the elected president. Seems to be something of a habit of theirs... 🤔
You really don't appreciate what a Great President Richard Nixon was until he's gone. In retrospect; he's one of our Greatest Presidents ever. Truly remarkable individual.
@@williambowers2820 BS, it's all politics, the Dems have done a lot worse when it comes to cover-ups and that fake Russian collusion hoax dreamed up by H. Clinton takes the cake.
I do appreciate Nixon‘s greatness. His foreign policy was masterful. But his dark side was just as bad. Maybe the most interesting person in American history.
I am 59 years old Conservative and have voted Republican my whole Life. Truman in my opinion and I don't give a damn what anybody else thinks is in the top ten of Greatest Presidents ! Give'm hell Harry !
I was not expecting Nixon to be such an intelligent and thoughtful and a humble man, and I think that history has really been unkind to him and his presidency because of Vietnam and watergate. He was a World War Two hero and veteran who came from very humble beginnings and worked hard his whole life to get where he did and he made some really great strides in his diplomatic endeavors both during and after his presidency. I think he was one of our greatest presidents and leaders and he is totally underrated
That last statement: “education can strengthen the brain but weaken the back”. Never heard it like that. Simple, but impactful. I’ve always achieved & maintained both. Can’t say that I even came close to “making footprints on the sands of time”, but I have in countless little ways in my small corner of the world. Nixon was truly an elder statesman.
It doesn't. Listen. I'm European. Nixon wasn't I guy i'd vote for but ok. He know your politics, had connections. He prooved to be a crook at hte and. At least he had the decency to step down. He screwed himself with watergate. Be honest.
@thesaw9988 Nixon won 60% of the vote in '72 and carried 49 states. He was a great president, he got us out of Vietnam. He kept his word. Most politicians are crooks. It is what it is, he was great. Be honest
I like listening to Nixon, but you have to keep in mind that there's a difference between one's words and one's actions. And furthermore, there's a line between being pragmatic and being unprincipled. He did cross that line, probably obliviously to the fact. When the ends always justify the means, the ends become ruined. Nixon wouldve made an excellent advisor, but when in power he was too willing to cross lines he shouldn't have.
Needlessly and tragically prolonged the Vietnam War and shamefully retreated from his early and courageous support for civil rights, Chile, but some accomplishments were admirable
People say good things about people when they die. I was a kid when President Nixon was in office. He was the fist person I heard use the word “pragmatic.” Fifty years later I learned a new word from him again, “ temerity.”
Sociopaths are very good at fooling people. Listen to the tapes. Educate yourself. 5 minute video clips from the Nixon Library don't tell you squat. Wake up.
I am British, and I was only eight years old at the time of Nixon's resignation. When I turned to politics in my student years, I became an ardent Thatcherite and strongly supported Ronald Reagan's approach to the Cold War. I opposed the detente approach to the Soviet Union and getting into bed with Communist China. Odd then, that over the years, I have read most of the published biographies of Richard Nixon. I now think his life story was one of the greatest political odysseys of the twentieth century. Like Churchill's career, it was filled with triumph and tragedy. I have to say that whilst I still count myself as being to the Right of Nixon, I very much came to like the man. I believe that he was a person of good intentions, and I think that it would have been fascinating to spend time in his company, particularly listening to his anecdotes. He was always quite gracious in interviews to his political opponents, certainly more than they were to him. Sadly, he suffered throughout his career from some pretty dreadful setbacks. The attempt to bounce him off the ticket in 1956, the stuffed election in 1960, the smear campaign in California in 1962, and the tiny margin of victory in 1968. Nixon overcame all of these challenges in the end, but it left him with certain insecurities. The results were disastrous and tragic. However, he redeemed himself in part before he died. Thank you for posting these insightful interviews. Please keep them coming.
So britiish. Now, Thatcher was actually good for your country. And no: I would not be a conservative in your country. I can respect his politics, but Nixon was a crook. There is no way around that. Good luck over there with your crisis of living thing.
What "stuffed election in 1960"? Anytime a Republican loses an election, their supporters claim voter fraud. He lost because Kennedy outperformed him in their debates, inspired the citizenry with his oratory and hopefulness and a majority of Americans were not fans of Nixon's McCarthyism past. Again, that's another Republican SOP claiming the country is being lead or attacked by a cabal of either communists or, in recent times, "the deep state". Stoking fear to try to scare Americans into voting for their party because most of their ideas have proven to be more detrimental to the common man than helpful.
I wasn't alive when Harry Truman was president but I admire a lot about him, his personal integrity, decisiveness, intuition, and his willingness to do what he thought was right even if he knew he would take grief from the press and people in his own party. Of course, his decisiveness was a bit of a double edge sword in that he didn't always think matters through that should have been pondered a bit more closely. He could also hold a grudge like few others and he did have a habit of surrounding himself with people who had no real qualifications and for placing them into positions they had business being in, Louis Johnson and Fred Vinson being classic examples. It was a habit of machine politics he picked up from his days with Tom Pendergast. He also had a bit of an authoritative streak in him but that was typical of New Deal politicians, a habit they picked up from FDR. But he read Stalin better than FDR did and the country dodged a major bullet when the democrat leaders selected him over Henry Wallace as VP. They knew FDR was dying and Wallace wouldn't have sold the farm to the Soviets, he would have just given it to them. Of all the democrat presidents Truman is by far my favorite, the only one in the 20th Century worth a damn. As for Nixon's recollections, that was classic Nixon having selective memory. Nixon went hard after Truman in 1950 and 1952. It's to be expected, it's politics, but Nixon was an up and comer and he knew the best way to get ahead was to display a willingness to be an attack dog, especially when it came to communism. He was the one who exposed Alger Hiss and Dean Acheson, Truman's secretary of state was one Hiss's best friends, someone who wouldn't denounce him. That put a big bullseye on his back and by extension, Truman. Truman took it personal too. In 1960 Joe Kennedy called Truman in order to get him to endorse JFK. Truman didn't like Joe Kennedy and the feeling was mutual. Initially he was lukewarm about JFK and said as much publicly but after Acheson met with him Truman got on board. He said "Kennedy is young and inexperienced, but that SOB Nixon went around the country calling me a communist." Acheson appealed to Harry's grudge tendency to get him to back Kennedy and it worked. He didn't like any of them, but he liked Nixon the least. And Nixon wasn't too fond of Harry while Harry was alive. Like I say, this is typical Nixon revisionism. He was trying to get people to like him again after Watergate. He became quite gracious at that stage of his life.
I really think that Nixon and Truman took the reins of power and rose from humble beginnings in such a remarkable fashion as to make me truly agog that we are now in such a leadership vacuum. Nixon’s paranoid demeanor tarnished his legacy but he did many great things as President. Truman as even more remarkable because he never lost sight of what was in the best interest of our Nation whereas as Nixon ultimately did not.
Truman was an artillery man in WW1 and was our only combat vet of the Great War who became President of the US as Ike was in during WW1, but wasn’t deployed.
Actually, Truman would go on to say the hardest decision he ever made as President was whether or not to get involved in Korea. The Atom Bomb was, in his mind, a no brainer because he had the option to possibly end the war with a few bombs and save thousands of Allied lives. Of course we can argue how much of an impact the Atom Bombs had in ending the war, but from Truman's perspective the only wrong decision was *not* to use them.
He made our history so interesting . He was so careful, kind, and measured about how he spoke about anyone (friend & foe alike) publicly on camera it's almost humorous now. A huge vacuum for that kind of dignity. When one Listens to the Nixon Kennedy debates, wow were they so kind to each other, and so was Governor Reagan and Robert Kennedy when they appeared together in the 1960s. it is so funny to see such chivalry & Nixon resigned of his own volition, & the opposition let it go at that. The Democrats & Republicans were both superiors animals back then. Yep, sure enjoyed him waxing eloquent about how much he admired HT, a man he likely voted against. Well that's just the way they did things back then. Miss you bunches RN😢😢😢
I'm European so... There is no chance i'd vote for him. We live in a real democracy. We are not that stupid. Now, I do respect his politics and views in context of that era. Just plain stupid he had to blow it. I would have seen trough his bullshit instantly. He was a crook, after all.
Charming! How rude you are. Whilst you are perfectly entitled to your personal opinion may I ask what gives you the right to be so offensive about an American President? I am British. I would love to know what perfect "real" democracy you hail from. Perhaps you would like to explain why the European Union has a parliament that cannot initiate or cancel legislation? Maybe you could let us know why the European Commission which governs the Union is not directly elected by the citizens of Europe? Finally, I would just like to remind you that whatever "real" democracy that you currently enjoy was probably bought and paid for in part by American blood and money.
Imagine if we could vote for someone as intelligent as Nixon in 2024. I am saddened on what our presidential options are these days compared to what we had in the past….
Even as a youngster in those days, it seemed to me that President Nixon and his postwar predecessors in the office -- although not perfect -- by and large carried themselves in that position of authority with judiciousness, dignity and wisdom.
What a wonderful interview,President Nixon had great recall and spoke so eloquently of others.No self aggrandizing,so chest thumping,just a captivating man who spoke of other like friends,not enemies.Todays politicians could learn a thing or two on how to carry themselves from the former president.
He was very smart especially in foreign affairs. Though some of his domestic programs were visionary too. He initiated the “war on cancer” program in 1970
Truman, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, and Ford were all congressional veterans when they became president, and the country was better off for it. They knew how the constitution was written, and they understood the balance of power. Biden and Obama also had similar congressional backgrounds. For a period, former Governors occupied the presidency; Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush 43.
So.... you US of Assholes proved to be non democratic? Sure, politicians need experiance. Biden does. But by god, he is old. He is. Trump is too and he doesn't.
Trunks generally despised Nixon…interesting how respectfully he speaks about Truman and Kennedy. After leaving office Truman and his wife Bess drove by themselves across the country on a 2500 mile road trip. Until congress eventually gave presidents a pension and franking privileges, he was largely broke partly by answering everyone who wrote him and paying the postage himself.. great man on policy and principles.
It's time to stop judging President Nixon for one part of his life,and look at his overall body of work. He should have come clean about Watergate. Americans are a very forgiving people.
I was in the Army during Wwtergate. I had a great deal of respect for President Nixon as did every nation except the US. He was hated unjustly and railroaded. He stepped aside when he saw the affect that Watergate had. He was truly a great statesman. He has never gotten his due for his service to the country.
Nixon didnt hate Truman in 52, he was just an opponent to be defeated to win an office, but Truman took it personally. Politics is like a boxing match sometimes, if you cant take the punches, dont get in the ring.
He was an individual with strong character and a goal of serving the American Public. He had to make very hard decisions and strived to do the right thing. Education means having acquring knowleedge. You do not have to go to college to become educated. I once discussed education with an English professor. I asked her who she considered the most knowledgeable local person on philsophy. In an area that abounded with college graduates, she said it was an individual who operated a piece of moving equipment. She said he was constantly reading about the subject, and sought opportunities to discuss it with knowledgeable people. He had no formal education on the subject. In upstate New York, and lady spent her life around Beavers. Wildlife Specialists visited her to obtain information about these animals social characteristics.
I must admit, even though I was a kid, and too young to vote, I would have voted for Nixon back then. I think history gave him a very narrow view. There was a lot more to the "Nixon years" than Watergate.
“Nobody could fill Franklin Roosevelt shoes but Harry Truman made his own footprints in the sands of history.” I well and truly miss the days when politicians had that kind of mastery of the English language. That was poetic, profound and most articulately said. Nowadays, we get stuff like “Roosevelt had big shoes. They were very big. He had really big shoes. … Harry Truman tried to fill them. He also had big feet. This is true. He had really big feet. He couldn’t fill up those shoes though. So he stood on the sand. He made footprints on it. Very big footprints on it. The best footprints on it. And it was historical. Very very historical. Hugely historical. If I had been there, I would’ve said ‘you know, that was very historical.’” we have declined as a country. That’s a fact.
Nixon really showed respect for his contemporaries of the time. It was the Media that he did not respect. And rightfully so. They treated him cruelly and unfairly long before Watergate.
That man's mastery of the English language, and the fluidity of his explanations, are very impressive... I wonder if the people in charge at that time felt it too. If so is it what made him so " dangerous " for some? honest question.
@250LM4me I believe he did. But that's not the point ... Every important topic and legacy should be weighed and structured at that level of historical testimony. And this avoids the amazing stupidity of some of today's illiterate, history-ignorant, média trained.... people. We can FEEL that he knew what he was talking about, he was able to do it for hours. He was not in charge anymore, and didn't have to wear a mask And probably wanted to leave something behind him about himself that was not a political circus act. Obviously, very few succeeded in history. Very few. That is at least what I feel watching and listening to so many documents about him. I don't know if it's faked, ( I Don't think so ) But even if it was, it would be exceptionally well done and executed. So for eternity, he will remain this man. Good work.
Best comment on Nixon when he ran against Kennedy came from Ike when asked what great ability Nixon had to qualify him to be president - "Give me several weeks to possibly think of one" !
If Nixon hadn't approved Watergate, and stepped back from mass bombing Cambodia, he would have walked out as one of the very best presidents. His diplomatic negotiations with China and the USSR helped end the Cold War in two decades. He is given little credit for that leap because, in the end, a tree falling makes more noise than a growing forest.
Richard Nixon will go down in our history as one of the greatest presidents of the last century. No one else even comes close. His words here -- about a man who was in many respects his political enemy -- are both perceptive and wise.
He's at the bottom of all the 20th century President's lists. Hoover on a few, Nixon at the bottom of most of them. See, that's what happens when you're a CRIMINAL.
Isn't it crazy how politicians used to be able to string words together into sentences without needing a Teleprompter?
Or coming out of their basement during a campaign.
You are so correct!
Don't make me 😭.
what are you talking about? nixon used a teleprompter too. politicians dont need to use them but they use then so that they can always face the audience and not look down at their queue cards or paper.
you're being overly cynical about the good and sentimental to nixon, who was a crook and a liar
Statesman vs politician
"Education can strengthen the brain
but weaken the backbone"
Good one 🇺🇸
The fate of the liberal college professor elites of today.
eh... I had to think about this for a moment. Having a backbone usually reffers to stubbornes.
Being educated usually is better. We Europeans know you are in general poorly educated. Now, Nixon wasn't.
I'd go for the brains as he did.
Very good quote and one that I shall try to remember for the future. So true.
I loved this one too.
@@raymondmainamugure204 Same here, it struck a chord.
I really enjoy these Nixon clips and listen to how wise he really was.
at the end, he was a crook. Just like Trump. And yes, Nixon was a better president.
I agree, and I also will not conveniently forget his crimes.
@@LeonFelixRusso But NO ONE will remember the likes of YOU nor anything you had to say. There's a REASON.
@@LeonFelixRusso What crimes?
@@andrewpytko4773 Well, there was this thing called WATERGATE...
My favorite Truman saying If you want a friend in Washington get a dog 🐕😀😀😀
(ruff-ruff)❤
me 2 though, Harry was probably quoting someone else lol
President Truman had a great wit,and wasn’t afraid to use that asset where needed.
That must be where Oliver Stone got it from when he made Wall Street (Gordon Gekko)
He also said that only crooks get rich in Washington.
Four more minutes of gold from Nixon. Truman, in my opinion, was a solid and highly underrated president. He was president during an extraordinarily difficult time, not just in the war, but the aftermath and during his second term. He is one of the major reasons why communism did not engulf the Korean peninsula and Western Europe, and his projection of American power through our business (Marshall Plan) was brilliant.
Thanks for the clip.
The number of monumental decisions he had to undertake in just his first year in office is tough to comprehend.
Truman is my favorite Democrat. He made two decisions no other President had to do: (1) He dropped nuclear weapons on an enemy and (2) Fired an insubordinate but hugely popular general.
@@BegoneJonah He also recognized Israel. The Berlin airlift, Marshall Plan & NATO formation were also non-trivial.
Truman left office with one of the lowest approval ratings in US history. Re-appraisal of his impact from historians, political scientists and other scholars has him at a wide consensus 5th best president behind Washington, Lincoln and the two Roosevelts, and some have him even as high as number one.
A former klansman who integrated the military.
I read Harry Truman's biography not too long ago; he was a damned impressive man. I think he was the most perfectly suited man for the job, ever. He grew up on a farm in the midwest, taking great responsibility; he studied hard and read the Great Books in school and thereafter, he ran a successful business (which eventually failed), and he was tested by war as Captain of an artillery company - and never lost a man, despite participating in major battles. He was a successful politician from the beginning, and he gave a crap, never shirked his responsibility. Christ, we need men like him now...
What about tRump?
@@DJK-cq2uyNot only no, but HELL NO! Nixon was paranoid but he wasn’t STUPID…
@@samiam619It’s not paranoia when they really are out to get you!
There are likely many in this country like Truman, however they are unlikely to put their toe into the cesspool that Washington has become?🤔
yes we do
In one sense, I can see how Nixon could appreciate Truman, despite their political differences. Both came from fairly humble backgrounds to be elected to the highest office in the land.
Yes very similar men, both were World War veterans turned senators, vp, then President.
Nixon was a college graduate and lawyer. Truman had no academic background but was a voracious reader. Truman never enjoyed the 'spoils' of the office, had no secret service protection after he left office and no source of income from the government. He was a 'common man,' a poor farmer and failed businessman There is no one like Harry. 'Give 'em Hell Harry.'
Truman despised Nixon.
@@messagesend8239 Nixon, in his early career as a Congressman from CA, had made Truman look like an incompetent boob (which, in many ways, he WAS with respect to dealing with Soviet espionage) with his part on HUAC, the Alger Hiss affair, etc. Truman already hated Nixon for that. But the REAL thing that earned the enmity of our 33rd POTUS towards the eventual 37th was his 1950 Senatorial campaign in CA against Helen Gahagen Douglas. Many Hollywood elites and Eastern liberals supported Mrs. Douglas, and Truman himself campaigned for her. Not only did she lose, and BADLY, to Nixon, it was seen as a complete rebuke of the Democrats. Truman never forgave anyone that made him look like a fool, so naturally he'd hold a grudge that lasted until he passed in December 1972.
RMN was very gracious with his comments on HST - especially given the absolute scathing things Truman would (later, on record) say about Nixon. Richard Nixon was not nearly as thin-skinned as "historians" today say he was.
Historians today say he was a crook. Now, in retrospect, as a European; i'd say: the Nixon presidency was'n't really that bad.
But he fucked up at the end.
@@thesaw9988 Compared to Trump, he's a piker in the criminality department.
The presidency seems to attract people with BIG egos. RMN certainly had his histrionics. There is really no former president like Harry. He was a 'common man', a poor farmer and a failed businessman. He was also brutally honest. If you can't handle the heat, the truth then get out of the kitchen. 'The Buck Stops Here.' 'Give 'em Hell, Harry.'
He wasn't thin skinned? Listen to the paranoid, bigoted, and vindictive Nixon on the tapes. The thoughtful rational Nixon you see in these interviews is totally different than the often ranting and raving paranoid bigot on the tapes.
@@bradsullivan2495you misspelled Obama
If Nixon hadn't gone down the Watergate path he would have gone down as one of America's greatest President's. So damn bright yet so damn unsure of himself. I was still a very young boy but was captivated with him.
The 3 letter agencies got him
@@deemen7132 And the demon media.
@@deemen7132 And the demon media.
@@deemen7132 In cooperation with a compliant media.
If he hadn't gone down with watergate, he would have gone down with Jfk murder, all the skeleton in the closet will be out
Jesus Christ, imagine a president nowadays speaking like this.
Homer Simpson would make a better impression
A certain Republican President.
@@DT-lr2bi are you trying to say that Trump doesn’t sound particularly intelligent or cultured? I think we’re all aware of that?
😂😂@@davidniggemeyer1692
Different standards then. Today, a Presidency is based on a cult of personality.
I could listen to him talk all day. He's got a nice voice and a lot of wisdom.
There was a time I could not stand Nixon when I was younger- We used to call him “Tricky Dicky” in 1968 when he ran for president- I was 18 years old then same year I went into the Navy-
I am 74 now-
When I was a kid I was wrong about him-
This guy was one of the better presidents that we had in the 20th century-
His knowledge of foreign policy was superior-
His domestic policy did not run the country into the ground-
I am an old fart 74 years old now like I said though when I was young I was wrong about President Nixon so I have no problem admitting that
My feelings are similar to yours. I think it's important to note that Nixon's era was a time that the republican party would actually work, to some extent, with Democrats, for the good of our country. Now republicans will not work with Democrats in any meaningful capacity at all. Fox "News" has successfully taken over our nation and are determined to run it into the ground, at any cost, to enforce their fascist agenda.
Uhhh, he WAS TRICKY DICKY. HE WAS A CROOK. HE WAS A CRIMINAL. HE WAS AN OUT OF CONTROL MOB BOSS. HE COMMITTED MULTIPLE OBSTRUCTIONS OF JUSTICE IT MAKES SCHLUMP ENVIOUS.
HE RAMPED UP THE WAR AND EXPANDED IT INSTEAD OF ENDING IT AS PROMISED IN 68. HE LIED. SERIAL LIAR.
HE WAS THE WORST US PRESIDENT UNTIL THE ORANGE CULT TRAITOR CAME ALONG.
YOUR INITIAL GUT INSTINCT WAS CORRECT.
The CIA and its media took him down. Same as ever. Watergate was a psyop.
Better than his successors, one of the great Presidents.
Wow, he made our history so interesting .
He was so careful, kind, and measured about how he spoke about anyone (friend & foe alike) publicly on camera it's almost humorous now.
A huge vacuum for that kind of dignity.
When one Listens to the Nixon Kennedy debates, wow were they so kind to each other, and so was Governor Reagan and Robert Kennedy when they appeared together in the 1960s. it is so funny to see such chivalry & Nixon resigned of his own volition, & the opposition let it go at that.
The Democrats & Republicans were both superiors animals back then.
Yep, sure enjoyed him waxing eloquent about how much he admired HT, a man he likely voted against.
Well that's just the way they did things back then.
Miss you bunches RN😢😢😢
Truman was a great man whose greatness wasn’t truly realized until years later.
Same with Nixon.
I'd take either one in office now over the clowns we have today. Both sides of the aisle.
hm... Harry was a good guy. In the war and all that. Not my political alignment but hey.
I actually like Richard as a European too. But he was a crook at the end. So...
@@thesaw9988is that your argument is that the guy is a "crook" lol
David McCullough wrote a very interesting biography on Trueman called not surprisingly "Trueman "
@@mpetersen6Blame the voters. Most are ignorant fools.
Truman was the best of us. He never compromised himself.
A very smart man.
but he screwed up.
@@thesaw9988 we all screw up, so do you. Take the speck out of your own eye
@@ChrisP-in8qrNixon screwed up in a way that showed his amorality
Cunning, both good and bad
@@smurp1109 sometimes you have to be
After every one of these videos, I respect President Nixon more and the media less.
Yes the media worked full time, for 20 years discrediting him. To a large extent they were successful , then came other means of dissemination of information.
Likewise.
This isn't how President Nixon acted or spoke.
The media did what they were supposed to do.@@richardanderson5078
Do you not get it? Pay attention to what they "do," not what they "say." The man was a brilliant, shallow criminal.
Anyone who can speak as well as this deserves respect
He had a great knowledge. People weren't saying that 50 years ago, but it's true.
Nixon to me was not a politician by historical standards. He was a true Statesman, in many areas, in spite of his human frailties. Listen to his vocabulary & choice of words, his eloquence & dignified style. Observe his composure, & demeanor & self confidence. I saw him in person when on active duty, at Homestead AFB, Florida in the late sixties. He looked great! It's a pity the U. S. now is an Empire in (irreversible) decline. Its political class is but a vestige, of what it was decades ago. No Empire is eternal, Rome collapsed on 431 A. D.
Watergate? Wiretapping his own cabinet members?
He is the definition of a politician 😂😂😂
It's not irreversible decline at all, all you have to do is reign in the lunatics that basically hold office in your land more often than you actually do.
@arielfornari6595 It's a pity that the US became an empire in the first place.
He was a crook at the end. You will be remembered by your last deeds. It really ruined his legacy. So: pretty stupid.
I could argue with your empire in decline, but no. It is besides the point.
If I was an american I would not have voted Humprey or Nixon. I would not have voted at all.
I
@@LeoWhalen1933And the only difference between him and the others is that he got caught ! 🤔
"Education can strengthen the brain, but weaken the backbone.". That's quite a quote.
There’s a lot of strength in a closed mind. JFK, talking about Barry Goldwater.
@@MrRufusRToyota Don't you just hate it when somebody disagrees with you?
I have always been impressed by Nixon's intellect.
Bobbie Baker, Sec. to Senate Majority under Johnson, said he, Kennedy & Johnson were our smartest presidents in his day.
I too.
Nixon is the most under rated President ever
I remember those days very well. The Left absolutely hated him, and persuaded people to have NDS, Nixon Derangement Syndrome. They still use the very same tactics.
The most underrated president ever is still Harry Truman. He steered the world into the longest peace period, as patriotic as Washington and Lincoln and never bowed to powerful quarters that existed back then due to expediency. He was also super smart.
Truman is unique in our history. He was a farmer and a failed businessman. He served in WW1 as in the artillery. Harry was a voracious reader even though he had no academic credentials. A 'common man,' he was known for his very direct honesty. "Give 'em hell Harry." He told it like he saw it....."The Buck Stops Here." If only Harry was alive today. I'd love to see/hear him debate any present-day presidential candidate.
These are outstanding historical clips.
He is talking about a President who I had the great honor to be at his funeral. I was stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. and we were assigned tasks to work on his funeral. He was a very humble man who was born in the county of Barton County, MO. I still remember being called a my mothers home and got ready to leave. I told her that President Truman had died and she didn't believe me because it had not been released to the news. She saw it on the news about 30 minutes after I left. Great man for Missouri and for all mankind.
My IQ is raised every minute I listen to Nixon speak. I think I need a Nixon audio book.
His books are very good.
Listening to this great man speak is cathartic for me. The antidote to the bizarre times in which we live today.
I couldn’t have been more anti-Nixon when he was POTUS, but I had limited perspective of all that mattered back then. We all have our flaws but, now, hearing the elegant words of a most intelligent, thoughtful and moral man has opened my eyes.
As a Eurpean born in 1973, I would not be anti Nixon per say. Now, I am a liberal European, liberterian even to you standarts so not conservative as you lot tend to do.
But he was a crook.
No you were right the first time
@@thesaw9988well, sir, we ALL make mistakes!!! Show me a man and i will show you a crime. I AM N O T DEFENDING THE MAN. JUST STATING THAT, ACCORDING TO ME, HE WAS A FOREIN POLICY GENIUS.
@@swamifakkananda4043 tell that to the families of the Laotians & Cambodians his illegal bombings killed. That was not brilliant foreign policy. He and Kissinger were were pretty much war criminals and he prolonged the Vietnam War, wasting precious American & allied lives, for no valid reason although he ran his campaign in 1968 on the promise of ending it quickly.
@@ronbo11 welll, i wld agree with u. But it does not diminish the fact that the man was a foreign policy genius. Flawed one too. But many are flawed. Except, of course, ne!!🤣
Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate just how far American education has fallen until you listen to men from a bye gone generation having a somewhat ordinary conversation. And it wasn’t all that long ago. Mr. Nixon was president when I was born.
“Education can strengthen the brain but weaken the backbone”
What a quote
RMN’s International Brinkmanship was second to none. A great leader, and most important, a Patriot
He’s a lot kinder to Truman than Truman was to him. That’s for damn sure.
Truman was straight as an arrow and a thoroughly honest man. He saw himself as a servant of his country. After his term ended, he and his beloved wife were living on a meager income (for an ex-President.) Congress voted to give him a decent pension so they could live more comfortably. He despised Nixon for corrupting the office of President.
@@eileenhetherington3704 Did Nixon really corrupt the office of President?
@@eileenhetherington3704Yes!And rightly so. Truman knew Nixon better than these fawning clips from the Nixon Foundation whuch show him at his best. If anything his intelligence makes his odious arrogant corrupt behaviour worse
Arguably this portrayal of Richard Nixon by Nixon circumvents the realistic Dick of politically aware American memories.
@@eileenhetherington3704 Truman honest? Jack Kennedy said Truman accepted a $2mm bribe on a train during his presidential campaign. He was a product of a very corrupt Democrat machine in his home state .
What I find most great about President Nixon was his class, dignity and the ability to find the positive. If you watch these interviews of how he spoke about presidents like Kennedy, Johnson, and Truman it is apparent he did not agree with the decisions they made, but he respected the office of the presidency enough to not degrade them. He knew what a tough job it was.
He managed to degrade the office of the president pretty well though, didn't he?
@@j.b.delaney3444 degrade the office? Show me such, your rhetoric counts for nothing. I’m not a conservative by any means but what they did to Nixon is playing out exactly today 50 years later.
@@michaellazuka654 "They" didn't do anything to him...he did it to himself. Perfect example being his "...but it would be wrong." comment for the taping system regarding paying millions in campaign contributions to the plumbers to keep their mouths shut. They also had him dead to rights on obstruction, and income tax evasion. And no, Trump isn't a victim of "they" either. Like Nixon, he did it all to himself, and has no one else to blame for his troubles.
@@michaellazuka654 Oh, and speaking of the tapes...let's not forget all the vile racist and anti semitic remarks he made on those. Do you admire him for those too?
@@j.b.delaney3444Johnson was the very same. He was a true racist. And a womanizer with a filthy mouth. And many believe he was behind Kennedys assassination.
This guy Nixon was off the charts a political genius! Super intelligent man. One of our true best presidents that ever walked this planet. And yes I don’t give a flying F about Watergate.
The funny thing is his poor VP Agnew had to resign because of "kickbacks." Poor guy got vilified for the crime of being ahead of his time.🤣🤣🤣
If he were alive today they would probably give him a NOBEL for giving all those bridge construction workers solid high paying wages🤣🤣🤣 with their sweet slush enginering contracts.
I think by now most of us are mature enough to see Watergate as a coup run by the FBI and the Washington Post to replace the elected president. Seems to be something of a habit of theirs... 🤔
Oh you don’t care he shat on the Constitution and was a criminal?
We’ve got Nixon to blame for bringing China out of isolation and their strength today.
What a gracious well spoken gentleman..
A crook
Probably the very best thing FDR did was to have Truman as his last VP.
Harry Truman was said to be a particularly avid reader. I remember reading that he devoured every book in his hometown library.
Peoples who hate you will only win if you hate them back. And then you destroyed yourself.
You really don't appreciate what a Great President Richard Nixon was until he's gone. In retrospect; he's one of our Greatest Presidents ever. Truly remarkable individual.
If he was one of our greatest presidents ever, he wouldn’t have had to resign to escape impeachment and certain conviction.
@@williambowers2820exactly. He's not as bad as many people think. But he's certainly not as great as his supporters believe he was.
@@williambowers2820
BS, it's all politics, the Dems have done a lot worse when it comes to cover-ups and that fake Russian collusion hoax dreamed up by H. Clinton takes the cake.
I'm not a crook!
I do appreciate Nixon‘s greatness. His foreign policy was masterful. But his dark side was just as bad. Maybe the most interesting person in American history.
"Any kind of a system they want just as long as they dont try to impose it on us." In retrospect that is exactly what happened.
I am 59 years old Conservative and have voted Republican my whole Life. Truman in my opinion and I don't give a damn what anybody else thinks is in the top ten of Greatest Presidents ! Give'm hell Harry !
I was not expecting Nixon to be such an intelligent and thoughtful and a humble man, and I think that history has really been unkind to him and his presidency because of Vietnam and watergate. He was a World War Two hero and veteran who came from very humble beginnings and worked hard his whole life to get where he did and he made some really great strides in his diplomatic endeavors both during and after his presidency. I think he was one of our greatest presidents and leaders and he is totally underrated
Harry Truman was the one and only world leader who stood with Israel when they were a new nation. That alone, in my opinion makes him a a great man.
Extraordinary memory, eloquent speaker and very intelligent man.
RFK JR talks and converses like this. Extremely eloquent
That last statement: “education can strengthen the brain but weaken the back”. Never heard it like that. Simple, but impactful. I’ve always achieved & maintained both. Can’t say that I even came close to “making footprints on the sands of time”, but I have in countless little ways in my small corner of the world. Nixon was truly an elder statesman.
History is proving how great a President Nixon was.
It doesn't. Listen. I'm European. Nixon wasn't I guy i'd vote for but ok. He know your politics, had connections. He prooved to be a crook at hte and. At least he had the decency to step down. He screwed himself with watergate.
Be honest.
@thesaw9988 Nixon won 60% of the vote in '72 and carried 49 states. He was a great president, he got us out of Vietnam. He kept his word. Most politicians are crooks. It is what it is, he was great.
Be honest
I like listening to Nixon, but you have to keep in mind that there's a difference between one's words and one's actions. And furthermore, there's a line between being pragmatic and being unprincipled. He did cross that line, probably obliviously to the fact. When the ends always justify the means, the ends become ruined. Nixon wouldve made an excellent advisor, but when in power he was too willing to cross lines he shouldn't have.
It depends who you ask. As someone who lived through Watergate, I know precisely what Nixon did to this country. And he never apologized for doing it.
Needlessly and tragically prolonged the Vietnam War and shamefully retreated from his early and courageous support for civil rights, Chile, but some accomplishments were admirable
People say good things about people when they die.
I was a kid when President Nixon was in office. He was the fist person I heard use the word “pragmatic.” Fifty years later I learned a new word from him again, “ temerity.”
"Education can strengthen the brain, but weaken the backbone." Great quote.
Love these Nixon clips. He was & is underrated….
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I’m really enjoying these videos. Richard Nixon was much more impressive than I had been led to believe.
Sociopaths are very good at fooling people. Listen to the tapes. Educate yourself. 5 minute video clips from the Nixon Library don't tell you squat. Wake up.
Truman was a great president. A humble man and I'm so glad to be from the state as a Harry. Truly a man from Missouri.
I am British, and I was only eight years old at the time of Nixon's resignation. When I turned to politics in my student years, I became an ardent Thatcherite and strongly supported Ronald Reagan's approach to the Cold War. I opposed the detente approach to the Soviet Union and getting into bed with Communist China. Odd then, that over the years, I have read most of the published biographies of Richard Nixon. I now think his life story was one of the greatest political odysseys of the twentieth century. Like Churchill's career, it was filled with triumph and tragedy. I have to say that whilst I still count myself as being to the Right of Nixon, I very much came to like the man. I believe that he was a person of good intentions, and I think that it would have been fascinating to spend time in his company, particularly listening to his anecdotes. He was always quite gracious in interviews to his political opponents, certainly more than they were to him. Sadly, he suffered throughout his career from some pretty dreadful setbacks. The attempt to bounce him off the ticket in 1956, the stuffed election in 1960, the smear campaign in California in 1962, and the tiny margin of victory in 1968. Nixon overcame all of these challenges in the end, but it left him with certain insecurities. The results were disastrous and tragic. However, he redeemed himself in part before he died. Thank you for posting these insightful interviews. Please keep them coming.
So britiish. Now, Thatcher was actually good for your country. And no: I would not be a conservative in your country.
I can respect his politics, but Nixon was a crook. There is no way around that.
Good luck over there with your crisis of living thing.
Great comment.
What "stuffed election in 1960"? Anytime a Republican loses an election, their supporters claim voter fraud. He lost because Kennedy outperformed him in their debates, inspired the citizenry with his oratory and hopefulness and a majority of Americans were not fans of Nixon's McCarthyism past. Again, that's another Republican SOP claiming the country is being lead or attacked by a cabal of either communists or, in recent times, "the deep state". Stoking fear to try to scare Americans into voting for their party because most of their ideas have proven to be more detrimental to the common man than helpful.
I wasn't alive when Harry Truman was president but I admire a lot about him, his personal integrity, decisiveness, intuition, and his willingness to do what he thought was right even if he knew he would take grief from the press and people in his own party. Of course, his decisiveness was a bit of a double edge sword in that he didn't always think matters through that should have been pondered a bit more closely. He could also hold a grudge like few others and he did have a habit of surrounding himself with people who had no real qualifications and for placing them into positions they had business being in, Louis Johnson and Fred Vinson being classic examples. It was a habit of machine politics he picked up from his days with Tom Pendergast. He also had a bit of an authoritative streak in him but that was typical of New Deal politicians, a habit they picked up from FDR. But he read Stalin better than FDR did and the country dodged a major bullet when the democrat leaders selected him over Henry Wallace as VP. They knew FDR was dying and Wallace wouldn't have sold the farm to the Soviets, he would have just given it to them. Of all the democrat presidents Truman is by far my favorite, the only one in the 20th Century worth a damn.
As for Nixon's recollections, that was classic Nixon having selective memory. Nixon went hard after Truman in 1950 and 1952. It's to be expected, it's politics, but Nixon was an up and comer and he knew the best way to get ahead was to display a willingness to be an attack dog, especially when it came to communism. He was the one who exposed Alger Hiss and Dean Acheson, Truman's secretary of state was one Hiss's best friends, someone who wouldn't denounce him. That put a big bullseye on his back and by extension, Truman. Truman took it personal too. In 1960 Joe Kennedy called Truman in order to get him to endorse JFK. Truman didn't like Joe Kennedy and the feeling was mutual. Initially he was lukewarm about JFK and said as much publicly but after Acheson met with him Truman got on board. He said "Kennedy is young and inexperienced, but that SOB Nixon went around the country calling me a communist." Acheson appealed to Harry's grudge tendency to get him to back Kennedy and it worked. He didn't like any of them, but he liked Nixon the least. And Nixon wasn't too fond of Harry while Harry was alive. Like I say, this is typical Nixon revisionism. He was trying to get people to like him again after Watergate. He became quite gracious at that stage of his life.
The 1970s one-man play ‘Give ‘Em Hell, Harry!’ Is fantastic.
I really think that Nixon and Truman took the reins of power and rose from humble beginnings in such a remarkable fashion as to make me truly agog that we are now in such a leadership vacuum. Nixon’s paranoid demeanor tarnished his legacy but he did many great things as President. Truman as even more remarkable because he never lost sight of what was in the best interest of our Nation whereas as Nixon ultimately did not.
Truman was an artillery man in WW1 and was our only combat vet of the Great War who became President of the US as Ike was in during WW1, but wasn’t deployed.
Actually, Truman would go on to say the hardest decision he ever made as President was whether or not to get involved in Korea. The Atom Bomb was, in his mind, a no brainer because he had the option to possibly end the war with a few bombs and save thousands of Allied lives. Of course we can argue how much of an impact the Atom Bombs had in ending the war, but from Truman's perspective the only wrong decision was *not* to use them.
Most young people today would be astounded (or just puzzled) to learn that Truman spent years behind a horse and plough.
Intriguing.
I'd be more interested in what Truman thought of Nixon but you probably couldn't print it.
Nixon was very intelligent, and I can listen to him speak forever.
I really enjoy these videos and they have survived the test of time!
He made our history so interesting .
He was so careful, kind, and measured about how he spoke about anyone (friend & foe alike) publicly on camera it's almost humorous now.
A huge vacuum for that kind of dignity.
When one Listens to the Nixon Kennedy debates, wow were they so kind to each other, and so was Governor Reagan and Robert Kennedy when they appeared together in the 1960s. it is so funny to see such chivalry & Nixon resigned of his own volition, & the opposition let it go at that.
The Democrats & Republicans were both superiors animals back then.
Yep, sure enjoyed him waxing eloquent about how much he admired HT, a man he likely voted against.
Well that's just the way they did things back then.
Miss you bunches RN😢😢😢
the way they talked about the structure of government was a great deal more definitively than today. not as dumbed down.
The first time I voted was for him! Great man
I'm European so...
There is no chance i'd vote for him. We live in a real democracy. We are not that stupid.
Now, I do respect his politics and views in context of that era. Just plain stupid he had to blow it. I would have seen trough his bullshit instantly.
He was a crook, after all.
Charming! How rude you are. Whilst you are perfectly entitled to your personal opinion may I ask what gives you the right to be so offensive about an American President? I am British. I would love to know what perfect "real" democracy you hail from. Perhaps you would like to explain why the European Union has a parliament that cannot initiate or cancel legislation? Maybe you could let us know why the European Commission which governs the Union is not directly elected by the citizens of Europe? Finally, I would just like to remind you that whatever "real" democracy that you currently enjoy was probably bought and paid for in part by American blood and money.
Me too. Proud of it then…proud of it now.
Me, too.
Listen to him anytime he speaks.
Imagine if we could vote for someone as intelligent as Nixon in 2024. I am saddened on what our presidential options are these days compared to what we had in the past….
Even as a youngster in those days, it seemed to me that President Nixon and his postwar predecessors in the office -- although not perfect -- by and large carried themselves in that position of authority with judiciousness, dignity and wisdom.
I have never clicked on a video so fast!
The story later ccame to light that Truman reluctantly ran as FDR's VP with the understanding that FDR did not expect to live out his last term.
My favorite Truman saying "How many times do you have to get hit on the head before you realize who is hitting you?".
President Truman:
First to recognize Israel 1948
Integrated the Armed Forces 1948
Saved 1 million lives in August 1945
What a wonderful interview,President Nixon had great recall and spoke so eloquently of others.No self aggrandizing,so chest thumping,just a captivating man who spoke of other like friends,not enemies.Todays politicians could learn a thing or two on how to carry themselves from the former president.
He was very smart especially in foreign affairs. Though some of his domestic programs were visionary too. He initiated the “war on cancer” program in 1970
excellent!
Truman, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, and Ford were all congressional veterans when they became president, and the country was better off for it. They knew how the constitution was written, and they understood the balance of power. Biden and Obama also had similar congressional backgrounds. For a period, former Governors occupied the presidency; Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush 43.
So.... you US of Assholes proved to be non democratic?
Sure, politicians need experiance. Biden does. But by god, he is old. He is. Trump is too and he doesn't.
Great interview....Nixon was an excellent interview....
Trunks generally despised Nixon…interesting how respectfully he speaks about Truman and Kennedy. After leaving office Truman and his wife Bess drove by themselves across the country on a 2500 mile road trip. Until congress eventually gave presidents a pension and franking privileges, he was largely broke partly by answering everyone who wrote him and paying the postage himself.. great man on policy and principles.
He was a crook. Just like Donald.
As a European I don't give shit about your politics.
I read David McCullough's 'Truman' and believe he was one of the best Presidents ever. Richard Nixon is easily in the top ten.
I think I would be more interested in what Truman thought about Nixon.
Probably referred to him as a sonofabitch.
He was insightful intelligent man too!
These clips of Nixon are fantastic. Thank you !
We are blessed to have Nixon's perspective on such historical events... he was clearly one of the smartest and well-informed people on geopolitics...
It's time to stop judging President Nixon for one part of his life,and look at his overall body of work. He should have come clean about Watergate. Americans are a very forgiving people.
I could listen to President Nixon forever.
I was in the Army during Wwtergate. I had a great deal of respect for President Nixon as did every nation except the US. He was hated unjustly and railroaded. He stepped aside when he saw the affect that Watergate had. He was truly a great statesman. He has never gotten his due for his service to the country.
He wasn't railroaded. The tapes were smoking gun proof that he obstructed justice.
Absolutely, thanks for your comment.
Nixon didnt hate Truman in 52, he was just an opponent to be defeated to win an office, but Truman took it personally. Politics is like a boxing match sometimes, if you cant take the punches, dont get in the ring.
Nixon got what he deserved but these interviews showed he was a very bright man who could communicate his ideas very well
He was an individual with strong character and a goal of serving the American Public. He had to make very hard decisions and strived to do the right thing. Education means having acquring knowleedge. You do not have to go to college to become educated. I once discussed education with an English professor. I asked her who she considered the most knowledgeable local person on philsophy. In an area that abounded with college graduates, she said it was an individual who operated a piece of moving equipment. She said he was constantly reading about the subject, and sought opportunities to discuss it with knowledgeable people. He had no formal education on the subject. In upstate New York, and lady spent her life around Beavers. Wildlife Specialists visited her to obtain information about these animals social characteristics.
I must admit, even though I was a kid, and too young to vote, I would have voted for Nixon back then. I think history gave him a very narrow view. There was a lot more to the "Nixon years" than Watergate.
“Nobody could fill Franklin Roosevelt shoes but Harry Truman made his own footprints in the sands of history.” I well and truly miss the days when politicians had that kind of mastery of the English language. That was poetic, profound and most articulately said. Nowadays, we get stuff like “Roosevelt had big shoes. They were very big. He had really big shoes. … Harry Truman tried to fill them. He also had big feet. This is true. He had really big feet. He couldn’t fill up those shoes though. So he stood on the sand. He made footprints on it. Very big footprints on it. The best footprints on it. And it was historical. Very very historical. Hugely historical. If I had been there, I would’ve said ‘you know, that was very historical.’” we have declined as a country. That’s a fact.
Nixon really showed respect for his contemporaries of the time. It was the Media that he did not respect. And rightfully so. They treated him cruelly and unfairly long before Watergate.
It wasn't the media he burgled...
That man's mastery of the English language, and the fluidity of his explanations, are very impressive... I wonder if the people in charge at that time felt it too. If so is it what made him so " dangerous " for some? honest question.
@250LM4me I believe he did. But that's not the point ... Every important topic and legacy should be weighed and structured at that level of historical testimony.
And this avoids the amazing stupidity of some of today's illiterate, history-ignorant, média trained.... people.
We can FEEL that he knew what he was talking about, he was able to do it for hours.
He was not in charge anymore, and didn't have to wear a mask
And probably wanted to leave something behind him about himself that was not a political circus act.
Obviously, very few succeeded in history. Very few.
That is at least what I feel watching and listening to so many documents about him.
I don't know if it's faked, ( I Don't think so ) But even if it was, it would be exceptionally well done and executed.
So for eternity, he will remain this man. Good work.
See what Truman thought of Nixon….oh boy!
Best comment on Nixon when he ran against Kennedy came from Ike when asked what great ability Nixon had to qualify him to be president - "Give me several weeks to possibly think of one" !
If Nixon hadn't approved Watergate, and stepped back from mass bombing Cambodia, he would have walked out as one of the very best presidents. His diplomatic negotiations with China and the USSR helped end the Cold War in two decades. He is given little credit for that leap because, in the end, a tree falling makes more noise than a growing forest.
Im thinking nixon did not find out about watergate until its was over then he tried to help his friends cover it up. ?
Living American history. Fascinating. So glad to see this...🙂
Richard Nixon will go down in our history as one of the greatest presidents of the last century. No one else even comes close. His words here -- about a man who was in many respects his political enemy -- are both perceptive and wise.
He's at the bottom of all the 20th century President's lists. Hoover on a few, Nixon at the bottom of most of them. See, that's what happens when you're a CRIMINAL.
A lot of people despised Nixon, but one thing has to be granted him: He was unmatched in the eloquence of his extemporaneous speech.