Nixon Now

It is a shame that Nixon went down in history as the only president to ever resign office. During his first term as president, he gained widespread popularity and won his reelection by landslide. However by the second year of his second term, the Watergate Scandal had consumed most of his career and had the public in clamoring for his impeachment.

But let’s go back to the better days when Nixon had the support of the people.

Image courtesy of stylepinner.com

When Nixon ran for president in 1968, it wasn’t his first attempt. He had tried back in 1960 but lost to John F. Kennedy. For the 1968 election, Nixon used a variety of campaign slogans. With “Nixon Now” and “Nixon’s the One,” the Republican Party encouraged the public to help Nixon win the campaign this time.

Following his successful first term in office, Nixon ran for reelection with a slightly modified campaign slogan: “President Nixon – now more than ever.” This extension of the first campaign slogan subtly suggests why Nixon should be reelected. First off, Nixon is referred to as President. This establishes Nixon as a trustworthy and successful candidate. Those who did not vote for Nixon in 1968 can now look at his first term and reevaluate their opinion of him. Second, “more than ever” is tacked onto the end. This suggests that it is even more vital that Nixon wins the campaign.

These slogans were backed by previous results. With his first term, Nixon tackled the issues of the nation, both domestic and foreign. He over saw the large scale integration of schools and the lunar landing. He worked on addressing the inflation problem and environmental concerns. Internationally, Nixon worked on removing American troops from Vietnam and easing tensions with the Soviet Union. Additionally, policies for dealing with Latin America, specifically Cuba, and the Middle East were established.

But Nixon’s campaign slogans weren’t always so simple. Like many candidates that are popular with the crowds, Nixon was sometimes referred by his nickname, Dick. For the 1960 election, one slogan/campaign song proclaimed “Click with Dick.” This three word tag used rhymes to connect the voting method of pressing buttons with the candidate.

There is one, that for the blog’s sake, I won’t mention here. You can find it online when you Google image search “Nixon campaign slogans.” I wasn’t sure if it was real or not when I first saw it, but, according to an article by ABC News, it isn’t entirely fictional (mentioned under 1. Democratic Slogans). It was used exclusively by “diehard” supporters. Regardless of the content of the slogan, it still rhymes and refers to Nixon in an … affectionate way. But this slogan also works because it claims that Nixon can’t be beaten.