Good Things we can learn from Bad Presidents

President Clinton gets help from Nixon

On a cold Wednesday morning in March 1973, John W. Dean III, the Chief Legal Advisor to the President was talking with his boss about how to get hold of hush money. Like a scene from The Godfather, President Nixon said:

“We could get that … you could get a million dollars. You could get it in cash. I know where it could be gotten.”

The leader of the free world was talking to his ‘consigliere’ about how he could hide their criminal activity. Suffice it to say, this wasn’t a high point in the history of the US Presidency. But fast forward 20 years to 1993 and it was Nixon himself giving a President some advice.

Nixon told President Bill Clinton, who had been elected the previous year:

“when asking for guidance from people who are more experienced than you, tell them what you plan to do first — and then ask for their reaction.”

Advice on asking for advice. In fact, Nixon was a frequent source of advice to Clinton. Nixon proved to be a useful and accurate counsellor to the young President, particularly on the Soviet Union. We may have expected Clinton to turn to fellow Southern Baptist and Democrat Jimmy Carter, but not to Nixon, a Republican, and a scourge of liberals the world over.

Even fellow Republican Barry Goldwater described him as “the most dishonest individual I ever met in my life.”

And the thing is: It was good advice! For Bill Clinton a young President with very little foreign policy experience, who was dealing with the on-going collapse of the USSR, it was timely and useful counsel. Clinton got help where he could get it, and knew that Nixon, who had a number of foreign policy successes, was the right man.

Ronald Reagan taught Clinton how to do a proper military salute. Nancy Gibbs describes how the two Presidents stood together, in Reagan’s LA office, perfecting Clinton’s salute. For that matter, Clinton also picked up some golf tips from Gerald Ford.

No matter how bad your ‘worst President’ is, the chances are he did something right…

Who would you cite as the worst US President? Even if you’ve never been to America, you probably have an opinion on who is a ‘Bad President’. Perhaps Obama is on your list, or any of the presidents mentioned above: Clinton, Carter, Reagan, Ford or Nixon. But no matter how bad your worst president is, the one you love to hate, the chances are they did something right, and there’s something we can learn from them.

Which is what this series is all about. Things I have personally learned from looking at the lives of ‘bad’ presidents. Watch this space and I will share with you some of the other things I have learned.

What I learned

When I was in my last job but one there was a man that I avoided. Apart from anything else, I was afraid of him; but he also freely confessed to some things that I didn’t like. However, he gave me a piece of advice — which I won’t share here — that I am very grateful for. It has helped me succeed in a number of areas and avoid some pitfalls. So, I admire Clinton’s attitude of learning from everyone, and I intend to emulate it in my life.

References & Recommendations:

“when seeking advice from people who are more experienced than you, Nixon urged, tell them what you plan to do first — and then ask for their reaction. Don’t ask for advice and then ignore it.” — from The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity, February 2013, by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. The whole idea of this article, and understanding of Clinton’s position came from this book. I’ve found this advice quite helpful. If you reveal your opinions first, before asking for guidance, then you don’t cause offence by moving forward as previously planned. Otherwise, it may appear to them that you’ve disregarded their advice.

“He was the most dishonest individual I ever met in my life. President Nixon lied to his wife, his family, his friends, longtime colleagues in the US Congress, lifetime members of his own political party, the American people and the world.” from Goldwater, September 1988, by Barry Goldwater and Jack Casserly.

The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan, August 2015,
by Rick Perlstein. In this book and in Nixonland, Rick Perlstein gives a fantastic insight into the times and culture of Nixon’s presidency.

This article is intended to be part of a series. The next one is on LBJ.

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