Richard Nixon's Commandments of Statecraft

1) Always be prepared to negotiate, but never negotiate without being prepared.

2) Never be belligerent, but always be firm.

3) Always remember that covenants should be openly agreed to but privately negotiated.

"Public tactics tend to harden the opposition. 
Successful diplomatic or business negotiators resist the temptation to grandstand or make public demands that can be interpreted as threats."

4) Never seek publicity that would destroy the ability to get results.

5) Never give up unilaterally what could be used as a bargaining chip. Make your adversaries give something for everything they get.

6) Never let your adversary underestimate what you would do in response to a challenge. Never tell Him what you would not do.

7) Always leave your adversary a face-saving line of retreat.

8) Always carefully distinguish between friends who provide some human rights and enemies who deny all human rights.

9) Always do at least a much for our friends as our adversaries do for our enemies.

10) Never lose faith.  In just cause faith can move mountains. Faith without strength is futile; but strength without faith is sterile.

11) "Sometimes leaders are hesitant about executing strong and controversial measures in the belief that a less than full-hearted operation mutes criticism. When you once decide, go with all your might."

12) "When saying 'always' and 'never,' always keep a mental reservation; never foreclose the unique exception; always leave room for maneuver. A president always has yet to be prepared for what he thought he would never do." 

Lanky Link: Abraham Lincoln's many losses along the way to the White House

By Jack Brummet, Presidents Editor

• When he was 22, his business failed. 
• At age 23, he lost a bid for U.S. Congress. 
• The next year, another business he started went under.
• Finally at age 25, he was elected to the state legislature. 
• When he was 26, his girlfriend died. 
• At 27, he had a nervous breakdown. 
• When Lincoln was 29, he was beaten in the race for the post of Speaker of the House Illinois legislature. 
• When he was 31, he was defeated as an Elector (you, know - the electoral college). 
• At age 34, he was beaten when he ran for congress, 
• When he was 37, he ran for Congress once again and won, but, alas, two years later, he was not re-elected.  When he was 46, he ran for the Senate and lost. 
• The next year year, he ran for Vice President and lost. 
• At the age of 51, he was elected President of the United States.

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Painting: 44

click to enlarge
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Barack channels Ray from Dreams From My Father and cusses up a wonderful storm

By Pablo Fanque

All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Unlike most authors who release "audio books," The President read his own work. And fortunately for us, he read the unexpurgated version of Dreams From My Father. It would have been such fun if someone had dug these up during the election and used them in ads. In fact, it's almost stunning no one turned these up in October, as they combed through every detail of Obama's life. Alas, we'll just have to enjoy them now without the heat of the election. . .

Ray, a fellow classmate of Obama’s, was also bi-racial, and swore like a mofo. In these excerpts Obama channels Ray. I don't know about you, but I think Obama's delivery leads me to believe that he probably doesn't use the word motherf***er on a daily basis.

“This sh*t’s getting way too complicated for me.”

“You know that guy ain’t sh*t. Sorry-ass motherf****r ain’t got nothing on me.”

“There are white folks, and then there are ignorant motherf***ers like you.”

“Sure you can have my number, baby!”

You know that guy ain’t s**t. Sorry-ass motherf***er ain’t got nothing on me, right? Nothin'

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BFF: Best Friends Forever? Hillary and Barack start down the road of world affairs

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Correspondent

Painting by Jack Brummet


Click the BFFs to enlarge

Global warming definitely exists, at least in the relationship between the two former arch-rivals Ex-Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. They are now unquestionably the most powerful man and woman in the Democratic Party (and soon, arguably, the world).

After all the bitterness on the campaign trail, Hillary's masterful speech at the Dem's convention this summer sealed it. In fact, Obama's top aides jumped out of their seats backstage and gave her a standing ovation as she walked by.

Obama soon called to thank her. Fast forward to when--->>

Late last week future President Obama reassured Clinton she would have direct access to him and that she could select her own staff as secretary of state. And the deal was done.

Some people even think ('though most people doubt) that Obama and Clinton could become close friends. There is a lot of mutual respect and they are both extremely intelligent. As it turns out, Obama is much more a centrist that the rabid Obamanistas could have ever believed, which seems to be a page from the Bill Clinton playbook. Dean Acheson was no friend of President Harry Truman and Henry Kissinger, while in agreement with Dick Nixon intellectually, clearly was no personal friend. Rusk, McNamara, et al. were not JFK pals, and were, in fact, more conservative. It will be fascinating to watch the relationship unfold between Clinton and Obama. . .whether it becomes a train wreck, or whether they become close, or even BFFs, as they work the world.
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POTUS 22 and 24: President Grover Cleveland, the man who was President twice

Click to enlarge

The New York Times obituary of Grover Cleveland on 6-25-1908 is full of praise from all quarters and in 1908, many people placed Cleveland at the very top of Presidents, right up there with the men on Rushmore (which, of course, didn't exist yet).

From his stint as mayor of Buffalo, to his time as Governor of New York, he was considered a hard working and honest man known for his sense of duty. He took on Tammany Hall when it was risky to do so, and despite the machine having backed him for Governor. He was one of the good guys.

President Cleveland had a sex-scandal or two to live down: he was accused of fathering a son out of wedlock--a charge that he admitted might be true (!), because of his affair with Maria Halpin in 1874. By 'fessing up, Cleveland pulled off what we might think of as a "Bill Clinton" and won the election by a slim margin.

After two years as a bachelor President, Cleveland announced his marriage to his twenty-one-year-old ward (I thought only Batman had a ward!), Frances Folsom, the daughter of his former law partner. The press had a field day satirizing the relationship between the old goat and the recent college graduate, who soon became the most popular first lady since Dolley Madison.

Cleveland would lose his re-election bid, and is the first and last president to bounce back from a loss to retake the White House.

Historians consider him a President who strengthened the executive branch, but made no dramatic accomplishments, and had no real vision for the future. He is most remebered as being a bridge to the modern strong presidency as it would be practiced by Teddy Roosevelt and those to follow.
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POTUS 19 - Rutherford. B. Hayes, a/k/a Rutherfraud

Rutherford B. Hayes, as the 19th President, began implementing policies to heal the nation after the Civil War. He had a reputation reputation for integrity as a soldier and politician. His election was the lengthiest , most bitterly contested, and corrupt presidential election in history. . .until the year 2000, when George Bush would make it look like a ramble in a sunny meadow.

After the Civil War, Hayes served as a governor and congressman, and by 1876, Republicans recognized that the scrupulous Hayes--a swing state war hero--was potential Presidential timber. His opponent, Democratic opponent Samuel J. Tilden of New York rolled up a plurality of 250,000 votes, but the vote in three southern states was close enough for both Republicans and Democrats to contest them. Congress set up a special commission which awarded the disputed electoral college votes. The outraged Democrats called Hayes "Rutherfraud" and "His Fraudulency."

As President, Hayes believed that military occupation bred hatred among southerners and prevented a national healing. Reconstruction was nearly over when Hayes took office in 1877. Federal troops were stationed only in New Orleans, Louisiana, and South Carolina. The federal occupation ended early in his administration. Alas, by the 1890s, the racist Democratic hold on the South resulted in a complete denial of voting rights for blacks until the 1960s.

Hayes ran for only one term. In retirement he worked for equal educational and prison reform.

President Hayes was the only President whose election was decided by a congressional commission. He was the first president to travel to the West Coast as president and the first to have a telephone and typewriter in the White House.
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Painting of POTUS 9, President William Henry Harrison; the drive-by President, who lasted one month in office

Click to enlarge President William Henry Harrison


President Harrison was probably the first empty suit elected to the Presidency. In the end, the damage was slight.

He rode to victory on the coattails of leading a much embroidered battle with Indians called Tippecanoe. "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," was his slogan, and it is probably the best known campaign slogan in American history. The Whigs selected Harrison as a candidate because they believed in a strong congress and a weak president; Harrison filled the bill perfectly. The Whigs turned out 82% of the eligible voters with such blandishments as live music, balloon rides, and free whiskey.

President Harrison's campaign slogan proved to be somewhat prophetic, his Presidency becoming something of an asterisk n the history books. He apparently caught, and soon, died of pneumonia 31 days after assuming office. He was succeeded by President John Tyler. Despite his highly-truncated tenure he is better known than many other Presidents. He is probably the most prominent amongst the most obscure Presidents. . .
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Painting of Potus 7: Andrew Jackson a/k/a "Old Hickory"

click Andrew Jackson to enlarge

President Jackson is probably best known for his mug starring on the Twenty Dollar Bill. As you probably know, his nickname was Old Hickory. He was a hero in the War of 1812, where he took the British for a ride. Jackson was a polarizing figure who nevertheless dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s.

In the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, Jackson's 5,000 soldiers stomped the Brits. Out of 7,500 British soldiers, the British had more than 2,000 casualties vs. Jackson's 13 killed and 58 wounded or missing.

Possibly the most shameful legacy of Andrew Jackson's presidency was his advocacy of a policy of "Indian removal." In his December 8, 1829 Annual Message to Congress, Jackson stated:

"This emigration should be voluntary, for it would be as cruel as unjust to compel the aborigines to abandon the graves of their fathers and seek a home in a distant land. But they should be distinctly informed that if they remain within the limits of the States they must be subject to their laws. In return for their obedience as individuals they will without doubt be protected in the enjoyment of those possessions which they have improved by their industry."

Andy was responsible for a number of POTUS firsts: he was the first populist president to not rise from the aristocracy; he was the first President to have his vice-president (John C. Calhoun) resign, and he was the first to marry a divorcee. Most importantly to the partisans among us, he helped shape The Democratic Party. He may have believed in democracy, and been a Democrat, but sadly, he "owned" up to 150 slaves, who worked his nearly 1,000 acre plantation.
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Another All This Is That List: A few things you didn't know about the President of the United States

click to enlarge...

John Quincy Adams, our 6th President, often skinny-dipped in the Potomac River on summer mornings. [See All This Is That: POTUS 6: President John Quincy Adams - First Son Of A President To Become President And The First President To Become A Congressman Post-White House]

William Henry Harrison was inaugurated on an extremely cold day and "caught a cold that developed into pneumonia" [ed's note: hmmmm...we know now that cold weather neither causes colds or pneumonia]. He died exactly one month after becoming the 9th President. [See Jack's portrait and biography of Harrison here: 166 Years Ago Today, William Henry Harrison Became The Fastest President Ever.]

John Tyler, POTUS No. 10, fathered 15 children with two wives. Number 15 arrived when he was 70. [See Jack's portrait and bio of Tyler here: POTUS 10: Pres. John Tyler - The First Accidental President]

The 11th president of the United States James Polk survived a gall bladder surgery when he was 17. The only anaesthetic was brandy. [See All This Is That: POTUS 11: Pres. James Polk - The Man With The Mullet]

Lanky Link a/k/a Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President, often carried letters, bills, and notes in his stovepipe hat. [See All This Is That: POTUS 16: Pres. Abraham Lincoln - The Most Beloved President?]

The 17th U.S. president Andrew Johnson never went to school. Ever. His wife, Eliza McCardle, taught him to write when he was 17. [See All This Is That: POTUS 17: Pres. Andrew Johnson - The Worst President Ever]

James Garfield was ambidextrous and multilingual. The 20th president of the United States could write--[ed's note: is this cool, or what?] at the same time--Greek with one hand and Latin with the other. [See All This Is That: POTUS 20: Pres. James Garfield]

The ubiquitous toy, the teddy bear, arose from 26th U.S. president Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt's refusal to shoot a bear with her cub on a hunting trip in Mississippi. [See All This Is That: POTUS 26: President Theodore Roosevelt - The Roughrider]

32nd president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt was related, either by blood or by marriage, to 11 former presidents. [See All This Is That: POTUS 32: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt - The Man In The Wheelchair Who Lifted The Country On His Shoulders; The Only POTUS To Win Four Terms]

The letter "S" in the 33rd president's name, is just that. His middle name is S. Harry S. Truman's middle name came from two of his grandfathers, whose names both had "S" in them. [See All This Is That: POTUS 33: President Harry Truman - "The Buck Stops Here"]

Military leader and 34th president of the U.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower loved to cook; he developed a recipe for vegetable soup that is 894 words long and includes the stems of nasturtium flowers as one of the ingredients. See, separate post today, that includes his recipe. [For more detail on President Eisenhower, see All This Is That: POTUS 34: Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower - A Most Detached President]

40th president of the United States Ronald Reagan broke the so-called "20-year curse," in which every president elected in a year ending in 0 died in office. Ronald Reagan broke the curse, and George Bush looks like he will carry on the tradition! [See All This Is That: POTUS 40: Pres. Ronald "Dutch" Reagan - B Movie Actor To President]

George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States, and his wife Laura were married three months after meeting each other. [See All This Is That: POTUS 43: Pres. George W. Bush - One Of The Nearly 5% Of Presidents Who Are Sons Of Presidents]
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