re: #118 Targetpractice

I don’t mean to sound callous when I say “them too.” Really, the costs of the war, in human terms, economic terms, political terms, and so forth on both sides that could have been avoided had it been brought to a negotiated end in ‘68 should earn Nixon the title of Worst President in History. He actually one-ups James Buchanan, because he didn’t just sit on his ass while the country moved to war, he actively worked to prolong a war to ensure his election to the presidency.

I “love” the tapes released a couple years back of Nixon and Kissinger discussing the bombing of Cambodia. Kissinger is clearly hesitant about such use of force, and he advises against the bombing because of civilian casualties and Cambodia’s status as a non-combatant nation. (Kissinger also says he’s concerned about appearances and the effect on Nixon’s legacy.)

Nixon responds by essentially saying he doesn’t care about that shit…and then effectively calls Kissinger a pussy for expressing such concerns. I don’t have much nice to say about Nixon, other than he was an ideological moderate and secularist by comparison to today’s Republicans.