So last time, if you remember or where we left off, we were of 1164 president ial election and the 68 midterms. And today we move on and are reading from evan on chapters nine and ten, which really takes sort of into the 68 campaign. And by the end of this class, Richard Nixon will be the president. So weve been waiting a long time to get to that point since january so to recap from last time, 64 was a terrible year for republicans. One of the four great landslides of the 20th century where arizona senator Barry Goldwater lost was defeated. Incumbent president Lyndon Johnson. So a terrible year for republicans. Conservatives. However, call it a great year. 1964. And remember, we talked conservatives were democrats, conservatives were republicans. They were divided. Its different than it is. The parties are configured. And in 64, if youre a conservative and still are a few goldwater conservatives around and we asked them today kind of talk to about 64 they dont talk like that. They went over the cliff with goldwater. They get the sort of twinkle in their eye and the smile. And this was a wonderful year to be a conservative. It was really the year that conservatives exerted themselves. Not only did they get a true conservative, but have nominated for the first time in modern u. S. Politics. But they realized that rather than be divided in the two parties, some of us are democrats, some of us are republicans. So the nomination of goldwater was a signal to conservatives that they belonged in the Republican Party in the future. And so it began process started earlier, but it was important, especially in 64, with Strom Thurmond switching parties from the democrats to the republicans. Former actor Ronald Reagan came out and endorsed a prominent Democrat Labor union leader going back to the forties and the fifties, endorsed goldwater and had as famous a time for choosing speech, which is interesting. You could watch it on youtube. Its about 30 minutes long. So we dont have we cant watch it in class. And it began the process of the political winds gradually shifting in the south. And today we find in another shift that we dont have the perspective yet to see going on. So after goldwater, the south begins to shift. Republican and today Something Else is going know, i think is georgia going to remain republican is is virginia going to remain republican . And its started earlier. Remember, eisenhower won virginia times in 52, eisenhower, nixon, eisenhower, nixon in 1956, one louisiana. So it really began chip away at the Traditional Democratic south, which was a stronghold. And so 64, again, a terrible year for republicans, a great year for conservatives in terms of their in the future. And then 66, the lopsided loss by republicans. 64 they almost gained they gained back almost everything. They lost in 64 during the midterms and 66 in terms of the house, in terms of the senate, in terms of governors, in terms of state house seats, coast to coast democrats still in charge, democrats held the white house with Lyndon Johnson. They still controlled the house and the senate after the 66 midterms. But republicans had made it considerably close and erasing the losses of 64 and and Building Momentum as they move toward 68. And so thats where we begin today, as we know from from previously, nixon had a good life in new york city for the first time he was making money. He wasnt a public official practicing law, a named partner at one of wall streets most important white shoe law firms with some of the biggest clients. You could have of any law firm in the country. Right around the corner from from street in Lower Manhattan in new. And i think as much as he wanted to get back the arena, as he called it, into politics, his wife, pat nixon, happy to be away from politics his daughters for the first time, had a kind of normal childhood, if you can call that normal. Having your dad as Vice President living in manhattan around the corner from central park. But they were you know, they were teenagers. They were reaching teenagers late, teens, early twenties, like many you an important age to be able to be creative and have time and grow intellectually. And so really the first time in their lifetimes being born of the 1940s anything approaching a family that that was normal or had any kind of consistency to it yet nixon said and i think it was in Pat Buchanans book, the greatest comeback and also cited otherwise that he thought within a few years he would be he would be dead intellectually, hed the practice of law didnt stimulate and ultimately he would be dead physically if this went on for too much. So i think he was eager to get back into politics. So testing the waters in 64 and it didnt really go anywhere. 66 becoming a more prominent out of office, but campaigning for hundreds of republicans and accurately predicting the wins they had that that fall and racking up all kinds of favors be cashed in later. You know, should he make and you if you if you hustle around the country and take photo ops and campaign with house candidate and Senate Candidate and win. You know, they remember that you were there for them and you rack up all kinds of political favors to be cashed in later. So the decision to run in 1968 was not an easy one. And try for a moment, to take yourself out of 2024 and put yourself in the perspective Richard Nixon and say 67 or 68 campaigns, then were shorter. Theyre not like now where it seems like campaigns never end. We have we have an election today and the new Campaign Begins tomorrow. It seems like today it was different than campaigns began about a year in advance or so. So a president ial campaign in 68 would really start just before New Hampshire primary in 68, january, february is when you really have to make up your mind because you have to either collect signatures or get on the ballot in those primaries, you know, similar today with was 2024 the sort of gamesmanship of of even for incumbent President Biden. And for donald trump theres a certain gamesmanship shape about which primaries do you really invest in heavily which ones do you campaign personally . Where do you pick and choose and strategize . And so nixon very much in that situation at 67, i think wanting to get back in, but also wanting make a reversible decision should he change his mind and and not just pen as he did in 1964. And so this was i tell this story a bit in my last book, which came out in the fall, which is on the 68 election. So im going to go the reading here a little bit. Nixon decides late 67. He doesnt know what to do, and so he retreats to key biscayne florida, kind of one of the very first keys in, the florida keys, one of the northernmost ones just sort of south or, southeast, i guess, of miami and a separated by a causeway still there today. A beautiful place to go. Great for a tennis fan. Theyve got a big tennis there, beautiful lighthouse and state park system that you can walk down to. That was all there during nixons time. And thats he wanted to reflect kind of away from the city. And he he had had friends in south florida like, baby raposo and, senator George Smathers was a democrat, but a moderate who always welcome nixon to and visit in key biscayne. And this is a picture of of the compound that that nixon stayed at when he was there, kind of the front and the back. And it w i remember i went there a few years ago, was around 2011. And you could they actually were tearing lot of these old orian homes were being torn down and mansions were being built in their place in 2011, when i drove by, it was sorof they tore down both homes. It was sort of a double lot, huge sort of italian mansion, which out which is kind of a shame but inevitable and youre standing where where you see the front of the house here. If you could stand to the side and see where the the ocean is, the bay right on the right side. What you would see today is this dramatic skyline of amlike right there, like south miami. So its a really impressive place to be. I mean, its striking when you visited it in 2011, when i drove by, anytime im in the area, kind of drive by and see whats new in that neighborhood that houses were gone, but the president ial helipad that was done during presidency was still there, which is kind of off to the side, you know, down here. So thats really the o lt artifact thats left from that time period where nixon went to go retat in late in 67. And i think really didnt know what to do. Remember, he had lost he had lost narrowly for the presidency in 1960 in the narrow victories, believe it or not, are really the tough ones, because anything you could have done, you question yourself much more. You know, if youre defeated decisively, theres a lot less. What if going on like if id only done this or id only done that. But when you lose narrowly that sticks with you forever. You know, if id only made one more trip to the east coast or one more trip to some primary, i knew i cut short, you know, the close ones are really tough. The Humphrey Campaign talked to the humphrey people for the book, 68. For them, that is really tough because its really it sticks with you and you continue to sort of fight it in your own mind. Like, why did we lose like that was unfair. So that was nixon in 60. That was really emotional to lose. Hed never lost before in politics and in 62, losing in more humiliating fashion as we discussed before for the california governorship, that was a more decisive loss. Nixon at that point was a loser. In politics, you dont usually come. Politics does not guarantee a second act. In fact, its rare you get a second act. And so nixon even his own party, was considered a loser. I think nixon thought himself that he was not only a loser, but nixon in his own memoirs. So i was a sore loser. By 68. Remember that whole last press conference thing he did in 60, 62 . Gentlemen, youre going to have nixon to kick around anymore. I he could he called himself a sore loser. His own memoirs, which is not usually a place to look for. Criticism of someone in their own in their own writings. And so he really doubted himself. And 67 he thought he wasnt sure that he could survive a third loss. You know, what would that put the family through . And also, history showed wasnt there no precedent for this i you could look and more recent history tom dewey running twice you could for the Republican Party and losing both times you look at Adlai Stevenson in 52 and 56 and the Democratic Party losing twice. Youre done after two losses. Usually you dont even get a second chance. I mean, even in more modern politics, its very rare that a defeated nominee, no one thinks, oh, theyll think theyll have another chance in four years. No. Moving on, you know, and in both parties and you know, you have to go back a ways. You could go back to like eugene debs, the socialist candidate who ran four times in the opening years of the 20th century, including in 1916. Hes the closest parallel. If donald trump were to be convicted and go to jail. And im not suggesting thats a great possibility but in 1916, Woodrow Wilson major debs ran from jail and he was still won a million votes with a lot population. So if you run for office and go to jail. You still have a path forward, you know, potentially. So can be redeemed. But, you know, maybe William Jennings bryan is an example. Beginning in 1896, he ran a handful of times. He was a democratic nominee but never had redemption and never actually won, but was the nominee. Several times, beginning in 1896. So it wasnt clear nixon was was going to have a path. So hes down in key biscayne, thinking, what do i do . And he doesnt know what to do. So he calls his friend reverend billy graham. Graham, the picture first picture ill show you is later, 68. This is a graham had a a a crusade rally. You can almost see at the very last letters of the word pittsburgh. So theyre at the stadium in pittsburgh. And so nixon says to graham, i dont know what to do, whether i should run. Would you please come down and counsel me on his decision and this is a fascinating part of the story that wasnt on the Public Record until my book came out. So the grahams allowed me to use Billy Grahams diary in this book, and its the first book to use the diary. And the diary is fascinating. Its what i do in the book is not fair. Its really sort of the edge, the tip of the iceberg. So died in 2018 at age 99 and the diary has verbatim content with president s, their staffs and their top of and families beginning. 1950 with harry truman to barack obama in 2014. Think about that for a second content of conversation. I would say its part scrapbook, part diary, some part of its handwritten or like a traditional diary. Some part of it is was dictated and then typed up later. Im going to show you a page, a couple of pages from that today of the 68 campaign, which was used in the book some part of it might be it might be like a white house lunch menu where graham might have scratched something on it. In his handwriting, the president said to him or something that he said to the president , but this is a unique resource on the presidency thats not in the national archives. Hes not in any president ial library. So youre going to be hearing if you follow president or politics or history at all, youre going to be hearing more about this diary. So enough about that. Graham comes down and and assumed that nixon was was going to run. Why wouldnt you . I mean, you dont have to be a complete cynic like me to believe that politicians work so hard to acquire power and the chance to maintain power. They dont give it up until. Its clawed forcefully away from them. I mean, lbj is a good example. I mean, lbj was not or was not going to give that up unless he really had to or unless he doubted himself and graham. So graham came down the. Trouble with graham is so says come down and advice and counsel me on what to do and graham says i cant not well enough to travel. Graham canceled all of his schedule. He had viral pneumonia. He went to atlanta to receive an award and he checked into the to a holiday inn just outside of atlanta. And he was going to stay there for as long as it took to feel better. He no, im not well enough to travel. Ive canceled my whole schedule. Im not even going to go home. He lived outside of charlotte, North Carolina, until get better. And so nixon said nixon said, i will send a private plane and i need you to come to key biscayne like this is important. And so graham wrote his diary Something Like, well, i guess theres things are more important than health. And so graham, Graham Graham goes down and and ill come back to that just in just a minute. Graham is important for another reason, as nixon makes his decision in late 67 a couple of months hannah nixon hannah nixon died. This is actually i dont have a photo from mrs. Nixons funeral because obviously shes in this. This is when frank nixon died. And 56, the brothers the youngest editor escorting, their mother here in uniform. And foreground, two months before hannah nixon had died. So frank had passed away in the fifties when nixon was Vice President. And in 67, in the fall, hannah nixon died. And hannah nixon was the one more than anyone else. Graham also who encouraged nixon get another chance to run. You have to do it. You know, dont dont give up. And a lot of sort of writers of nixon will refer to this is kind of like the voice of hannah, like at certain moments in nixons career. So the voice of hannah, which might actually have been her voice or something inside of him, you know, that inspired him to keep going and. So graham helped to officiate at her funeral in 67 and was there and like Hannah Graham said, youre going to get another chance. Now, graham. Graham believe that nixon nixon was still young. I mean, in 67, he was he was he was 54 years old. Just turned 54. So certainly its very young by todays standards of politics on either side of the aisle. So nixon had nixon had the luxury he, unlike most politicians of he could wait. He could choose his political timing to make a reentry to politics. So graham came down and officiated. And like hannah i think nixon felt after her death that that he something in his mind told him that he had to do it for her. He had he had to run for her as a way of kind of redeeming that she didnt live to see him run again. But i think i think thats a factor in his thinking at that time. So, graham at the time, were going to go back to graham. Graham at the time was really closer. To two lbj. That was the next photo here. I skipped over before. This is graham and johnsons oval office in september 1968. They were similar in lots of ways. And we talked about johnson before, not really being a true southerner, really being in the family, concern of being more southwestern. And when he was born in 1908 in Gillespie County and in texas that was a weird place in the south to be from high german men, it was less baptist than the rest of the south. It also meant it was open to outsiders and foreigners and people who are not southern. It was not pro confederacy or pro slavery. It was it tried to stay out controversy, but really it was against those things. I mean, its a sort of unique enclave johnson came from and made him than a typical democratic southerner. Going to be easy for us to stereotype what it means to be a democrat from the south, the conservative and johnson doesnt quite fit that very well. And thats similar to Graham Grahams from North Carolina. So also sort of the fringes of the south part of the country. Remember eisenhower. Nixon got virginia twice and louisiana, both parts of the fringes of the south that were beginning to come into play politically and possibly shift to republican side. Graham considered himself to be a lifelong democrat, but that didnt mean thats