Nixonland

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 28: Ping Pong

1971; Nixon sets up channels of communication with China, plans visit; Pentagon papers are leaked by Ellsberg; WH starts hiring Hunt, Liddy, etc.; The Plumbers are formed; plans to break law to defame Ellsberg, break into/firebomb Brookings Institute, etc. start to become more prevalent

Chapter 29: The Coven

1971 and runup to 1972 campaign; coverage of events in the country; break-in at Dr. Fielding's by The Plumbers; attempts to prepare for 1972 campaign by dividing Democrats; disapproval of economic handling reversed by 'Nixon shock'; 2 Supreme Court justices (Black, Marshall) resigning; segway into 1972 campaign

Chapter 30: The Party of Jefferson, Jackson, and George Wallace

1972; chapter covers the 1972 campaign leadup; widespread sabotage of Democratic campaigns led to chaos; George Wallace became Democratic frontrunner; McGovern's campaign was left alone b/c determined easiest to beat; Vietnam peace proposals, POWs; China trip, equal rights ammendment

Chapter 31: The Spring Offensive

1972; campaign, Democratic primaries, Vietnam escalation, McGovern vs. Humphrey w/ Wallace as dealbreaker; Nixon, Godfather in WH; trials (Harrisburg 7, Harlem 4, Fort Hood 43); McGovern, the Democratic Barry Goldwater

Chapter 32: Celebrities

1972; assassination attempt on George Wallace, and attempt to plant left-wing propaganda literature in Arthur Bremer's apartment; Russian summit for SALT; Watergate break-in 1 and 2; CA primary (Humphrey vs. McGovern), Muskie come-back attempt; Watergate burglary number 3; fallout; growing number of connections to CRP, CIA, and WH; Nixon attempt to cover everything up from an FBI investigation with a CIA "national security" blanket; media concern was with the mess of the Democratic party, not Watergate

Chapter 33: In Which Playboy Bunnies, and Barbarella, and Tanya Inspire...

1972; Democratic/Republican National Conventions (Miami Beach); reformists overthrowing regulars/machine to nominate McGovern (candidates included Muskie, Chisholm, Scoop Jackson, Humphrey); Thomas Eagleton selected as running mate; Eagleton's mental illness history came up; Jane Fonda visit to North Vietnam; Nixon's economic "magic" (11% increase in federal discretionary spending); John Mitchell resignation; Republican National Convention, VVAW protests, disruptions, etc.

Chapter 34: Not Half Enough

1972 election; young people vs. Nixon's "law-and-order" middle-class base; indictment of Liddy and Hunt by Grand Jury; Nixon didn't campaign; Chapin-Segretti connection revealed (see All The President's Men); (October) stories about Watergate raising many questions, particularly at press conferences; Ziegler dodged many questions (nondenial denial); Watergate didn't have a big impact on polls; commercials (McGovern's: poorly done, ineffective; Nixon's: empty, effective, convincing bullshit); Nixon using his non-position (or contradicting positions) on Vietnam War to his advantage; won election with 60% of popular vote, all states' electoral votes except Massachusetts; felt dejected b/c it was McGovern's mistakes, not Nixon's strength, that won; low voter turnout proving neither candidate was desirable; and Republicans didn't sweep Congress (like LBJ did in 1964); author's conclusions about Nixonland, and how the conflict/fracture in society