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“Day-To-Day Bouillabaisse”: Spinning Vietnam and Watergate in the Nixon White House

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“Day-To-Day Bouillabaisse”: Spinning Vietnam and Watergate in the Nixon White House ABSTRACT “DAY-TO-DAY BOUILLABAISSE”: SPINNING VIETNAM AND WATERGATE IN THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE Focusing on the first six months of Richard Nixon’s second term as president – January through June 1973 – this thesis examines the Nixon administration’s press manipulations and maneuverings between the Vietnam War and Watergate. This thesis cross-checks the Nixon administration’s public relations schemes, using the White House tapes, with stories on the front pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post. This work argues that depending on the day and the latest breaking news on the front pages of the daily press, Nixon and his inner circle played Vietnam and Watergate against each other. When damning Watergate news broke, Nixon deflected the public’s attention to a positive Vietnam story. When news from Southeast Asia Nixon suspected would be unpopular hit the headlines, the administration stressed comments, denials, and strokes of cooperation in the Watergate case. At various times, White House officials both emphasized Watergate developments to detract from unpopular Vietnam policy and stressed diplomatic achievements to distract from domestic scandal. Behind the numerous stories reported in the daily press about Vietnam policy and Watergate revelations, Richard Nixon and his inner circle devised strategies to spin the narrative, bury unfavorable coverage, and sway public opinion. Christopher Chase Jensen May 2020 “DAY-TO-DAY BOUILLABAISSE”: SPINNING VIETNAM AND WATERGATE IN THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE by Christopher Chase Jensen A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History in the College of Social Sciences California State University, Fresno May 2020 APPROVED For the Department of History: We, the undersigned, certify that the thesis of the following student meets the required standards of scholarship, format, and style of the university and the student's graduate degree program for the awarding of the master's degree. Christopher Chase Jensen Thesis Author Lori Clune (Chair) History Blain Roberts History Julia Shatz History For the University Graduate Committee: Dean, Division of Graduate Studies AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER’S THESIS X I grant permission for the reproduction of this thesis in part or in its entirety without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorbs the cost and provides proper acknowledgment of authorship. Permission to reproduce this thesis in part or in its entirety must be obtained from me. Signature of thesis author: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Lori Clune. Throughout the entire research and writing process, Dr. Clune provided invaluable guidance and, without her advice and support, this thesis would not have been possible. Aside from advising my thesis, Dr. Clune also allowed me to work alongside her as a teaching assistant, providing valuable experience in a college classroom. For these and many other reasons, I am forever grateful for her mentorship. I would like to thank Dr. Blain Roberts and Dr. Julia Shatz, who also served on my thesis committee, for taking the time to read my work and provide valuable feedback. Their fresh eyes and perspectives allowed me to improve this thesis greatly. Thank you to Dr. Brad Jones, who also provided me an opportunity to work as a teaching assistant. That experience, as well as your advice, is truly appreciated. In addition, I would also like to thank the entire Fresno State History Department faculty. My time studying history with you has been extremely formative and I value my time at Fresno State dearly. Finally, thank you to my parents, Kent and Susane Jensen. None of my accomplishments would have been possible without your support and I am extremely grateful for your constant encouragement. To the many others not named here, I am incredibly thankful for your love, support, and friendship. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: NIXON, VIETNAM, AND WATERGATE .................................................. 6 CHAPTER 2: JANUARY – APRIL ..................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 3: MAY AND JUNE .......................................................................................... 45 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 71 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 77 INTRODUCTION In the fall of 1952, Senator Richard Nixon’s political future was in danger. On September 18, a story in the New York Post alleged that Nixon, the Republican vice- presidential candidate running alongside Dwight D. Eisenhower, had regularly accepted donations from a group of wealthy California businessmen to supplement his income since his election to the Senate in 1950. The Eisenhower-Nixon campaign had frequently criticized the corruption of the Truman administration and ran on a platform promising to restore morality to Washington D.C. The news of Nixon’s secret fund was damaging to the Republican ticket’s image, raising public suspicions about the honesty of Eisenhower’s running mate and the general’s own credibility. Since accepting political donations ran counter to his campaign for morality, Eisenhower was forced to consider dropping Nixon from the ticket. In an attempt to save his image and political career, Nixon left the campaign trail and booked a studio in Los Angeles to broadcast a speech to give his side of the story. At 6:30 p.m. on September 23, 1952, candidate Richard Nixon appeared on television screens across the nation. Nixon used his TV time to outline his modest financial history, deny the illegality of the fund, and refute that the secret fund for which he had accepted donations was even a secret. While conceding that the fund might be morally wrong, Nixon explained that the donations had financed expenses such as mailing printed speeches and traveling across the country to speak to his constituents. Nixon argued that “the taxpayers shouldn't be required to finance items which are not official business, but which are primarily political business.”1 1 Richard Nixon, “Address of Senator Nixon to the American People: The ‘Checkers Speech,’” September 23, 1952, available at the American Presidency Project, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ documents/address-senator-nixon-the-american-people-the-checkers-speech 2 2 Nixon claimed that the money did not pay for a luxurious lifestyle, and that his wife, Pat, did not even own a “mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she'd look good in anything.” Nixon also said that a supporter had given his family a gift, a black and white cocker spaniel that his daughters named Checkers. “Regardless of what they [his opponents] say about it,” Nixon declared, “we are going to keep it.”2 Eisenhower’s advisors had suggested that Nixon end the speech by resigning his candidacy for vice president, but the senator from California went rogue. Rather than withdrawing from the race, Nixon appealed to the nation to determine his political future: I would do nothing that would harm the possibilities of Dwight Eisenhower to become President of the United States. And for that reason, I am submitting to the Republican National Committee tonight through this television broadcast the decision which it is theirs to make. Let them decide whether my position on the ticket will help or hurt. And I am going to ask you to help them decide. Wire and write the Republican National Committee whether you think I should stay on or whether I should get off.3 Millions of U.S. citizens did just that, flooding the Republican National Committee with letters and telegrams in support of keeping Richard Nixon on the GOP ticket. The massive outpour of support for Nixon essentially left Dwight Eisenhower with no choice but to keep him on the ticket. So many telegrams were sent in the aftermath of what came to be known as the Checkers Speech that Eisenhower’s cable inviting Nixon to rejoin him on the campaign trail never made it to his running mate. Nixon only discovered the verdict when Ike publicly announced that the Republican candidates would soon be campaigning together in West Virginia. 2 Richard Nixon, “Address of Senator Nixon to the American People: The ‘Checkers Speech,’” September 23, 1952, American Presidency Project. 3 Richard Nixon, “Address of Senator Nixon to the American People: The ‘Checkers Speech,’” September 23, 1952, American Presidency Project. 3 3 Facing public shame and political disgrace, Richard Nixon cleverly spun the secret fund scandal into his favor. Using his television time to paint himself as a common man, Nixon waxed on about his humble financial history, his wife’s modest wardrobe, and a dog that his daughters named Checkers, successfully distracting from the subject at hand. While Nixon’s opponents viewed his thirty-minutes of rambling as “a maudlin account that illustrated his phoniness,” the speech convinced the American public that Senator Nixon was “as clean as a hound’s tooth.”4 With his political career on the line, Nixon successfully manipulated the media, emerging from the secret fund scandal with a fully rehabilitated image, an increased base
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