One of the real surprises of this surprising month. Nixon in the early morning hours of January 20, 1973--the day he will be inaugurated for a second time--has a long phone call with Chuck Colson, describing his intentions for a second term.
Link to the tape here.
Nixon takes the "Nixon Doctrine" in foreign policy and applies it to domestic politics. His intent is to dismantle the excesses of the Great Society and reduce the power of the federal government. This is a game-changer. Though Nixon will lose the battle with his resignation, he will win the war, starting a conservative movement that would take hold during Reagan's presidency.
Nixon's policy in Vietnam: turn over the defense of South Vietnam to the South Vietnamese. This "Nixon Doctrine" was now to be applied to domestic politics. The common theme: self-reliance.
“We shall do our share in defending peace and freedom in the world. But we shall expect others to do their share.
The time has passed when America will make every other nation’s conflict our own, or make every other nation’s future our responsibility, or presume to tell the people of other nations how to manage their own affairs.
Just as we respect the right of each nation to determine its own future, we also recognize the responsibility of each nation to secure its own future.
Just as America’s role is indispensable in preserving the world’s peace, so is each nation’s role indispensable in preserving its own peace.”
Prayers for the nation and its president
“Just as building a structure of peace abroad has required turning away from old policies that failed, so building a new era of progress at home requires turning away from old policies that have failed.
Abroad, the shift from old policies to new has not been a retreat from our responsibilities, but a better way to peace.
And at home, the shift from old policies to new will not be a retreat from our responsibilities, but a better way to progress.
Abroad and at home, the key to those new responsibilities lies in the placing and the division of responsibility. We have lived too long with the consequences of attempting to gather all power and responsibility in Washington.
Abroad and at home, the time has come to turn away from the condescending policies of paternalism—of ‘Washington knows best.’
A person can be expected to act responsibly only if he has responsibility. This is human nature. So let us encourage individuals at home and nations abroad to do more for themselves, to decide more for themselves. Let us locate responsibility in more places. Let us measure what we will do for others by what they will do for themselves.”
Nixon will take deliberate aim at JFK's inaugural "ask not" line.
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country”
COMPARE TO NIXON'S VERSION BELOW
“Let us remember that America was built not by government, but by people—not by welfare, but by work—not by shirking responsibility, but by seeking responsibility.
In our own lives, let each of us ask—not just what will government do for me, but what can I do for myself?”