Tricky

I never imagined I would be writing a post about Tricky Dick. However, I just learned a fascinating piece of information about our 37th President, Richard M. Nixon, that begs to be shared.

But first, some background information. Nixon, a California native, began his long political career when he won seats in the House of Representatives and then the Senate. He went on to appear on a National Presidential ticket five times. Nixon and Franklin D. Roosevelt are the only ones who ever accomplished this and, coincidentally, they both won four of their five races. Nixon was Eisenhower’s VP for two terms, lost the Presidency to John Kennedy in 1960 and won the Presidency in 1968 and 1972.

His most famous speech was the “Checkers” speech. This was a brilliant appeal that “I am not a crook” for accepting large political donations and gifts. These were not illegal at the time, but he was campaigning as a corruption fighter. He emphatically stated that if he were kept on Eisenhower’s ticket as V.P., he would keep one gift, Checkers, his black and white Cocker Spaniel.

Here is what I recently learned about Richard Nixon, and it is extremely telling about his character. Oenophiles, wine connoisseurs, use the phrase, “pulling a Nixon”. This term comes as the result of a habit of our 37th President, a lover of extremely expensive wines. He was infamous for drinking first-growth Bordeaux, (Chateau Margaux being his favorite) while simultaneously serving his guests cheap wines. He instructed the White House waiters to hold the napkin over the label of the cheap wines as they filled the glasses.

Least you think that this story is an urban myth that I, a card-carrying Democrat, have dredged up, it is not. I have done due diligence with fact checking and Nixon’s stingy habit is well documented.

“Tricky Dick” earned his nickname in many ways. Thanks go to my nephew, who knows a good wine when he meets it, for telling me about “pulling a Nixon”.