Richard Nixon (1913 to 1994) was a controversial figure throughout his life. Yet, his political career is amazing. He was a national candidate in five elections from 1952 until 1972 (two time vice presidential candidate and three presidential candidate). Only Franklin D. Roosevelt has tied that record with one vice presidential nomination and four presidential runs. Nixon was elected to the House in 1946. He moved up to the Senate in 1950. At just 39 years of age he ran for vice president with Dwight Eisenhower heading the ticket. Here is a fairly common jugate from the 1952 race. Although some Republicans made some noise about dumping Nixon from the ticket in 1956, he survived. Here he is with Eisenhower in 1956 on a flasher button, which was an innovation that year. Nixon lost a close race to John F. Kennedy in 1960. In what would become one of his bad habits, he picked a running mate who did him little good. Henry Cabot Lodge came from Massachusetts, the same state as John F. Kennedy. There was little chance that he would help Nixon win Massachusetts, and Lodge proved to be a lethargic campaigner. Lodge was a great public servant, but he was not a great asset to the Nixon campaign. Nixon ran for Governor of California in 1962. He thought that it would give him a platform to run again in 1964, but it turned into a disaster. He lost the Edmund "Pat" Brown who is recent California governor, Jerry Brown's, father. Nixon blew up at the press, calling them biast. He declared that it would be "My last press conference." Nixon came back as "the new Nixon" in 1968. He won the Republican nomination. In another even worse vice presidential selection, he chose Maryland Governor, Spiro Agnew, to run with him. Nixon ran for reelection in 1972. He was the odds-on favorite, yet he got involved in the coverup of what he accurately described as a "third-rate burglary" at the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. As the Watergate scandal deepened, it was learned that Spiro Agnew had been taking bribes from Maryland contractors for years. He was even taking bribes when he was vice president. Ultimately it was revealed that Nixon had tapes his his conversations in the Oval Office. This would provide the evidence for his forced resignation. This button, from the early 1970s, refers to Nixon's 1950 Senate run against Helen Gahagan Douglas. His campaign started a whispering campaign when she was called "The pink (communist leaning) lady." Nixon continued to publish books as an "elder statesman," but to many he was crook how lied while he was in office. I have many other Nixon related buttons if anyone is interested.
