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David Holzman's avatar

Nixon was a complex and difficult personality. He lost two brothers before he was out of the house (out of five brothers including him). His father was never satisfied with his accomplishments when he was growing up--and he worked hard for the family store as well as doing well in school. That weighed heavily on him.

My father hated Nixon, and got a lot of enjoyment out of hating him. Both of my parents were trained economists, and my father was an expert on the Soviet economy. I was 7 during the presidential election of 1960. We lived in Seattle, and my best friend there was this kid Ralphie, whose grandfather was a founder of Nordstrom, and whose mother was interior decorator to the rich and famous of Seattle (including Erlichman).

One day my mother was driving with me and Ralphie in the car, when I said to Ralphie, referring to Helen Gahagan Douglas, who was Nixon's opponent in a Congressional race, "you know, Ralphie, you really shouldn't vote for Nixon because he called that lady in California something like an economist."

My mother LOVED telling that story.

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TCinLA's avatar

I Laughed Out Loud at that one, David.

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David Holzman's avatar

Somewhere up above, my mother has a big smile on her face!

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David Levine's avatar

the only thing about that story I don't LOVE is that it obscures the shit Nixon actually DID in that campaign...y'know, the pink postcards, etc.

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