The Richard Nixon Litmus Test

I’m unlikely to be the first person to make this observation, but I can’t help but think we should start submitting politicians to the “Richard Nixon Litmus Test” before running for office.

I make this suggestion after consuming two bits of media over the weekend.

First up was David Mendell’s excellent piece about disgraced former Chicago governor, Rod Blagojevich, in last week’s New Yorker. Here are the two key quotes:

“Blagojevich was also fixated on Richard Nixon. Powell said that he argued passionately that Nixon was persecuted in office by the media and by his political foes. ‘He had a real intellectual fascination with Nixon’s determination and lower-middle-class up-bringing,’ Powell said.”

“Wiretaps later revealed that, while speaking to aides, he compared himself that evening to the disgraced Nixon, ‘It’s good to get reaffirmed by the people. That means a lot to me and… cuts into the depression,’ he said. But still, he felt ‘almost like Nixon after he was reelected – fucking angry the next day, depressed, people were leaving, and, and I was kinda get stuck into this…four-year deal.’

Next up was Michael Cockerell’s fine portrait of Conrad Black for Radio 4’s Profile series. This is how he concluded his look at the disgraced tycoon:

“Like his two great heroes, Napoleon Bonaparte and Richard Nixon, whose biography he wrote, the Lord Black of Crossharbour is not an easy man to put down.”

Granted, Blagojevich’s hasn’t yet been found guilty of fraud (though he was impeached), and Conrad Black was released on appeal after serving two years of a prison sentence for fraud; still, I think the fundamentals of the idea hold up: if a politician or public figure expresses an admiration for Nixon – thinks he was misunderstood/unfairly treated – we should probably view that person with a little suspicion.

With that in mind, why then don’t we cut to the chase and simply ask politicians what are their feelings about Richard Nixon before they run for high office? It could save us all a lot of time in the long run.

We could kick off the “Richard Nixon Litmus Test” with the Labour leadership candidates. It shouldn’t throw up any surprise but, you never know…

I’ve tweeted at all the Labour leadership candidates to find out what their thoughts on Richard Nixon are. I’ll let you know if they get back to me.

On a side note, I see the Blagojevich is using the same defence team that R Kelly used in his  child pornography trial a few years ago. I’m hoping his lawyers use a few moves from that trial’s playbook in their closing arguments which come today: namely the fabled “Shaggy defence” (“it wasn’t me” read more here) and given that much of the prosecution’s case rests on wiretaps, perhaps they could pull out an audio version of the “Little Man Defence” too (read more here).

Recent Posts on Eagle Eye - Breaking views from Independent commentators -

• Tunnel, light at end of
• Paul Volcker stands tall against the banking lobby
• "Not growing inequality"
• A defence of competition in health care
• Prime Ministers shopping