The two young, ambitious politicians were both World War II veterans.
They were of different parties, but a similar frame of mind.
The America Richard Nixon inherited from Lyndon Johnson,
deeply divided over Vietnam and polarized about race,
was a far cry from the generally tranquil one that John Kennedy received from Dwight
Eisenhower in 1961. History is full of ironies, and
Nixon's first year as president had one overarching historical achievement.
The landing on the moon in July 1969.
It was of course a direct effect
of President Kennedy's challenge to the country
in 1961 to do precisely that.
Richard Nixon was, without any question, one of the most capable presidents
in American History, highly intelligent, he has many accomplishments to his credit.
But he also had an inherent pettiness which in the end brought him down.
And we saw that pettiness on display in 1969.
>> Mr. Nixon is appearing in the doorway now.
>> Richard Nixon had been trying out for
the presidency since the late 40s and early 1950s.
So, when he finally achieved it, In early 1969,
it was somewhat ironic that the biggest event of
his first year as President was one initiated by
his great rival, John F Kennedy, the moon landing.
[MUSIC]
>> I believe that this nation should commit
itself to achieving the goal Before this decade
is out, I'm landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.
>> Most people associated that program with John F Kennedy.
Certainly the members of NASA did.
And the astronauts did. For Nixon, it was pleasant to preside
over it, but I suspect he was unhappy that
the focus was so heavily on John F Kennedy.
He really didn't mention Kennedy, he didn't have his
name on the plaque that was put on the moon.
That was noted by newspapers and people connected to politics.
And it was felt that Nixon had shown a lack of finesse and grace.
Presidents are often assisted when they appear bipartisan.
They bring Americans together
in their role as chief of state.
Nixon would have helped himself by mentioning Kennedy and sharing the credit.
But Nixon's inherent pettiness made that impossible for him.
He simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
While there are many JFK references in the documents comprising the Nixon
administration, to suggest that John Kennedy
was an obsession would be misleading.
The late president was no longer a threat to Richard Nixon.
But another Kennedy was.
Almost from the first, President Nixon and his circle viewed JFK's brother
Ted as their foremost adversary and obstacle to reelection in 1972.
President Nixon carefully followed Kennedy's press, underlining sections
of newspaper and magazine articles about Ted Kennedy.
And scribbling comments such as, another plug for Teddy.
Kennedy campaigned extensively for McGovern in the fall of 1972.
And after a direct appeal to Nixon, by family
matriarch Rose Kennedy, who worried about her last son's safety.
Ted was provided with secret service protection until after election day.
However Nixon and Halderman seized upon
this opportunity to collect political intelligence.
Planting a Nixon loyalist, retired agent
Robert Newbrand, in Kennedy's secret service detail.
All the indications are that Newbrand
turned up very little actionable intelligence,
but it was the fact that Nixon and Halderman did that, that counts.
It was never consciously or explicitly acknowledged that Nixon’s
innovative dramatic moves in foreign policy followed the post-Cuban
missile crisis plans of a chastened President Kennedy.
Having come so perilously close to war in 1962,
JFK had begun to explore the pathways to peace.
Encouraged by the similar desires of Premier Khrushchev.
Nixon's fierce anticommunism protected him from soft-on-communism attacks.
Nixon's stellar foreign policy realignments were
a source of justifiable pride for him and for the Republican party.
Far outstripping what even a re-elected President Kennedy
could have hoped to do in the 1960s.