Letter: History will offer Nixon balance
John Ehrlichman, President Richard Nixon's ousted domestic affairs adviser, foreground, tells the Senate Watergate Committee July 24, 1974, that Nixon sought unsuccessfully to get a factual account of the bugging scandal. Credit: UPI
We will never get a clear view of Watergate until all the politicians and pundits associated with it have passed away ["Hard lessons unlearned," Editorial, June 17].
Remember, this is the same Richard Nixon who opened the door to China, a decision whose impact is just being felt today. This is also the same Richard Nixon who pressed for an all-volunteer army and expanded voting rights to those 18 or older, who signed a peace treaty with North Vietnam, who implemented detente and arms control with the Soviet Union, and who favored construction of a space shuttle fleet that gave America the edge in space technology for more than 30 years.
A revisionist view of Richard Nixon is inevitable, and it will provide a more balanced view of his presidency, as well as a more critical analysis of holier-than-thou detractors.
Kenneth Heard, Smithtown
