Richard Nixon as a Comic Figure

Author(s): Stephen J. Whitfield

Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, Special Issue: American Humor (Spring, 1985), pp.
114-132
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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RICHARD NIXON AS A COMIC FIGURE

STEPHEN J. WHITFIELD
BrandeisUniversity

IN THE ENTIRE SPAN OF AMERICANHISTORY, ONLY TWO MAJORPARTY CANDIDATES

havesoughtthepresidency
or vice presidency
as oftenas fivetimes.Bothmen
werevictorious
fourofthosefivetimes.OnewasFranklin
D. Roosevelt.Theother
wasRichardNixon,whohasbeenthemostinescapableAmerican
politician
ofthe
era aftertheSecondWorldWar,virtually
a serialcharacter.
If a voterhad been
forty-six
yearsold or youngerat thetimeof Nixon'sresignation
fromofficein
1974,in onlyone electionwas theopportunity
to casta ballotforor againsthim
unavailable.
Thepurposeofthefollowing
is nottoanalyzethecontribution
remarks
toissues
andpoliciesthatRichardNixonmadeas congressman,
vicepresident,
and
senator,
Theagendaheadvocated,thelawshehelpedwriteorsoughttoenforce,
president.
theactualimpacthe madeuponthebodypoliticare notdiscussed,noris any
ofthecriticism
intended
depreciation
longuttered
againsthiscampaigntactics,his
orhissenseofsocialjustice.Nothing
foreign
policyinVietnamandelsewhere,
in
thisessayis to be understood
as minimizing
thethreat
civillibertarians
believed
was themeaningof Watergate
and its cognatecrimes.Instead,I wishto draw
to onlyone peculiaranddistinctive
attention
facetofRichardNixon'scareer:his
statusas a comicfigure.
It is doubtfulwhetherany postwarAmericanpolitician,or even any chief
executivein ourhistory,
everevokedso muchmirth-muchof it angry-as he.
inourtwocenturies
Perhapsnootherfigure
ofexperimentation
inself-government
tickledso extensively
and so intensely
thefunnybonesof theelectorate.To be
sure,he has enjoyedatleastone advantage
deniedtopresidents
priortotheeraof
massentertainment.
Humoris nowa largerindustry
technically
sophisticated
than
it was in thenineteenth
whichis a statement
of quantity,
notquality.
century,
and recordshave vastlyextendedthe
Radio, television,movies,photographs,
outletsthrough
whichcomedycouldflourish.
inthe1960s,
Moreover,
beginning
satirecouldbecomemoredirect,moresavage,andmoreexplicitly
cruel,without
fearof censorship,stigma,or punishment.
Such opennessalso enlargedthe
possibilitiesforhumordirectedspecificallyagainstpublicservants.Yet these
factorsdo notin themselves
accountforNixon'sspecialplace in thehistory
of
politicalhumor.

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

115

in certainquarters,
especially
Franklin
D. Rooseveltarousedintensehostility
amongtheupperclass. Yet muchof theviciousnessthathe inspired,and which
form(indoggerel,forexample),couldneversurfaceon
humorous
tookostensibly
campaigns,intheconversation
grounds
oftaste,andwasexpressedinwhispering
inparlorsandcabanas.The satiricattackson LyndonB. Johnson,
ofressentiment
oftensadisticandscatalogical-andexpressed
wereopen,unabashed,
bycontrast,
Performances
ofBarbaraGarson'sMacBird,withitsinsinuawithutter
impunity.
wereuninterrupted.
toassassinatehispredecessor,
hadconspired
tionthatJohnson
withtheshrapnelof satirists
flyingeverywhere,
In sucha vitriolicatmosphere,
inhumororindissentcould
ofexpression
onwhatconstituted
freedom
restrictions
no longerbe imposed.
as RooseveltandJohnson;
and
Nixonmanagedtostiratleastas muchanimosity
of satire
manifestations
thathe provokedevenmoresignificant
itis myargument
can be madewithNixon's
andparody,
jibes andjokes. Herea briefcomparison
ofhimas unableto
description
successor,whocouldneverquiteevadeJohnson's
or dodge ChevyChase's buffoonery
on
walk and chew gum simultaneously,
orNixon,GeraldFordwas
SaturdayNightLive. Yet unlikeRoosevelt,Johnson,
Rockefeller
was locatedin
(indeedVice President
rarelyperceivedas threatening
the
one VillageVoiceheadlineas "only a bananapeel away" frominheriting
andhisnationalcareerwas fartoobrieftochallengeNixon'spreemipresidency)
entwined
with
nenceas a comicfigure.IndeedNixon'sowncareerwas strangely
and a satirist,in a way thatno previous
the attacksof a politicalcartoonist
everwas.
president's
Block.In
was,ofcourse,Herbert
Thecartoonist
whodoggedhimso tenaciously
Post,HerblockdrewNixonforthe
1948,twoyearsafter
joiningtheWashington
first
in Puritan
costume,burning
time,showinghimwithtwoothercongressmen
as thoughshewerea witch.By the1952campaign,Herblock.
theStatueofLiberty
NixonwithSenatorJosephMcCarthy,
whomthecartoonist
made
was associating
eponymousby coiningthe term"McCarthyism."Herblock's ascriptionof
thatpublisher
toprint
PhilipGrahamrefused
guiltbyassociationwas so indignant
of Herblock'searlierwork(thoughhis material
thecartoons,usingonlyreprints
was syndicated
in othernewspapersthroughout
the campaign).Grahamsoon
acknowledged,
however,thatHerblockwas "the mostgiftedpoliticalcartoonfavor.Duringthe1954
istofourtimes," whichmeantrestoration
tothepublisher's
appeared,
campaignperhapsHerblock'smostfamous-or notorious-cartoon
showingNixonmakinga campaignstopby emergingfroma sewer.The vice
to the Post, primarily-helater
presidenthimselfcancelledhis subscription
who "were reachingan
claimed-to sparethe sensibilities
of his daughters,
impressionable
age."'
Post: The First100 Years(Boston:HoughtonMifflin,
'ChalmersM. Roberts,The Washington
1977),275, 303, 326, 340; Herbert
Block,Herblock'sHereandNow(New York:SimonandSchuster,
1955),45; TheodoreH. White,TheMakingofthePresident1960 (New York:Atheneum,
1961),266;
Clear (GardenCity,N.Y.: Doubleday,1980), 240, 385;
HerbertG. Klein, MakingIt Perfectly
RichardM. Nixon,RN: TheMemoirsofRichardNixon(New York:GrossetandDunlap,1978), 163.

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116

AmericanQuarterly

Post has
of theWashington
"In all of Nixon'scareer,"thechiefchronicler
foe";
observed,"he probablyneverhad a moreimplacableor moreeffective
upon
theirmostlastingimpression
formed
andindeedcountlesscitizensprobably
as theveryimageofthe
lookingintoHerblock'sNixon,thedarkjowls serving
first
of Herblock,"RalphNader
sinister."I can'tthinkof Nixonwithoutthinking
once admitted;and Nixon himself,once asked about his newspaper-reading
by lookingat Herblock,"
habits,confidedthathe "wouldn'tstartthemorning
as thoughunconsciouslyechoingBoss Tweed's objectionsto "them damn
pictures"by ThomasNast. Like Herblock'sdepictionof McCarthy,like the
created,hisNixonalways
oftheatomicbombthatthecartoonist
figure
monstrous
possibletowonderif,inovercompensaseemedinneedofa shave.Itis therefore
due to his "Lazy
tion,Nixon'sappearancein thefirstdebatein 1960 suffered
to Kennedy'sgraceunder
in contrast
withperspiration,
Shave" powderstreaked
afterNixon'selectoralvictoryof
televisedpressure.In anyevent,immediately
1968,Herblockdid a cartoonshowinghis ownoffice,witha barber'spole and
seal. A sign was also hung:"This
shavingmug embossedwithPresidential
oftheUnitedStatesa FreeShave-H. Block,
ShopGivestoEveryNewPresident
Proprietor."2
was entitledto onlyone, however.
believedthatthepresident
The proprietor
Duringthe 1970 campaign,Nixon was showngivingdirectionsto his vice
whowas aboutto descendintoa sewer.(SpiroAgnewin factmadea
president,
Herblockas a "masterof sick invective.")Nixonhimself
speechdenouncing
was less oftendepictedas a grimydead-endkid, but increasinglyas the
of
Such portrayals
and all-of theimperialpresidency.
incarnation-epaulettes
Nixonwereat thecenterof an oeuvrethatStephenBecker,in his ComicArtin
America, considered "the best . . . political cartoons thatthe countryhas ever

seen."3
asked
questionthatwasearnestly
Nixonneverdidmanagetoeludethepersistent
of him:"Would youbuya used car fromthisman?" Its sourceis obscure,but
paprikaon thetimorous
to MortSahl, who sprinkled
has oftenbeen attributed
inthe1950s.The lineitselfbecameso
ofpoliticalsatirehehadinherited
tradition
description
as inDickGregory's
on itseemedeffortless,
thatvariations
celebrated
lookedlikethesortof
of theothermajorcandidatesof 1968: HubertHumphrey
manwhowouldactuallybuya usedcarfromNixon,Wallacelikethesortofman
hadtiredofhumor;andas political
whowasabouttostealit.By 1968Sahlhimself
thanever,hecouldnolongersummon
lifeseemedtobecomemorephantasmagoric
him
andNixonstruck
ofJohnson
ofwit.Thepresidencies
resources
hisformidable

Post, 399-400; Nixon quoted in StefanKanfer,"Editorial Cartoons:

2Roberts,Washington
Block,Herblock'sStateoftheUnion
theEssence," Time,105, 3 Feb. 1975,63; Herbert
Capturing
(New York:Grossman,1974), 98.
Post,412; StephenBecker,
3Block,StateoftheUnion,104; AgnewquotedinRoberts,Washington
ComicArtinAmerica(New York:Simonand Schuster,1959), 334.

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

117

as too gruesomeforhumor.WhileNixonwas president,

Sahl commented,
"it
onlyhurtwhenhe laughed"(emphasisadded).4
Sahl was undoubtedly
alludingto theDubious Achievement
Awards,which
EsquireMagazinepresented
in 1961. Thesephotosandcapannuallybeginning
tionsand squibswerelargelythecreationof staffer
David Newman(laterthe
co-scenarist
ofBonnieand Clyde[1967] andSuperman[1978]) and artdirector
RobertBenton(theotherauthorofBonnieandClyde,as wellas thefuture
director
ofKramerv. Kramer[1980]). In thesubsequent
twodozenyearsoftheDubious
Achievement
Awards,themostpopulartargetforEsquire's satirists
has been
Nixon,aboutwhomreadersare usuallyasked to wonder:"Why Is This Man
Laughing?"In the totalnumberof appearancesin thisannualfeature,only
ElizabethTaylorhas comeclose-and sheofcoursehadto sharebillingwithher
husbandsand reputedlovers.5
Yet all thosephotographs
ofNixon'sfacecreasedin grinsandguffaws
cannot
disguisea paradoxinhisstatusas a comicfigure.Itis widelyconcededthatNixon
himselfdoes notoverflowwithwit,and no etymologists
have claimedthatthe
phrasejoie de vivrewas invented
todescribehispersonality.
The number
ofjokes
abouthimvastlyoutstrips
thenumber
tohim.UnlikeCalvinCoolidge,
attributed
forexample,Nixonat leasttriedtoexudean airofjoviality;and,perhapsbefore
thecarapaceof statesmanship
fullyenvelopedhim,he was funnier.
In theearly
yearsof theirmarriage,
Pat Nixonhas recalled,
noneofus hadmuchmoney. .. so we wouldjustmeetatsomeone'shouseafterskating
andhavefood. . . andthenwe wouldsitaroundand tellstoriesand laugh.Dick was
alwaysthehighlight
oftheparty
becausehehasa wonderful
senseofhumor.
He wouldkeep
everybody
in stitches.Sometimeswe wouldevenact outparts.I willneverforget
one
nightwhenwe did "Beautyand theBeast." Dick was theBeast,andone of theother
mendresseduplikeBeauty.Thissoundsrather
sillytobe tellingitnow,butinthosedays
we wereall veryyoung.... It was good, clean fun,and we had loads of laughs.6

Herethepublichas hadtotakeMrs.Nixon'swordforit;fewothershavebeen
todiscern
herhusband'santicdisposition.
witerupted
privileged
Kennedy's
flashing
so naturally,
hisperspective
on lifewas so tingedwithdetachedirony,thatBill
Adlercouldbottleitandmarket
itin a postassassination
anthology,
TheKennedy
Wit(1964). Itsbestselling
successmadesuchvolumesde r~gueur
thereafter.
In the
lastcoupleofdecadesinparticular,
politicians
havebeenexpectedtoamuseevenif
theycouldnotinspire,leadingAdlerto claimthatevenNixon'scareerrevealed

4Joseph
Boskin,Humorand Social Changein Twentieth-Century
America(Boston:BostonPublic
Library,1979), 96; MortSahl, Heartland(New York:HarcourtBraceJovanovich,
1976), 99-100,
143.
5PhillipMoffitt,
"Twenty-One
DubiousYears," Esquire,97, Jan. 1982, 7.
6Patricia
R. NixonquotedinJoeMcGinness,TheSellingofthePresident1968 (New York:Trident,
1969), 7.

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118

AmericanQuarterly

senseof humor,a sharpwitand a uniqueabilityto bringlaughter

"a delightful
toaudiencesandfriends."YetwhenAdlerfeltobligedtoeditTheWitandHumor
helpedby the
ofRichardNixon(1969), its thinnesswas notevenmeasurably
inclusionof Nixon's acceptanceof the 1968 GOP nomination-aspeechnot
GarryWills's
incompensation,
As though
one-liners.7
foritsabundant
memorable
(1982) is as glum
Imprisonment
studyof TheKennedy
andunderrated
insightful
as his earlierNixonAgonistes(1970) is packedwithsardonic
and remorseless
In thelaterwork,Willsrecountsan incidentthatalmostsankNixon's
thrusts.
the
contributions
tolistparticular
candidacyin 1960. Askedat a pressconference
beggedfora weekto
Eisenhower
hadmadeto theadministration,
vice president
thatthe
to repairthedamagebysuggesting
Nixonattempted
thinkof something.
president was "probably" being "facetious," to which Wills jibed:
"Quite a card,thatIke." (The scholarof Hebrewmightadd thatthebiblical
root of "Ike" -Isaac-means "he shall laugh.") Yet generallythe comic
spirithas seemedso inaccessibleto NixonthatHunterS. Thompson,theenfant
sauvageof politicaljournalism,could not "imaginehimlaughingat anything
butcouldn'tquitereach
whowantedtovoteDemocratic
exceptmaybea paraplegic
the leveron the votingmachine."8 Asking"Sock it to me?" in a celebrated
a refreshing
hailedas an epiphany,
segmentofLaugh-Inin 1968 was therefore
thatNixoncouldmakefunof himself.
revelation
Here theimpacthe exertedon thenation'sstockpileof humorcan best be
Nixon fromtwo of his predecessors.Abraham
understood
by distinguishing
thananyonebefore
moreribaldry
provoked
probably
LincolnandLyndonJohnson
Nixonin largepartbecause of theirungainlyappearance,theirgawkinessand
ofregionalfolklore,
creatures
fantastic
homeliness.Bothweredepictedas rather
from
Texas wereeither
fromIllinoisand thecowboy
and thebackwoodsman
The
careersofboth
coarseness.
becauseoftheirwestern
orfoundrepellent
relished
over
which
warfare
theypresided,
wereindeliblystampedwiththeagonyofthe
Lincoln
invoked.
to
the
humor
they
lendinga tragicorvenomousedge
sometimes
teller
as
an
effective
but
joke
ofcoursewas notonlyan avidconsumerofjokes,
devote
an
an
biographer
could exhaustive
well;andperhapsofno otherpresident
did
thecomicspiritLincolnembodied,as CarlSandburg
tolimning
entirechapter
and
frame
striking
Lincoln's
lanky
inAbrahamLincoln:The WarYears(1939).
notonlyin
Yetitis tooeasilyforgotten,
werethedelightofcaricaturists.
features
of
Johnson's
piety
also
because
oleaginous
Warbut
wakeoftheVietnam
thebitter
of
camera
out
he
could
be
range.
(Some
funny
howscatalogically
on television,
TheBestand theBrightest
[1972]).
inDavidHalberstam's
examplesarerecorded
in
Indochina
his
provoked
while
policy
seemedso easytocaricature,
His features
outrageand appearedcloakedin suchdeviousness,thatin
suchunprecedented
1969),7, 109-128.
7BillAdler,TheWitandHumorofRichardNixon(New York:PopularLibrary,
1970),
Mifflin,
Wills,NixonAgonistes:TheCrisisoftheSelf-MadeMan (Boston:Houghton
8Garry
123-24;HunterS. Thompson,TheGreatSharkHunt:StrangeTalesfroma StrangeTime(New York:
Summit,1979), 185.

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

119

"These are thebest

1968 JulesFeiffercould speak forhis fellowcartoonists:
dayssinceBoss Tweed."9
thebestwasyettocome.
however;
was somewhat
premature,
Suchexhilaration
candidatefor
glancemighthaveseemedan implausible
atfirst
YetNixonhimself
he was notassociatedwithregionalfolklore
ridicule.UnlikeLincolnorJohnson,
as
manyAmericans
Cartertalkedstruck
ora Jimmy
orhumor.Thewaya Johnson
in
amusing;andevenKennedy'sBostonaccent,as VaughnMeaderdemonstrated
not
did
Nixon
his album,TheFirstFamily(1962), could be maderisible.Yet
oflocalcolororpungency
anda personaso bereft
anyregionalpeculiarities;
betray
David
Frye."It tookme a
madehimthesupremechallengeforimpressionist
it
the
a longtime
country
"but
took
remarked,
longtimeto getNixon," he once
withthe
begun
have
generally
own
of
acts impersonation
to getNixon." Frye's
"has
announcer's
who
a
radio
with
Nixon,
difficult
voice. This was especially
and youcan'tpickoutanyhighsand
evennessof speech,verywell modulated,
I
have
tried."ThevoicelevelFryereached
do
wouldn't
him,
lows.IfI hadn'thadto
PeckandMartinLuther
used
for
the
one
he
Gregory
be
same
as
outto the
turned
Nixondistinctiveto
make
characteristics
concoct
other
to
Frye
King,requiring
'0
butalso devilishly
funny.
notonlyrecognizable
byhisveryblandness.Itmightnothavebeeneasyto
Nixondefiedlampooning
as without
styleor soul,hisforced
manyobservers
mocka politicianwhostruck
genialitycamouflaginga suspectedemptinesswithin,the eagernessof the
"chronic campaigner"coincidingwith an icy ambition.Consider,for inpassages:
stance,thefollowingdescriptive
[Nixonseems]thekindofkidwhoalwayscarrieda bookbag.Whowas 42 yearsold the
andhe
Nixongota briefcase
forChristmas,
dayhewasborn.. . . Otherkidsgotfootballs
doneandhe'dneverletyoucopy. . . . He looks
lovedit.He'd alwayshavehishomework
withhis
andhejumpsoutinthemorning
likesomebodyhunghimin a closetovernight
aroundsaying,"I wantto be President."
suitall bunchedup and startsrunning

Andhereis a secondopinion:
Nixonused to look,on claspinghis handsin frontof him,likea churchusher(of the
himfromchurch)."
who wouldtwista boy's ear afterremoving
variety

by Roger Ailes, who helped

The firstof thesepassages is an observation
conceive and executethe Nixon televisioncampaignof 1968. The second
in toneor perspective-isfroman opponent,
bastinado-barelydistinguishable
Introd.,to LBJ Lampooned:CartoonCriticismof LyndonB. Johnson,eds. Sig
9JulesFeiffer,
Rosenblumand CharlesAntin(New York:Cobble Hill Press,1968), 10.
of RichardNixon,LyndonJohnsonand OtherHeroes,"
perfetta
'"RoyBongartz,"DeformitA
Esquire,75, Feb. 1971, 74.
"RogerAilesquotedinMcGinness,SellingofthePresident,103, 108;NormanMailer,Miamiand
theSiege ofChicago(New York:Signet,1968), 44.

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120

AmericanQuarterly

on theidiomof theastronauts
thatthey
NormanMailer,who once commented
[to] say anything
moreinterappearedresolved"not underanycircumstances
estingthanRichardNixonwouldsay in thesame situation.'12Nixonseemedto
and stiffness
thatinviteddeflation.His foesregardedhis
exudea priggishness
oftediousness,
so devoidofthethesparkleofpersonalas a touchstone
utterances
itythathisconversation
would,in H.L. Mencken'sphrase,"make a barberbeg
"
formercy.
SinclairLewis,torpedoed
Suchdullness,whichwouldnothavedefeated
a play
itssubjectnotas a kind
likeAnEveningwithRichardNixon(1972),whichpresented
hustler.
ofBabbittreduxbutas a cynical,hypocritical
Perhapssensinghowbanal
GoreVidalencasedthemwithina setting
Nixon'swordsactuallywere,dramatist
andKennedyto suggestnotonly
Presidents
Eisenhower,
involving
Washington,
and
thedeclensionoftheRepublicbutalso tosuggesthowfullyNixon'scharacter
tacticstypified
contemporary
politicalconduct.The formof An Eveningwith
unlikevariousone-manshowsthathave become
RichardNixonis notentirely
popularin recentyears,in whichthewisdom,charm,and witof certaindistinextendedsoliloquys.YetVidal'splay,
aredramatized
guishedAmericans
through
fromthehistoricalrecord,differs
drawnlargelythoughnotentirely
fromHal
Holbrook'sMark Twain, or HenryFonda's ClarenceDarrow,or JamesEarl
TheodoreRoosevelt,in thatit is
Jones'sPaul Robeson,or JamesWhitmore's
wouldimmediately
haverecognizedas "the
groundedin whatMurrayChotiner
buttoarouseridiculeand
denigrative
method."Itsaimis nottoinspireadmiration
to demonstrate
thatNixonhad hardlybeenuniquein his
disgust.By attempting
hiscareer,Vidalwas
thepietiesthatseemedtohavemarked
shadiness,
byspoofing
sordidandunworthy.
This
showingthepoliticalsystemitselfas sanctimoniously
ofpatriotic
Gore.Yet at leastthesignificance,
if
playwright
soughtno sobriquet
nottheartistic
meritor historical
weight,of his workshouldbe noted.Neither
beforenorafterAn
dramatist
soughtto
EveningwithRichardNixonhasa reputable
careerforpurposesofderisionrather
use a documentary
approachtoa presidential
thanuplift.'3
Like Vidal,thedocumentary
filmmaker
Emilede Antonioprovidedno ruffles
inhisexhumation
ofNixon'scareerinMillhouse:A WhiteComedy
andflourishes
his
(1971). IttootriestobarbecueNixoninhisownwordsandactions(bydepicting
ofNixon'sappealas anobject
Itsreleaseagainrevealsthesingularity
clumsiness).
filmsabout presidential
careersare ordinarily
of satire,in thatdocumentary
orpreserved
andareshownat adulatory
conventions
in
nominating
hagiographic
Herethenewsfootageis editedtoexposeNixoninhismost
libraries.
presidential
He turnsouttobe not
buttheeffectis somewhatnumbing.
disturbing
moments,
quiteas oafishor foolishas Antonioappearsto believe,noras sinisteras the

'2Norman
Mailer,Of a Fire on theMoon (New York:Signet,1971), 109.
'3Seealso AmramM. Ducovny,ed., I WanttoMakeOne ThingPerfectly
Clear: TheIlluminations
ofRichardNixon(New York:Ballantine,1971).

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

121

senatorial
subjectofthefilmmaker's
earlierdocumentary
on theArmy-McCarthy
of
PointofOrder(1964). The relentless
hearings,
Nixon'sslips
fidelity recording
of thetonguemayevenbe cruelenoughto elicitsympathy.
Millhousetakesforgranted
Nixon'sunattractiveness
ofpersonality,
hisabsence
ofmagnetism
andredeeming
Thistoois a noteworthy
personaltraits.
ofthe
feature
humor
anda paradoxofhiscareer.Forso successful
hehasinspired,
a politician,
it
is remarkable
how littleaffection
even amonghis associatesand
he generated
admirers.
Nixonhas seemedill suitedforhis work;on thebasis of personality
haveexpectedthattheelectorate
alone,hecouldhardly
wouldpromisehima Rose
Garden.ForAmerican
politicshastypically
beena contactsport,bearinga special
kinship
toprofessional
withmuchgrunting
andscreaming
wrestling,
andheaving,
butnobodyreallygetting
hurt.Itsplayershaveunderstood
itas a game- sometimesevena con game-in whichgenuinehostility
andunappeasablerancorare
since theplayerswill be back nexttimeand
usuallyfutileand dysfunctional,
perhapssomesideswillbe switched.Politicshas therefore
to its
rarelyattracted
ranksthose who seethewithideologicalor personalhatreds,withtake-noprisoners
virulence.The muckraker
LincolnSteffens,
forexample,was charmed
by theroguishbosseswhomhe wishedto expelfromcityhalls. In facthe liked
thembetterthanthe reformers
who were his allies, but who rarelyincluded
in theirrepertoire.
affability
Nixonhastherefore
beenrather
uncommon
amongAmerican
politicians,
forhe
was a "loner" whose sensibilityat worstseemed "black Irish," atrabilious. WhenG. GordonLiddycame out of an earlymeetingimpressedby his
thatshouldnotbe acceptedas a credibleportrait
capo's "personalwarmth,"'4
of thepresident
buttakenrather
as proof(ifanywerenecessary)of Liddy'sown
bizarrenature.For all theviciousnessFranklin
Rooseveltunleashedamongthe
wealthy,
he evokedfargreateraffection
and even adulationin otherprecincts.
Nixonnevercommandedsuchpersonalloyalty,
however,and it maynotbe too
daringto suspectthathis lack of "personalwarmth"has helpedto ensurethat
thecomicattackson himwouldbe unrestrained.
David Levine,whomaywellbe one ofthemosttalented
caricaturists
whohas
everlived,hasmadeita practicenottomeethissubjectsoutoffearoflikingthem
("I lose my act thatway"). That worrymay have been unwarranted
in this
butinanyeventa specialanimuswas injectedintohisspitting
particular
instance,
imagesofNixon.Levine'slampoonsofJohnson
shedding
crocodiletears,andthen
of a crocodilesheddingLBJtears,maybe better
knownthanhis impressions
of
Nixon,buthis drawingsof Johnson'ssuccessorare nevertheless
executedwith
suchdemonicenergythatthereis something
aboutsuchindignation.
exhilarating
. As
Likeallcaricaturists,
Levinehasbuiltupontheexaggeration
ofcertain
features
Roy Bongartzhas pointedout, Levine's Nixon is markedby "a darkened

'4G. GordonLiddy,Will:TheAutobiography
ofG. GordonLiddy(New York:St. Martin'sPress,
1980), 125.

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122

AmericanQuarterly

shadingofthelowerface,andespeciallybysmall,hoodedeyes.He comesoveras
especiallyheartless
by theadditionof teeththatLevinemakesa bitsharperand
The incisorsmake Nixon look especially
morepointedthannormalteeth."15
noseis also disproportionate;
theski-jump
maleficent
(notthecase withJohnson);
theeyesarenotevenvisible.EvenifoneknewlittleaboutNixon's
andsometimes
policies,therewouldbe something
scaryaboutLevine'sdrawingsof him.
havebeengenerated
The mosteffective
cartoonsofNixon,however,
bypresiofgrapesinsupport
ofthe
dentialpoliciesandactions.Duringthenationalboycott
of DefenseincreaseditspurUnitedFarmWorkerscampaign,theDepartment
withthefruit,
chasesofnonunion
grapes.LevineshowedNixongorginghimself
withgrapes.AftertheNationalGuard
nextto a pig whosemouthis also stuffed
killedfourstudents
at KentStateand Nixondenounced"bums" whoprotested
on collegecampuses,thecartoonist
violently
depictedhimleadinga firing
squad,
he pointedly
hissingtheword"bums." Duringa majorantiwardemonstration,
refusedto meetwithitsrepresentatives,
watchinga footballgameon television
instead.LevinedrewNixonand Agnewwatchingit, surrounded
by toybuses,
whilebehindthetelevisionset was a hugemoundof corpsesand coffins.'6
oftheeyebrows
overthepiercing,
Thedarkness
ofthelowerface,thethickness
withWatergate.
Levineportrayed
threatening
eyesseemedtobecomeheightened
inTheExorcist(1973),tiedtohisbed,foullyscreaming
himas theprotagonist
as a
hismouth;thefigure
is expelledfrom
is a spookymini-Nixon.
He gloatingly
figure
therepublic,the
plungesa bombintothebreastof a femalefiguresymbolizing
sharkish
grinstillonhisface.Dollarbillsfloatfromhiseyesandmouth,as though
Levinehad takenthe advice that"Deep Throat"gave to Bob Woodwardto
is shownas MarlonBrandoin The Godfa"followthemoney."The President
ther(1972). He is shownas CaptainQueeginTheCaineMutiny
(1951), nervously
on thewitnessstandtohis
thesteelballsinhislefthandwhiletestifying
fingering
loss ofcommand.Afterthepresidential
Levinesuperimposed
on the
resignation,
otherwisebenignand open face of Nixon's successorthe familiarscowl and
hisfoot-a gesture
Onecaricature
hasNixonpetulantly
surliness.
Levine
stamping
has acknowledged
has depicted
takingfromAdolfHitler,whomthecartoonist
is notrendered
without
becausethetruly
monstrous
moreso through
exaggeration
of inflation.'7
to Nixon.
Thatmaybe scantcomfort
techniques
of manyotherpoliticianshave been so lethalthathis
Levine's caricatures
to
attheNewYorkReview
editors,
principally
ofBooks,shouldhavebeenprepared
nextofkin.Nixonmadehimself
notify
conspicuouswithina muchwiderfieldof
theinterest
of someonewhosefamewas
targets.Yet he was also fatedto attract
exclusivelybased on harassingNixon'scampaigns.The merrypranksof Dick
in 1950, whenhe positionedhimselfas an
Tuckbecamelegendary,
beginning
"5Bongartz,
"Deformitaperfetta,"74, 75.
DavidLevine'sPoliticalPlank(Boston:Gambit,1970),8, 11,
"6David
Levine,No KnownSurvivors:
16-17.
17David Levine,The Artsof David Levine(New York: AlfredA. Knopf, 1978), x, 196-200;
Bongartz,"DeformitA
perfetta,"71.

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

123

campaignagainstHelen GahaganDouglas. Tuck

advancemanin thesenatorial
ofCalifornia
campus
a rallyattheUniversity
was,ofcourse,a mole.He organized
to students
at SantaBarbara,pickinga dayanda timeofmaximalinconvenience
on campus(seatingcapacity4400).
thelargestauditorium
and commandeering
intentionshowedup tohearTuckhimselfdeliversomerambling,
Fortystudents
thatalso raisedquestionsabouthis candidate's
openingremarks
allynarcoleptic
Voorhis.
Jerry
forrock-'em,sock-'emtacticsagainstRepresentative
reputation
thatNixonwouldaddressthe
thespeakerbyannouncing
FinallyTuckintroduced
MonetaryFund.'8
topicof theInternational
toimpeding
Nixoncampaigns-forexample,
todevotehimself
Tuckcontinued
ofthesizeofrallies.(Gauging
toprovidelowestimates
byposingas a firemarshall
artanyway;theKennedycampjokinglycounted
crowdsis admittedly
animprecise
thenunsand multiplied
by a hundred.)Tuck wouldwhisperto bandleadersat
songwas "Mack theKnife," so
Republicanralliesthatthecandidate'sfavorite
thepearlyteethofa
wouldbe greetedwithlyricsdescribing
thatNixon'sentrance
candidatewent
sharkwho's backin town.In 1962theRepublicangubernatorial
intotheChinatown
sectionof Los Angeles,wherehe was facedwitha signthat
proclaimedin English:"WelcomeNixon." Yet in Chineseideogramsthesign
asked: "What about the Hughes loan?" (a referenceto the loan thatthe
had Tuck's
Donald). So formidable
had givenNixon'sbrother
multimillionaire
ofbuttons
arrivedfora
forpranksbecomethat,whena hugeshipment
reputation
1968ethnicrallyin New Yorkurgingin severallanguagesa voteforNixon,the
Kleinto ordertheirdestrucnearbypresenceofthepuckishTuckcausedHerbert
tion.Unableto readGreekor Chineseor Italian,thecandidate'spresssecretary
decided not to take any chances-though in this instanceTuck was quite
11
innocent.
thatthe
Nixontriedtogetevenat thePressClub in Los Angelesbyremarking
dress.Yet Nixon,
lasttimehe had seenTuck,he had beenwearinga Nixonette
fecklessas everat badinage,was toppedby Tuck's reparteethathis lips were
forever
sealed. He promisedneverto disclosehow Nixonfoundoutthatit was
formofretaliation
was a kind
costume.Another
indeedTuckinsidetheNixonette
of1972of
campaigns
ofimitation:
theemployment
theDemocratic
primary
during
had conDonaldSegretti
(theItalianwordfor"secrets"). Segretti'scredentials
sistedofdisrupting
campaignsinthecampuspoliticsoftheUniversity
opposition
includedlettersto
of SouthernCalifornia.Segretti's1972 fakesand forgeries
andHenryJackson.
toHubertHumphrey
imputing
sexualmisconduct
newspapers
Suchnastyvariations
on Tuck'sthemesresultedin a jail sentenceforconspiracy
and fordistributing
falsecampaignliterature.20

"David Felton,"The Buggingof Mack theKnife,"RollingStone,11 Oct. 1973, 29.

withKennedy(New York:PocketBooks,
'9lbid.,30, 31; BenjaminC. Bradlee,Conversations
1976), 19; WilliamSafire,Safire'sPoliticalDictionary(New York:RandomHouse, 1978), 296.
20Felton,"Bugging of Mack the Knife," 32; Carl Bernsteinand Bob Woodward,All the
President'sMen (New York:Simonand Schuster,1974), 126-27, 149, 152-53.

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124

American Quarterly

invitedridicule;therigidandsanctimoniousness
Nixon'spersonaofstuffiness
attracted
thedartsof
field
that
was like a magnetic
ityof his publiccharacter
madea careeroutoftwitting
Tuckwas a symbiotic
jesterwhovirtually
deflation.
so blithea spiritthatattheconclusionoftheChicago
Nixon.ForAbbieHoffman,
forlaughing,
prisonsentence
Sevenconspiracy
trialhe receiveda twenty-one-day
When
.
Hoffman's
wife
extension
ofhisdailyactivities
teasingNixonwasa natural
sent
a
birth
announcegavebirthto a sontheynamedamerica,thehappycouple
mentto theWhiteHouse, in thenameof Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Hoffman.An
you
embossedcardcame back: "Presidentand Pat Nixonwishto congratulate
theAssociatedPressof
informed
on thebirthofyournewbaby."AfterHoffman
Ron Zieglerdeniedtheclaim.
theFirstFamily'sgood wishes,PressSecretary
studyconcludedwas an exhibitionpsychological
Hoffman,
whoma government
in
and declared:
theWhiteHouse card frontof reporters
ist, thenbrandished
told
lie."2'
a
"This is notthefirsttimethatbastard's
forprevarication
was a merepreludeto theextraordinary
pheThatreputation
commonlydescribedas a "caper." The illegal
nomenonknownas Watergate,
thatfollowed,andthe
thecover-up
headquarters,
entry
andbuggingofDemocratic
ensuredthat
restof the"WhiteHouse horrors"thatwererevealedor intimated
forthe
be knownprimarily
Dickwouldhenceforth
nicknamed
thepolitician
Tricky
meant
that
with
It
satire
was
not
also
tricks"
associated
Watergate.
"dirty
theFinalDays
nightbutwouldrunthrough
thatwouldclose Saturday
something
thatthecreativity
weretheeventsas theyunraveled
So farfetched
andthereafter.
off-the-wall
comedianswas dwarfed.
of eventhemostfar-out,
A couple of generationsearlier,Will Rogers could modestlyassertthat
"thereis no creditin beinga comedianwhenyou have thewholegovernment
workingforyou."22Yet evenhe was handicappedby nothavingon his payroll
gap on a crucialWhite
AlexanderHaig, whospeculatedthattheeighteen-minute
House tapewas due to "some sinisterforce"(perhapsa veiledallusionto his
Commanderin Chief afterall), or the tabulatorsof an "enemies list" that
expertsin the
includedBarbraStreisandand Joe Namath(whomthegridiron
fortheNew YorkGiants),or Billy
identified
as a quarterback
Nixonentourage
occurredbecauseChristian
Graham,whoexplainedthatthecrimesofWatergate
foreven the most
Americanshad notprayedenough.It seemedtoo fantastic
tohaveconcocted.P.J.O'RourkeoftheNationalLampoonhad
inventive
satirists
in havingvotedforNixonin 1972, asserting
shownmuchforesight
therefore
withoutshame: "My livelihoodwas at stake." Art Buchwaldbeamed long
new,"
afterWatergate
that"Nixon was myCamelot.Everydaywas something
in thepaperlikethe
see something
he reminisced.
"I'd wakeup in themorning,
evengoingtotheoffice.I'd be
18-minute
tapegap,andwritemycolumnwithout

2'AbbieHoffman,
Soontobe a MajorMotionPicture(New York:G.P. Putnam'sSon's, 1980),222,
262.
22Rogersquotedin "The ThirdCampaign,"Time,76, 15 Aug. 1960, 42.

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

125

onthetenniscourtby10o'clock.Itwasbeautiful-itranfora year,andyoudidn't
haveto makeanything
up." MarkRussell,whosereputation
forsatirewas until
1973largelyconfined
to patronsof Washington's
ShorehamHotel,has recalled:
"The day RichardNixonresigned,I wept.I had to go backto writing
myown
material."A Feiffer
cartoonfrom1973showedanurbanite
plaguedbyanonymity
anddisesteem,whoselifebrightens
onlyat nightwhen,snuggledin front
ofhis
televisionset, he can have thewaves of Watergate
revelations
him.23
over
lap
Feiffer
was notonlydepicting
thecitizenry.
He was also representing
thenation's
satirists,for whom (in Wallace Stevens'sformulation)
"in the presenceof
extraordinary
consciousnesstakestheplace of imagination."
actuality,
Yetevenreality,
no matter
howimprobable,
cannotbe apprehended
as without
a framework
form,without
ofpreconceptions
andemotionsalreadyshapedbya
ofvaluesandexperience.WhatdidNixonin, andsentsome,ifnot
combination
mentojail without
all,thepresident's
passinggo, wasnottheactualbreak-in
atthe
of theopposition,northeassortedviolationsof civilliberties,
headquarters
nor
policiessuchas theillegalandsecretbombingofCambodia.Itwas theenormous
effort
expendedtolie aboutsuchdeeds.Had Nixonandhisaidesnotattempted
to
"cap the bottle," but insteadhad admittedwrong-doing,
had the president
himself
expressed
contrition
fortheillegalactsoftheplumbers
andtheirsuperiors,
it is widelyconcededthatthepublicoutcrymighthave subsided;Nixonwould
have remainedin office.Likewise,had the tapes been destroyedso thatthe
cover-upcouldnothavebeenproven,theweb of lies thattheWhiteHouse had
spun would not have ensnaredhim. More fatefulthanthe illegal acts themthatsurrounded
them-summarized
in theterm"Waterselves,themendacity
to thepresident'stenurein officeand to the
gate"-proved to be devastating
of his leadershipin a presumably
authority
open society.
Watergate
couldbe widelyperceived-andsatirized-intermsof truth
decay
becauseofthereputation
forsneakinessandhypocrisy
thatlongdoggedNixon's
politicallife.Neverat wit'send,Adlai Stevensononce observedthat"Nixon is
thekindofpoliticianwhowouldcutdowna redwoodtree,thenmountthestump
fora speechon conservation."
Soon thereafter
an evenmorepartisan
Democrat,
HarryTruman,told Merle Millermorebluntlythat"Nixon is a shifty-eyed,
goddamn liar, and people know it.

. .

. I can't see how the son of a bitch even

carriedone state"in 1960,since"he doesn'tknowhowto tellthetruth.I don't

think
thesonofa bitchknowsthedifference
betweentellingthetruth
andlying."
Nixon,whowas one of theonlytwoAmericanpoliticianswhomTrumangenuinelyandvehemently
despised,hadpromisedduringthe1960television
debates

23O'Rourke
quotedin FranzLidz, "WinningThroughDenigration,"JohnsHopkinsMagazine,
31, June 1980, 16; Buchwald quoted in JimBall, "Buchwald: 600-WordCartoons,"Boston
Phoenix,9, 30 Sept. 1980, 15; Russell quotedin WilliamGildea, "That CapitolComic, Mark
Russell!" Townand Country,
135,Nov. 1981,244, 344; JulesFeiffer,
onNixon:TheCartoon
Feiffer
Presidency
(New York:RandomHouse, 1974), n.p.

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AmericanQuarterly

withKennedyto ban suchlanguagefromtheWhiteHouse ifhe wereelected.24

erashowed
deleted,theWhiteHousetapesoftheWatergate
Evenwithexpletives
promisehad beenkept.
howpoorlythatparticular
abouttwohundred
A British
journalist
quippedthatithadtakentheAmericans
whocouldnottell
whocouldnottella lietoa president
yearstogetfroma president
Carsonjoked that
Johnny
thetruth.A couple of yearsafterthe Bicentennial,
"wheneveranyonein theWhiteHouse tellsa lie, Nixongetsa royalty."25
One need notbelievethatthefallof manoccurredat thetimeof Nixon'sfirst
1969, or thatcandorand honestyhad been universally
inauguralin January,
thepowerofthecomic
in theWhiteHouse untilthen,to acknowledge
respected
oftheNixonadministration.
Indeed,thenotionofNixon
thrusts
atthedishonesty
seemedso incongruous
andcomplicity
hisownresponsibility
honestly
accepting
thattheNationalLampoon'salbum,The MissingWhiteHouse Tapes (1974),
Nixon admits,"I am a crook."
elicitslaughterwhentheactorimpersonating
happensif a Cretansays thatall
Even theclassical logicalconundrum-what
took
whenoneofthepresident's
pistoleros
Cretansareliars?-was short-circuited
To theroutine
thewitnessstandin 1973beforeSenatorSam Ervin'scommittee.
thewholetruth
question("Do yousolemnlyswearto tellthetruth,
preparatory
so helpyouGod?"), GordonLiddygavean answerthat
butthetruth,
andnothing
was notroutine:"No."26 Such implausibleexchangeswerethestuffof comic
extravaganza.
If "satireis a lesson," VladimirNabokovonce announced,"parodyis a
andHis Friends),publishedin 1971,Philip
Tricky
game."In OurGang(Starring
MacBird,no otherworkhas
negligible
Rothdidboth.Asidefromtheartistically
to so scaldinga satiricassault.In provoking
the
subjectedan Americanpresident
his
novelist,Nixondemonstrated
ofa NationalBook Award-winning
indignation
OurGanghasa lunaticlogicall its
comiccurrents.
flairforgalvanizing
distinctive
firmly
opposingabortion
bya San Clementestatement
own,whichwas triggered
of humanlife." At aboutthesametime,whilethe
in thenameof "the sanctity
in Vietnam,Nixonwas showingverycasualtolerancefor
warfare
was occurring
ofmurdering
civilians
byhisfellowofficers
WilliamCalley,convicted
Lieutenant
to makeTrickE. Dixon
at My Lai. Rothseized upon suchmoralincongruity
cast-froman alliterative
vice
andtomakethesupporting
cynicalandduplicitous,
to theReverendBillyCupcake-into grotesques.In thecourseof the
president
is
tohomosexuality,
admitting
novel,TrickE. DixoninvadesDenmark,considers
assassinated
(theBoyScoutsareamongthesuspects),andmakesa speechinHell,
Thereis an acetylene
whereheis a candidateforthetopslotagainstSatanhimself.

quotedin Leon A. Harris,ed., TheFineArtofPoliticalWit(New York:E. P. Dutton,

24Stevenson
1966), 240; Merle Miller,Plain Speaking:An Oral Biographyof HarryS. Truman(New York:
Post, 326.
Berkley,1974), 135, 178, 335; Roberts,Washington
(New York:Simonand
Tynan,ShowPeople:ProfilesinEntertainment
quotedinKenneth
25Carson
Schuster,1979), 187.
26"Watergate's
SphinxSpeaks," Time,115, 21 April1980, 58.

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

127

workof
searingand fulfilling
furyto Our Gang, but it is not an artistically
The wildnessof Roth'sphilippiclacks shape and weight;its humor
literature.
Nixon'sresilienceandeagernessto manipuprovidesfewshocksofrecognition.
but,a bitlikeitssubject,OurGangis
rendered;
areeffectively
latetheelectorate
somethingof an elaboratewind-upmechanism,whichproves to be rather
affectless-and unaffecting.27

Its mosthilarioussectionskewersan Agnew who rages withmetronomic

of the 1960s. Yet the mostcogent
againstthe "revolutionaries"
alliteration
style.Thisis notsurprising,
inthenovelspinsofffromNixon'srhetorical
criticism
(1979),
As hewouldwriteinTheGhostWriter
givenRoth'sownverbalvirtuosity.
voice, "somethingthat
is a distinctive
an author'smostcrucial instrument
beginsataboutthebackofthekneesandreacheswellabovethehead." OurGang
whatRothdepictsas Nixon'sunctuous
is a neattrickofventriloquism-capturing
premiumon "sincerity,"his entangledeffortto make his views "perfectly
todo the
effort
clear,"hisdesiretohaveitbothways,andaboveall hissmirking
unpopular
thatitis a politically
claiming
thingwhilesmoothly
expedient
politically
(hencecourageous)servicetothenation.Herblockhitmostofthesenoteshimself,
inhisStateof
Churchill),
ina moreconciseparodyofa Nixonspeech(burlesquing
theliterary
equivalenttheUnion(1974). Yet OurGangcan also be considered
withmuchgreaterresonancebut also moreobvious flaws-of David Frye's
of
of Nixon:eyes dartingback and forthin nervousanticipation
impersonation
tonguepushingagainstcheeksand thendrawingback, and
possibledetection,
overandan uncerbotha desireto putsomething
jerkybodylanguagebetraying
ThatsortoftensionFryedeftly
captured
hisaudiencewillbuyit.28
tainty
whether
is
RichardNixon:A Fantasy(1973), in whichself-control
in an albumentitled
Bogartas CaptainQueeg,blamas NixonturnsintoHumphrey
rapidlyforfeited,
ontheshipof
ofthestrawberries
andDean forthetheft
ingHaldeman,Erlichman,
state.
Moreso thanmostpoliticians,Nixon'scareerencouragedspeculationon the
he has appeared
of identity
itself.Showingso fewregionalstigmata,
intangibles
especiallydisplaced.Tryingto please so many,he riskedbeingno one himself.
thatNixonwouldtire
predicted
Duringthe 1960 campaign,Kennedyprivately
to find
himselfout,becausehe did notknowwho he was: and sucha struggle
Nixonseemedtoprojectthefearthattherewas
wouldproveexhausting.
himself
no "there"there,whichin his worstcriticsinspireda manicloathing.Hunter
ThompsonlabeledNixon "a foulcaricatureof himself;a man withno inner
of a hyenaand thestyleof a poisontoad." Even
withtheintegrity
convictions,
overtheenigmaofNixon's
andassaultshavenottriumphed
themilderassessments
that
Nixon'suncertainty
andFryebothspecializedinlampooning
Feiffer
identity.

Roth,Our Gang (StarringTrickyand His Friends)(New York:RandomHouse, 1971).

27Philip
perfetta,"74.
StateoftheUnion,7; Bongartz,"DeformitA
28Block,

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128

American Quarterly

he was indeedin theWhiteHouse.29It was as ifhe hadto reassurehimself.The

wasmeanttowardoffthesuspicionofphoniness,
assertiveness
piousandpatriotic
fora certainlack
and sobriety
becamean overcompensation
and thesolemnity
of gravitas.

advocateddidmuchto set
thatNixonso unabashedly
The pietyandpatriotism
inthepurification
His immersion
andsnorting.
topawingtheground
hisopponents
rites of nationalistsentimentand sanctityannoyedliberals in particular.
"Nixon's farmpolicy is vague," Stevensononce complained,"but he is
goinga longwaytowardsolvingthecornsurplusbyhisspeeches."Thisfacetof
in "The Politicsof WoodyAllen," a Public
Nixon'spersonawas underlined
tapedin December,1971, butneveraired.Allen
Broadcasting
Systemprogram
modeledon HenryKissinger,a
wroteand directedit, and playeda character
former
politicalsciencemajorwhoseheroesatHarvardhadbeenAaronBurrand
theKaiser.This advisorrecallshelpingNixonstagetheCheckersspeech:"We
havethatwasn't100%
neededsomesymboltowipeoutanynotionthepublicmight
wholesome. . . . He wanted to have a Miss America contest going on in the
background. . . . [Nixon] also thoughtperhapsifhe weredressedin an Uncle Sam
suit . . . red,whiteandblue . . . withthebeard. . . . arentedbeard. . . . ThenIhit

on theidea of tellingAmericahe owneda dog-a spaniel."The WoodyAllen

if maybehe came out
adds thatNixonobjectedat first:"He thought
character
dressedlikea littleboywithDwightEisenhowerholdinghis hand-theycould

perhapsdo an endearinglittlethingbut-er. . . . I persuadedhimthatall he really

neededwas totalkaboutCheckers."30The scriptalso includedmoreconventional

wealth,as wellas themoretypicalAllenhumor

jokes aboutNelsonRockefeller's
of Nixon
thetreatment
to a recidivist
prisonerof sex. Nevertheless
appropriate
farceorparodyin satire-rather
thanAllen'scustomary
showedan indulgence
thatis againan indexof Nixon'ssingularity.
Nixonis
themesthathaveattracted
ironicassaulton thestar-spangled
Another
RobertCoover'sThePublicBurning(1977). It was highlypraiseduponpublicationforitscomicaudacityandrichness.Yetthejollityofthenovelis so forcedand
so overwhelming,
thatitis
ofmemories
ofmassentertainment
willed,theflotsam
its661 pageswithconsistent
hardtobelievethattoomanyreadersplowedthrough
of the
and pleasure.Coover's novelis historicalin its recreation
attentiveness
is fictionalized
to
ofthe1940sand 1950s.Yethistory
politicsandpopularculture
toTimesSquare,where
ofJuliusandEthelRosenberg
alterthesiteoftheexecution
forthepatriotic
carnival.
havegathered
andmassentertainers
politicaldignitaries
Thus BrotherMiltonEisenhowerand "Uncle Miltie" Berle are invitedto the

Kissinger,Yearsof Upheaval(Boston:Little,Brown,1982), 1181-87;Thompson,Great

29Henry
CartoonPresidency,
n.p.; DavidFrye,I AmthePresident(ElectraRecords,
SharkHunt,185;Feiffer,
1969).
30Stevenson
quotedin Harris,ed., PoliticalWit,240; EricLax, On BeingFunny:WoodyAllenand
1975), 201-06.
Comedy(New York:Charterhouse,

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

129

fromtheperspective
ofan
narrative
sameparty.Yetbytellingmuchofthefrenetic
intelligent,
devious,andindustrious
Nixon,ThePublicBurninghas a goy-meetsBerleincongruity
andinconsistency.
ThelongsectionsdevotedtoNixonarebyno
meansunsympathetic,
however,since he is not a maniac like otherson the
narrative
buildstowardthe climactic
anti-Communist
stage. As the three-day
inSingSing.The
Nixonpassionately
EthelRosenberg
publicexecution,
embraces
vicepresident
thenshowsupontheTimesSquarestagewithhispantsfalling
down,
in
exposinga rearend in whichthewords"I am a scamp" have been written
lipstick.Such humiliation
greatlydivertstheaudience.At theend of Coover's
in theentertainment
novel,following
thecapitalpunishment
capitalof theEast
Coast, the exuberantfigureof Uncle Sam sodomizesNixon, who thereupon
of patrioticfervor.3'
confesseshis love to the embodiment
Such scenes are
supposedto be amusing.
How couldNixonhaveanimated
ofhumiliation,
suchfantasies
havestimulated
such darkand degradedhumor?How could a leaderwho could inspiresuch
virulencealso be thedemiurgeof so muchmaterialclassifiedas comedy?For
andhumorwas no coincidence.
Freudofcoursethecorrelation
betweenhostility
MuchofthesatirethatNixongenerated
was toobase tohavebeentransmuted
into
butitdoes serveas
liberating
laughter,
andwas aboutas subtleas short-sheeting,
an illustration
of Freud'stheoryofjokes. The defeatedgubernatorial
candidate
himselfinadvertently
suggestedas much in his "last press conference,"
November8, 1962: "And I say as I leave thepress,all I can say is this:For
sixteenyears,eversincetheHiss case, you'vehad a lot of-a lot of fun-that
to attackme."32A studyof the aggravated
assault
you've had an opportunity
inflicted
on Nixonwouldindeedappearto be justwhatthedoctororderedin Wit
and Its Relationto theUnconscious.
Yetitis doubtful
thattheextentofNixon'slying,orthedrabnessanddourness
of his personality,
of antagonism,however.
could add up to such intensity
Watergate
provedto be morethana third-rate
burglary,
but it was less than
ofthestructure
oftherepublic.Itsimpactwas astonishing.
subversion
It cameto
thedramatic
successestheadministration
claimedin foreign
outweigh
affairs.It
discredited
so muchthat,in Louis Auchincloss's
theofficeof thepresidency
novel,TheHouse oftheProphet(1980), thecharacter
looselybased on Walter
Lippmannis takento be slidingintosenility
becausehe has written
a pro-Nixon
column.33
in Timemagazine,the
incident
(In a minorbutrepresentative
reported
prizeformostfrightening
costumeat a 1973 Halloweenpartyin New Yorkwas
awardedtoa childwearinga Nixonmask.)GiventhepallNixonmanagedtocast,
it deepenstheparadoxto recallhow successfulhe was as a politician-andto

3RobertCoover,ThePublicBurning(New York:Bantam,1978), 536-52, 580-81, 586, 658-61.

32Nixon
quotedin Wills,NixonAgonistes,414-15.
33LouisAuchincloss,TheHouse of theProphet(Boston:HoughtonMifflin,1980), 14-16.

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130

AmericanQuarterly

one. In 1960Nixonlostbythe
wonderhowso insecurea mancouldfancyhimself
to thedebonaircandidateofthedominant
popularmarginin thecentury
thinnest
mandatein thetwentieth
politicalparty;andin 1972he wonthemostimpressive
in 1964.
todate,losingfewerstatesthanRooseveltdidin 1936orJohnson
century
of an inept
Yet Nixonalso seemedto remindmanyliberalsand intellectuals
a rawnerveagainand again. Why?
striking
dentist,compulsively
itwas composedas ananswer
though
explanation,
Perhapsthemostconvincing
question,can be foundin Wills's NixonAgonistes.Its
to a ratherdifferent
is thatNixonhas trulybeenthemanofthecenterwho,farfromacting
argument
has believedincertainaxialprinciples
andexpediency,
froma proteanflexibility
Despitethehairpinturnsin his
of Americansocietythatarenotyetinvalidated.
to
otherthantacticaladvantage.According
career,Nixonhasstoodforsomething
society,based on
to theideal of a competitive
Wills,he has remainedfaithful
the value of success bestowedon the
and nurturing
equalityof opportunity
ofworkandof
mobileman.In Nixon'sbeliefintheprimacy
upwardly
self-made,
ofcapitalism,he has been-in the
of thesufficiency
in hisassumption
struggle,
sense-a liberal,andhas adheredtothatearlierethoswithout
nineteenth-century
and desirability
Nixonhas notquestionedtheauthenticity
ironyor detachment.
andinthisrespecthehasbeenalien
heritage,
intheAmerican
strain
ofthatprimary
which,fromNietzschetoNozick,hasattempted
totheprojectofmodemthought
socialvaluesina godlessworld.To those,especiallyliberals,whose
toformulate
lives have been corrodedby whatLippmanncalled "the acids of modernity,"
hopelesslysquare.
priggish,
Nixonwas boundtocomeacrossas unsophisticated,
to skip,but
formanysatirists
prissinesswas too tempting
His old-fashioned
an adherenceto thereality
a solidityand rigidity,
reflected
Nixon's character
of an earlierAmerica.The
suggestive
rather
thanthepleasureprinciple
principle
byanyonepolitician,
tobe personified
nationis nowtoodiverseandkaleidoscopic
the legacy of nineteenth-century
but Nixon has come close to incarnating
and liberalism."I believein theAmericandream,I believein it
Protestantism
becauseI haveseenitcometrueinmyownlife," NixonaversinCoover'snovel.
career,'butnotevenHoratio
"Timehas said thatI've had 'a HoratioAlger-like
Algercouldhavedreamedup a lifeso American-inthebestsense-as mine."
The Public Burninghas Nixonengagingin Algerfantasies,beginningwitha
line.''34
"log-cabinstarting
This veinis minedin otherworksas well. KurtVonnegut'sJailbird(1979)
theAlgeresque
ofthelifeofWalterStarbuck,
Nixonontheperiphery
incorporates
Nixonduringa
ofthenovel.GrilledbyCongressman
whois thenarrator
antihero
and
namessomeonesenttoprisonforperjury,
innocently
Starbuck
HUAC hearing,
laterPresidentNixon makesStarbuckhis "special advisoron youthaffairs"
-about whichhe knowsnothing.When the plumbersstashan illegal onein his obscureofficeand he refusesto
campaigncontribution
million-dollar

34Coover,PublicBurning,366, 383-84, 427.

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RichardNixonas a ComicFigure

131

is senttoprisonhimself.
Jailbirdthusreworks
identify
them,Starbuck
thetypical
a millionaire's
Algerplot,inwhichtheherorisesafterrecovering
from
strongbox
thieves.Such mythsare mockedas well in David Frye'salbum,RichardNixon
Superstar(1972), andespeciallyinJohnSeelye'sparodistic
DirtyTricks(1974),
whichfollowstherise of a "likelylad" namedNick Noxin. "I am guilty,"
Noxin admits, "guilty of abiding faithin the American systemof free
Yet neitherworkis successful.Frye'ssplendidgiftsof mimicry
enterprise."35
outshinethe rathertiresomeand uninventive
materialwithwhichhis writers
oftheAlgerfableis wellbelow
suppliedhim,andSeelye'scontrived
application
theinspiredstandard
he setin TheTrueAdventures
ofHuckleberry
Finn(1970).
YetthelinebetweenRaggedDickandTricky
Dickis onewhich,however
sinuous,
was eminently
worthtracing.
Even ifGarryWillsoverstated
theconsistency
of Nixon'snineteenth-century
liberalism,
thereis no otherlocus to discoverwhatever
politicalprinciples
have
studdedhiscareer.Sincediscrepancy
is pivotaltocomedy,thejuxtaposition
ofthe
inNixonmayhaveinstigated
nineteenth-century
ethosanditsmanifestation
many
Willswrote,intheverylastsentence
ofthechucklesheprovoked.
ofhisbook,that
"Nixon,by embodying
thatcreed,by trying
to bringit backto life,has at last
In callinghim "the last liberal," GarryWills was
reducedit to absurdity."36
premature,
sincethediscovery
byFrankWills-Watergate's
guardofhonor-did
notmarka discontinuity
intheAmerican
In theirvariousways,
politicaltradition.
Nixon'ssuccessorshaveacceptedthenineteenth-century
faithas well.YetNixon
thepublicculturethatmightignitesparksof laughter,
Agonistesdoes identify
whenso problematic
a personality
as Nixonnominated
himselfas itsadvocate.
His proximity
tothecentraltradition
ofAmericanindividualism
madehisown
emotional
morechallenging
moredisturbing,
than
inadequaciesandmoralfailures
havebeenthecase. Writing
undera pseudonym
a decadebefore
mightotherwise
JohnKennethGalbraithcalculated-rather
Watergate,
gently-howlow Nixon
a mocksocial scientific
rankedon a "McLandresscoefficient":
measurement
of thenumberof secondsa personcan thinkof anytopicotherthanhimself.
Nixonrankedlowest.37
Yetworsewas tocome.The flag
Amongpublicofficials,
pininNixon'slapelprovedto be no evidenceofvirtue,andoffered
no immunity
breakfasts
didnotpurify
theWhiteHouseprayer
againstcorruption;
thelanguage
orthesentiments
onthetelltaletapes;theappealforlaw andorderdidnotdisguise
ofthepublictrust.The hypocrisy
thebetrayal
becausethe
appearedso dramatic,
couldfollowthemoney,
pitchNixonmadewasso exalted.Thejournalists
fromthe
HughesloantoHughSloan;andthehumorists
couldtaketherestoftheafternoon

35Kurt
Vonnegut,
Jailbird(New York:Dell, 1979),56, 58, 85, 95; JohnD. Seelye,DirtyTricks,or
NickNoxin'sNaturalNobility(New York:Liveright,1973), 148.
36WillS, Nixon Agonistes, 602.

37Mark
Epernay(pseud.JohnKenneth
Galbraith),
TheMcLandressDimension(Boston:Houghton
Mifflin,1963), 2-3, 13, 14.

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132

AmericanQuarterly

thatNixonandhisstaff
off.In thedesperation
ofanappealtoauthority
themselves
ininsisting
oraskingforrespect
didso muchtoundermine,
onexecutiveprivilege
theNixonadministration's
fortheofficeofthepresidency,
pleaswere(inthephrase
written
of the ViennesesatiristKarl Kraus) like prescriptions
by patients.In
invoking
thetradition
ofindividualism,
Nixonwas inadvertently
callingattention
makehima tragichero.
tohisowncharacter,
whoseflawsdo notofcoursethereby
andhisdislikeofhisfoes
Yetbecausehisgriponhisownselfwasusuallytootight
too intense,he could in manyprecincts
be regardedas a comicfigure.
thatthetragicherorecognizes
hisowncomplicity
in
Itis a criticalcommonplace
his downfall,perceiveshow his own character
and conducthaveresultedin his
Without
suchself-knowledge,
therecannotbe tragedy,
destruction.
thoughthere
witha secret
maybe pathos,as whenSenatorThomasEagleton-a midwesterner
lockedin his past-told Mailerin 1972 thatone of his favorite
bookswas The
theremayalso be comedy,as inboth
GreatGatsby.Without
suchself-knowledge,
of Nixonas CaptainQueeg.
David Frye'sand David Levine'seerieportrayals
favorite
Neithercomicartistcouldhaveknownthatthepresident's
novelistwas
ofa navalofficer
whoforfeits
hisleadership
HermanWouk,theinventor
because
hisauthority,
andwhodefeatshimself
ofexcessivezeal in asserting
bydoubting
and thenundermining
theloyaltyof others.38

38Norman
Mailer,St. Georgeand theGodfather
(New York:Signet,1972), 100; WilliamSafire,
WhiteHouse (GardenCity,N.Y.: Doubleday,
BeforetheFall: AnInsideViewofthePre-Watergate
1975), 564.

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