Student Questions from the film, Nixon

Did Nixon really visit the Lincoln Memorial in the middle of the night?

    Yes, he went there with only his personal aide, Manolo Sanchez, and a
    limousine driver.  After the visit to the Lincoln Memorial, Nixon visited
    the Capitol Building and then, met by his staff, had breakfast in the
    Rib Room of the Mayflower Hotel.

Why the repeated allusions to Lincoln throughout the film?

    Nixon viewed the nation as divided and used the divisions of Lincoln's
    as a comparison and "frame of reference" for interpreting his time. He
    referred to divisions over the war, between generations, and between races.

Was Nixon in Dallas on the day of JFK's assassination.

    Yes. He arrived on November 20th for a meeting of the board of
    Directors of the Pepsi Cola Company, one of his law clients.  He departed
    on the morning of November 22nd, before JFK's arrival at Love Field.

    Conspiracy theorists allege that Nixon, along with Lyndon Johnson and
    J. Edgar Hoover, attended a party at the home of Clint Murchison on
    the eve of JFK's arrival at Dallas.  There is no solid evidence supporting
    this claim.

Some "Curiosities" from H.R. Haldeman:

    "It seems that in all of those Nixon references to the Bay of Pigs, he was
     actually referring to the Kennedy assassination." (from "Ends of Power")

    Nixon is heard on the June 23rd, 1972 tape (a meeting with Haldeman)
    saying that the Warren Commission pulled off "the greatest hoax that has       
    ever been perpetuated."

J. Edgar Hoover

    The relationship with Clyde Tolson, #2 at the FBI, was the object of
    much speculation within the Beltway.  This is known:
        (a) they lived at the same address
        (b) they traveled and vacationed together
        (c) Tolson, listed as FBI Associate, was the beneficiary of Hoover's estate
        (d) Hoover and Tolson are buried next to each other

Nixon's Youth

    For the most part, the "view" of Nixon's early life is reasonably accurate.
        (a) two brothers died
        (b) the portrayal of his father corresponds to Nixon's recollections
        (c) his mother did speak and write using the Quaker form
        (d) he was a third string football player at Whittier
        (e) his early relationship with Pat is well described

    Some events are "misplaced." He did refer to himself as "your good dog" but
    it was in a letter not in a conversation

The Relationship with Pat

    Unclear but many of the episodes were reported in Woodward and Bernstein,
    "The Final Days" (see especially 163-167).

Nixon's Hospitalization

    He was hospitalized for pneumonia during the same week that the
    the existence of the Watergate Tapes became known.

Nixon the "pill popping drinker."

    This portrayal was subject to much dispute.  Aides reported that Nixon only drank
    on social occasion and never when he was working.  The pill scenes, according
    Nixon biographer Steven Ambrose, are not supported historically.

The 18 1/2 Minute Gap

    The official explanation was that Nixon's Secretary, Rose Mary
    Woods, inadvertently erased part of the tape.