In the early morning hours of May 9, 1970, Richard Nixon reached across the political divide in an unprecedented way by making a surprise visit to student protestors occupying the National Mall. If it were a leader other than Nixon, this event could very well be cast as one of the most inspiring moments of a 20th century president.
Awake in the Lincoln Sitting Room at about 4 a.m., Nixon was listening to a composition by Rachmaninoff. As he took advantage of the majestic view the White House affords of the Lincoln Memorial, he observed small clusters of students beginning to gather. Nixon was inspired to visit the contingent. This was hostile territory as the protest movement was in full force with activists having descended on Washington to protest the death of four students at Kent State just five days prior, as well as the recent escalation of the Vietnam War into Cambodia.
Nixon asked his valet, Manolo Sanchez, if he wanted to take in the Memorial up close at night. The Secret Service was astonished but adhered to the orders of their commander in chief to take the impromptu trip. Nixon, Sanchez and just about four agents took the presidential limousine to the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, ascended the steps, and started discussing the engraved inscription of the Gettysburg address. More agents scrambled after the president’s initial motorcade.
There was no camera crew or fanfare. There was no prepared speech, talking points, or plan on what to do when Nixon arrived. What remains are the recollections of those involved and a few still pictures. The way Nixon explains it, in one of those recordings he was fond of making, he wished to reach out to the students and express empathy with their motivation for being there.
Nixon engaged a small group of students by acknowledging that most surely thought of him as a real “S.O.B.” Nevertheless, Nixon explained that he had the same goal of stopping the killing in Southeast Asia. Truth be told, his actions proved this principle as he did more to extricate the U.S. from that conflict than his predecessors. He also spoke about his views as a pacifist, given his Quaker background. Nixon explained that he changed after WWII to a view war as only useful as long as it was necessary. He had come to appreciate that Winston Churchill had the superior outlook on dealing with a rising enemy than Neville Chamberlain.
The discussion vacillated with lighter subjects, which Nixon explained was his effort to communicate with young people on their terms. He spoke about the benefits of traveling and dating while young. Nixon discussed the Syracuse football team with students from New York, and surfing with student from California. This was a leader not naturally at ease with people as leaders such as Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. Yet it was Dick Nixon who was willing to open a dialogue with individuals expected to be so naturally opposed to him in a manner few with such power ever attempted. This effort was symbolic of the decency of a man who was effective in so many ways, and terribly faulted in others.
As the sun was rising, the Secret Service felt that word of this event would spread and that there would be a crowd clearly to big to manage. Nixon left the contingent by voicing a lesson that can be equally applied today: He hoped the protesters’ opposition to the country would not turn into a blind hatred, and that they remembered that this was a truly great country, even with its faults. Nixon left the students with a truism that remains timeless and uniquely American, namely that all you have to do to appreciate our land is examine the number of people leaving against the number of people trying to come in. This is a lesson that’s all to often lost on people from all sides of the political spectrum.
Sean Roman Strockyj is an attorney and contributor to various programs on Sirius Radio. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
