Here are some of the more shocking, outrageous, and jaw-dropping quotes from Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of his birth (dated where dates are available):
On ancient Greece: "You know what happened to the Greeks.
Homosexuality destroyed them. Sure, Aristotle was
a homo, we all know that, so was Socrates." (1971)
On the ancient Romans, and some of the early Italians: "Do you know what happened to the Romans?
The last six Roman emperors were fags . . ..
You know what happened to the popes?
It's all right that popes were
laying the nuns."
On Italian-Americans: "The Italians, of course, those people of course don't have their heads screwed on tight."
On Jews: "It may be they have a death wish. You know that’s been the problem with our Jewish friends for centuries."
On abortion: "There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white [as parents] . . .. Or a rape."
On a colleague's observation regarding American blacks, along with an observation of his own: "He says, well, 'They are coming along, and that after all they are going to strengthen our country in the end because they are strong physically and some of them are smart.' So forth and so on . . .. My own view is I think he's right if you're talking in terms of 500 years."
On rap: ''I have often thought that if there had been a good rap group around in those days I might have chosen a career in music instead of politics.'' (1990)
On the occasion of the funeral of French President Georges Pompidou, in 1974: "This is a great day for France."
On Irish-Americans, in comparison to other ethnic groups, particularly Jews: "The Jews have certain traits. The Irish have certain – for example, the Irish can't drink. What you always have to remember with the Irish is they get mean. Virtually every Irish I've known gets mean when he drinks. Particularly the real Irish."
On 1970s Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev: "I'm glad I'm not Brezhnev. Being the Russian leader in the Kremlin. You never know if someone's tape recording what you say."
On the powers of the Presidency: "When the President does it, that means that it's not illegal." (1977)
On the papacy: "I would have made a good Pope."
On the media's role in reporting on the President: "People in the media say they must look at the president with a microscope. Now, I don't mind a microscope, but boy, when they use a proctoscope, that's going too far." (1984)
Just think how much we've been missing. We don't have Nixon to kick around any more.
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