YORBA LINDA, CALIFORNIA: RICHARD NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, Part 2,Nixon's Legacy

The second half of 1973, the first year of Nixon's second term, was very rocky. Watergate hearings got underway in July, and in November Nixon delivered his "I am not a crook" speech. In May 1974 impeachment hearings began, and on August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned the Presidency.

I expected that a large section of the Presidential Library would be devoted to the Watergate Affair. There are 2,719 hours of White House recordings covering conversations from February 1971 through July 1973 available for listening, and besides, the word "Watergate" has become synonymous with "Nixon." However, there was room after room of other Nixon-related memorabilia before we got to the Watergate display.

It's pretty common to have a re-creation of the Oval Office in Presidential museums, but this is the only replica of the White House East Room.  It is not just a pretty room, however. It can be rented for wedding parties. Was Nixon a party animal? From what  I have read, it sounds like he hated parties, but he felt compelled to give a lot of them--and to micromanage every detail.

I loved the room full of displays related to Nixon's international connections. This structure protects the shipping box that brought the one of the first giant pandas, a gift from the People's Republic of China, to the U.S. in April 1972:

They were named Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, and we Americans fell in love at first sight.

A piece of the Berlin Wall stands before a model of Moscow's St. Basel's Cathedral. Nixon looked over the Wall and made a speech there in 1969:

Nixon looks over the Wall from a platform.  Photo from here.

NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: RICHARD NIXON AND ELVIS PRESLEY

A few months ago Bob and I visited the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California and I saw once again this famous photo of Nixon and Elvis Presley:

The National Archives gets more requests for permission to reproduce this photo than for any other image, including the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution.

Elvis had written a five-page letter to Nixon requesting a meeting. He wanted to talk about his desire to be appointed to the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs as a "Federal Agent-at-Large." It wasn't that he wanted to join the fight on drugs; rather, he hoped to have a badge that would allow him to carry all the drugs and weapons he wanted to with impunity. Nixon invited Elvis to the Oval Office on December 20, 1970. Either Nixon believed Elvis's claim that he wanted to be a force for good in the fight against illegal drugs, or Nixon was just plain star struck. It's hard to believe, but Nixon got him the badge.

Elvis came dressed for the occasion in a purple velvet jumpsuit, a cape, and a heavy gold chain, and he brought Nixon several gifts, including a silver-plated World War II-era Colt-.45 pistol that, along with Elvis's letter to Nixon, is on display in the Nixon Library.

We Americans have a weird fascination with Elvis. In some ways, he was the Justin Bieber of his day--a pretty boy gone a little crazy.

The other day I ran across a wonderful poem that hooks Elvis up with another American icon: Emily Dickinson. A more unlikely pair is hard to imagine, but then Tricky Dick and Elvis weren't exactly running in the same social circles either.

EMILY DICKINSON AND ELVIS PRESLEY IN HEAVEN
by Hans Ostrom

They call each other 'E.' Elvis picks

wildflowers near the river and brings

them to Emily. She explains half-rhymes to him.

In heaven Emily wears her hair long, sports

Levis and western blouses with rhinestones.

Elvis is lean again, wears baggy trousers

and T-shirts, a letterman's jacket from Tupelo lHigh.

They take long walks and often hold hands.

She prefers they remain just friends. Fover.

Emily's poems now contain naugahyde, Cadillacs,

Electricity, jets, TV, Little Richard and Richard

Nixon. The rock-a-billy rhythm makes her smile.

Elvis likes himself with style. This afternoon

he will play guitar and sing "I Taste a Liquor

Never Brewed" to the tune of "Love Me Tender."

Emily will clap and harmonize. Alone 

in their cabins later, they'll listen to the river

and nap. They will not think of Amherst

or Las Vegas. They know why God made them

roommates. It's because America

was their hometown. It's because

God is a thing without

feathers. It's because

God wears blue suede shoes.

Finally, here is an added bonus, a reading of the poem by the poet himself:

YORBA LINDA, CALIFORNIA: RICHARD NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, Part 1, Nixon's Career

Richard Nixon's combination of brilliance and paranoia makes him, at least for me, one of the most fascinating politicians in America's history. On a recent visit to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, I learned a lot more about Nixon's career.

YORBA LINDA, CALIFORNIA: RICHARD NIXON BIRTHPLACE

The Nixon Library and Birthplace was dedicated in July 1990. We have lived just 50 miles away during the twenty-four years it's been open, but we had never gone to Yorba Linda for a visit. A few months ago, we finally rectified that problem, and now we are wondering what took us so long.

As indicated by the name, the museum is built on the property next to the home where Richard Nixon was born.

The walk up to the house passes by the very simple graves of Pat (1912-1993) and Richard (1913-1994):

"Even when people can't speak your language,
they can tell if you have love in your heart."

"The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker."