Richard Nixon was not talking about Watergate when he uttered his immortal words, "Well, I'm not a crook!" He was talking about investigations into the finances of the President of the United States.
With that understanding, Nixon's declaration makes him sound almost like a pillar of virtue, in contrast to another person also nominally a member of the same political party, Donald J Scheisskopf. As shall be made perfectly clear, Scheisskopf would seem to be a "crook" by Nixon's standards.
"Well, I'm not a crook!"
Everyone knows that Nixon denied being a "crook." But few seem to understand the context behind Nixon's perhaps most famous remark. So here is a review.
On November 17, 1973, President Richard Nixon answered questions at the Annual Convention of the Associated Press Managing Editors Association, in Orlando, Florida. It had been about three weeks since the "Saturday Night Massacre," when Nixon ordered the firing of the Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox.
Several topics were discussed during the question-and-answer session. The subject of Watergate was discussed, with Nixon talking at some length about the taping systems and what he thought the evidence would show. Nixon also expressed the view that the new Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, ought to be "completely independent."
Nixon did not deny being a "crook" during his remarks addressing Watergate.
Watergate was not the only topic for discussion that day, however. After touching upon a few other issues, including his taxes, Nixon moved on to other issues. But he could not leave alone the subject of his personal finances, and Nixon himself re-raised the issue, and proceeded to discuss that topic at considerable length.
Nixon then discussed issues that were very painful and personal: his financial situation and his tax liability. These were issues that were a persistent source of irritation, and would continue to be so through the end of his presidency. When Nixon made at his Farewell Address on 9 August 1974, he spoke about his presidency as being untainted by financial malfeasance, and he even used his tax troubles as a basis for making a lame joke:
[S]ure, we have done some things wrong in this Administration, and the top man always takes the responsibility, and I have never ducked it. But I want to say one thing: We can be proud of it -- five and a half years. No man or no woman came into this Administration and left it with more of this world's goods than when he came in. No man or no woman ever profited at the public expense or the public till. That tells something about you.
Mistakes, yes. But for personal gain, never. ... And I only wish that I were a wealthy man -- at the present time, I have got to find a way to pay my taxes ....
"[P]eople have got to know whether or not their President's a crook!"
Nine months earlier in Florida, Nixon decided not to dodge questions related to his finances, but to deal with personal finance questions proactively; and he made it perfectly clear that he had a lot to say.
Let me just respond, if I could, sir, before going to your question--I will turn left and then come back to the right; I don't want to tilt either way at the moment, as you can be sure--since the question was raised a moment ago about my tax payments.
There followed an extemporaneous and lengthy discussion of Nixon's financial situation. Winding up, Nixon said:
And so, that is where the money came from. Let me just say this, and I want to say this to the television audience: I made my mistakes, but in all of my years of public life, I have never profited, never profited from public service. I've earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice. And I think, too, that I could say that in my years of public life, that I welcome this kind of examination, because people have got to know whether or not their President's a crook! Well, I'm NOT a crook! I've earned everything I've got!
And with that, he stood back in a pose of Nixonian righteous defiance. His message was perfectly clear: Anyone out there who says that Nixon was profiting while President can just go to hell!
Leaving aside questions as to whether he was being candid or over-dramatic, Nixon did accomplish the following:
- He did not cower from questions about his personal finances, and even addressed the questions proactively.
- He acknowledged mistakes by himself and his people, while maintaining that there was no basis for allegations of corruption or financial impropriety. He was defiant in saying, repeatedly, that he felt he personally had earned every cent of what he took in as a public official.
- He--Richard Nixon--actually kinda seized the ethical high ground, declaring that the American people do indeed have a legitimate interest in knowing whether the president is unjustly enriching himself when he is supposed to be fully engaged in public service. Nixon stood up in favor of transparency and accountability in Washington, and said he welcomed it. He even prefaced these words by telling the television audience to pay attention to what he was saying.
If any of Nixon's words ought to be remembered, these are the words worth remembering: "[P]eople have got to know whether or not their President's a crook!"
If you can see Nixon's facial expressions while he is delivering those words, you cannot help but notice that he does not deliver that particular line "straight"; he delivers it mockingly, perhaps sarcastically, as if to say that the point being made was so obvious that he shouldn't have to explain it to anyone except for perhaps a complete moron. Of [expletive deleted] course there is a public interest in knowing from where the president is getting his money!!
Unfortunately for Nixon, his ethical declaration got totally eclipsed by his subsequent voluntary denial of being said crook. And the equally voluntary denial of obstructing justice may have been a most unwise move, for it implied Nixon was expanding the subject to more than just his financial troubles. In any event, Nixon did not seem to be making a blanket denial of all of his wrongdoing in every field. Rather, he tried to get back to his earlier point about not taking any emoluments or improper payments of any kind. He'd earned everything.
The Horrifying Outcome
Nixon took a stand on an ethical principle of governance. Today, the heir to the party of Richard Nixon takes an opposite, unethical position.
CROOK. Yes, the photo is doctored, but the disgust is genuine.
Previously:
Meme Adventures: Abraham Lincoln Edition
Meme Adventures: Haiku Edition
Meme Adventures: Introduction
A Speech That I Hope Joe Biden Never Has to Deliver
It's "Scheisskopf" From Now On
A speech for Donald Trump
