Richard Nixon is one of the most hated figures in American politics; and I think that he gets a bad rep. He did things that both the Left and the Right should be grateful to him for. On the Left, he started the EPA, opened the door to China and replaced the conscript military with a professional military. On the Right, he made the South a Republican territory, greatly strengthening the stance of the Republicans. And on both sides, he kept the nation on a mostly constitutional path when it was losing its head in the far-left direction. Personally he had admirable traits, such as grit and willingness to work very hard, and he dearly loved his wife.
Bill Clinton, like Nixon, is also seen as a bad person. However I would venture to say that he was a better husband than most men who wanted him deposed. If Hillary Clinton had been with a “redneck,” she would have been a pregnant and barefoot punching bag and most likely would not have survived the first five years of the marriage. Instead she was with Bill Clinton, and she became the most powerful woman in the world.
Now there were things that were wrong with both men. However I take issue with people being maligned as much as both have been. That is especially the case with people who worked as hard and did as much for the country as did Nixon and Clinton. Clinton was personally corrupt? Much less so than a quarter of American men who rape their children. Nixon was politically corrupt? Much less so than Exxon or Westboro Baptists. Now it may make sense to hold leaders to a higher standard than others. However most people who impugn Clinton are worse than hypocrites, and the same is the case with many who impugn Nixon.
Having myself being much maligned – including the latest, a ridiculous claim made on the Internet that I assaulted a police officer – I see in this behavior the worst traits in humanity. The people are feeling like they are better than the other person when they are not. Now maybe the men who attacked Clinton's behavior did not cheat on their wives, but many of them did much worse things than cheat on their wives. Many of them beat their wives. Many of them raped their children. As for Nixon's Watergate scandal, how many private businesses are there out there that do crooked things?How many communities do crooked things? How much crookery is done in law, courts and mental health?
So it is time that this behavior be challenged. Most people who attack Clinton and Nixon are not better than either one; they are worse. And I would much rather be dealing with Clinton or Nixon than with them.