• Happy Richard Nixon day! At least that may reflect the feelings of some journalists, historians, or really anybody with a passion for perusing formerly secret documents. The release today comes thanks to requests made by Stanley Kutler, a Watergate-era historian. He says he’s excited to read the testimony, since before the grand jury Nixon had none of his advisers or handlers to help him along — “Nixon unplugged,” as Kutler puts it. Though it’s already been reported that the testimony yields no new bombshells or admissions by Nixon, we still think this is pretty cool. You can read the files (PDF) through the source link, or download them directly from the Government Printing Office website. (photo via Flickr’s Hunter-Desportes) source

• My own view is I think he’s right if you’re talking in terms of 500 years. I think it’s wrong if you’re talking in terms of 50 years. What has to happen is they have be, frankly, inbred. And, you just, that’s the only thing that’s going to do it, Rose.
• Former president Richard Nixon • Talking on his just-released audio files about black people. Does that sound racist to you? Well, that’s because it’s pretty racist-sounding. It’s one line from 265 hours worth of tapes, and since we know you’re not going to dig through all of them, let this be the main message you take from these tapes: Nixon taped himself saying racist things. On tape. (And he says worse things abut Jews.) source

• So, Pope Benedict’s got 99 problems, and a cover-up is one. The Pope is in the middle of one massive modern scandal, one which has already tapped his shoulder personally. He should consider his next move carefully, because he’s looking just like Richard Nixon right now. Here’s how (we ganked most of this from an Atlantic article, by the way, but we figure they won’t mind):

First way: What did he know, anyway?

• Nixon While he wasn’t involved with
  the Watergate scandal directly,
  his White House denied the scandal even after finding out, claiming
  they had “no knowledge” of what took place that fateful night.
• Benedict While nobody’s claiming he committed any abuse himself, he reportedly found out about the scandal while a cardinal. The Vatican claims “no knowledge”; sound familiar?

Second way: The cover-up

• It’s not the crime that gets you… it’s the cover up.
• Former President Richard Nixon • Regarding the Watergate scandal, which ultimately was a fairly minor case in the grand scheme of things. If he came clean early and fixed the problem, he would’ve been fine! Similarly, the Pope could’ve saved himself a lot of grief if he had dealt with the incidents on his watch – a Wisconsin sex abuse case and a German priest’s case (which, admittedly, he may not have known about). The lesson here? Deal with things when first happen; they hurt less.

Third way: Shooting the messenger

• Nixon During the scandal, Nixon held a very negative opinion of the press, claiming “the press is the enemy” to his long-suffering aides.
• Pope Over the weekend, the dude said he won’t be “intimidated by petty gossip.” His aides made even more direct attacks on the media.

Fourth way: Thinking you’re infallible

• The Pope is believed to be infallible; Nixon only thought he was. One thing that Pope Benedict has over Richard Nixon is papal infallibility, a concept that many misunderstand. He’s infallible on specific dogmatic matters – matters which probably don’t include sex scandals. Nixon, on the other hand, famously claimed in 1977 that “When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Too bad the Supreme Court disagreed with him. source

• Yet while Iraq is being exorcised from our debate, its reality is bound to obtrude on our consciousness. The U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq will not alter the geostrategic importance of the country even as it alters that context.
• Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger • Regarding the need to continue focusing on Iraq policy even while we’re withdrawing. He notes that Obama barely touched on it in his State of the Union address. Due to its strategic significance and its everlasting ties to terrorism, Kissinger claims “It cannot be in the American interest to leave the region as a vacuum.” He’s like the dude claiming we should spend the day after the party doing a deep clean of the apartment, despite the fact that it’s someone else’s job. source

• 1962 Nixon, bludgeoned and bloodied by a loss in the California gubernatorial election, said he was straight-up quitting politics. Instead, he used the next few years to rebuild his base, and wouldn’t you know it? By 1968 he was elected president.
• 2009 Palin, a popular if controversial figure defined by her left-field moves, appears to be doing the same by resignation as Alaska’s governor, her base says. Now, if she ends up president in 2012, good for her, but it’s still an incredibly risky move. source