Friends, during my latest appearance on the Newsmaker Show, hosted by Brian O'Neil, we cover all the latest developments with Judge Kavanaugh, the Left's steady descent into madness, and the brightening prospects for Republicans in the midterm elections. We even allude to the Vietnam War, and I pay tribute to the timeless political wisdom of Richard Nixon's Vice-President Spiro Agnew! It's an episode of "Waddy Wednesday" not to be missed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2T3tze-0kU&feature=youtu.be
Dr. Waddy: Can't get my willful contraption here to give me your broadcast; I'll be able to get when I see it on my email. I'll just pass on an Agnew recollection. We were watching Nixon make his VP announcement at the '68 convention - surely he would pick someone really good to aid his remarkable rise -(Rockefeller? Reagan?,no of course not Ford). When he said "Governor Agnew of Maryland" we said "say what?" Agnew's "effete snobs" dig still rings true though he did not.
ReplyDeleteNeat anecdote, Jack. I can well imagine Agnew was a dark horse candidate for V.P. He played his role well, though -- and I would guess Nixon didn't want a rock star like Rockefeller or Reagan around...
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: I was a Democrat then; I voted for poor ole Hubert. But Nixon had said," my VP choice will be one fully capable of assuming the Presidency should it be necessary". His choice made us think "there goes Tricky Dick again". He couldn't have known of Agnew's tawdry and venal corruption at that time and it was probably a canny choice by a consummate politician well seasoned by harrowing and to anyone lacking his constitutional and visceral courage, debilitating, setbacks.
ReplyDeleteJack, you piqued my curiosity, so I did some reading about Agnew today. Interesting fellow. It's conceivable he was innocent, and Nixon cut him loose in 1973 because he already had too much scandal on his plate. Agnew does seem to have been one of the originators of the current feud between the mainstream media and the right, so I imagine the press was gunning for him in a big way!
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: That is the way I remember it: no one had been as forward in confronting the left as was Agnew (Goldwater had but his message was far too new and advanced to have gained purchase in 1964 - I mean, Cronkite still reigned); it was widely speculated that Nixon had wisely chosen Agnew to do his hatchet work (Gads, did Nixon ever have a legitimate animus to the press). I thought Agnew's culpability for just plain old corruption had been well established; he fell very fast - it was almost a footnote to the developing Watergate morass, which was, I still think, largely a product of the press for which Nixon had such heartfelt and understandable , fear and loathing. If they framed Agnew, then he was an early casualty in Civil War II.
ReplyDeleteJack, all I know is that Agnew always maintained his innocence, and he pleaded "no contest" to a lesser charge, presumably to make the whole thing go away. Look at Michael Cohen and his willingness to plead guilty to election violations. Prosecutors play a lot of games, and much of it, one assumes, is political and opportunistic. Anyway, from what I read, the relationship between Agnew and Nixon was complex, and Nixon at times unleashed Agnew to be his attack dog, and at other times bade him be silent. I suspect the Vice-Presidency is always a frustrating gig.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy: Well, the MSM got Nixon good; maybe they used Agnew as a warmup. I'm going to do more reading about Agnew; I always thought he got caught red handed - I forgot about the no-contest plea.
ReplyDeleteJack, I think there's no doubt that money changed hands, but Agnew maintained they were campaign donations. Quite possibly people played fast and loose with campaign donations in those days -- there wasn't much regulation at the time.
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