Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Richard Nixon's 100th birthday

Gone, but not missed
By Will Collette

Richard Nixon, one of the most odious leaders the United States has ever seen, was born on this day 100 years ago.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who died because this man was born.


He disgraced himself and the office he held. He spawned a new form of journalism, and he gave us "Gate" as an all-purpose suffix to attach to an event thus marking it as a scandal, as in "Y-Gate."

Some conservatives mourn his passing. Even some progressives look back on him with some bewilderment, as Nixon was - paradoxically - far more progressive on many policies than Republicans currently in national leadership.

To Tricky Dick, in whatever circle of hell you inhabit, happy birthday.