Thirty years after he left the White House, one of Duke's most infamous alumni--former President Richard Nixon, Law '37--was resurrected in a panel discussion that included both his staunchest supporters and a man who prosecuted him.
In a two-hour discussion in front of a 100-plus person audience at the School of Law, panelists gave the former president mixed reviews, but all agreed on the importance of his legacy.
The speakers included Edward Nixon, Trinity '52, his youngest brother; Raymond Price, Nixon's special consultant and former head of his writing and research staff; Philip Lacovara, counsel to the Watergate special prosecutor who argued the Nixon tapes before the Supreme Court; and Ole Holsti, George V. Allen professor of political science.
"I reflected what a tragedy it was that he could have been a great president--maybe he still will be remembered as a great president--if it had not been for Watergate," Lacovara said. "But Watergate was real."
Richard Nixon's most important legacy, Holsti said, was his international policy. Holsti gave the former president good grades, particularly for his relations with China, but lamented his resignation from office as a lost opportunity for further international relations.
Lacovara emphasized the former president's impact on the legal system and the presidency. "With the exception of Franklin Roosevelt, no president has had more impact on public law," Lacovara said.
When he counseled the special prosecutor, Lacovara's office chose to bring the case before the U.S. Supreme Court in order to name the case The United States of America v. Richard Nixon.
"It showed the special prosecutor was the prosecutor for the United States, and that Richard Nixon was a man who just happened to be president," Lacovara said. "It demonstrated the ultimate constitutional point that the special prosecutor has the right to evidence, wherever it may lay, and showed that the president must abide by the law."
Both Price and Edward Nixon staunchly supported the former president's integrity during Watergate. Price predicted that in the future Nixon would be rated as one of the nation's best presidents.
"I fought the Watergate battle alongside him," Price said. "I believed then, as I believe today, that we were on the right side of the battle."
Edward Nixon said his brother loved both the office of the presidency and the University. "Richard Nixon honored the office," he said. "He held it in the highest regard. And he loved Duke, even though it kind of spit on him every now and then."
Randy Cook, a second-year law student, organized the event. "When I arrived at Duke, I was struck by [Richard Nixon's] physical absence," Cook said. "But Iron Butt's legacy lives on."
The former president gained the nickname Iron Butt during law school when he lived in a one bedroom house with three roommates, without heat and a mile from campus. "He appreciated it; it was tough," his brother said. "And he was always proud."
Richard Nixon continued his relationship with the University, donating to it and even offering it the right to house his presidential library. "It did hurt him when Duke refused the library," Price said. "The fact that he offered them the library tells you all you need to know."
Edward Nixon said that while he was an undergraduate at the University, his brother00then a senator00would call him from Washington. "He would always ask what the students were thinking," he said. "He would never ask what the professors were thinking, because he knew the students would be professors some day--and that they would be voting soon."
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