Tagged: richard nixon

On this day when Americans select their next president, WAMC's Ian Pickus speaks with Time Magazine editor and Washington Bureau Chief Michael Duffy, co-author of The Presidents Club: Inside the World’s Most Exclusive Fraternity, about the relationships between the country's past chief executives.

It all started with some businessmen bankrolling Richard Nixon to become a "salesman against socialization." But in this precursor to current campaign finance scandals, Nixon had some explaining to do to keep his place on Eisenhower’s Republican ticket, so he took to the airwaves.

In making his speech, Nixon left behind lines about a "Republican cloth coat" and a black and white cocker spaniel named "Checkers." The speech saved and bolstered Nixon’s political career and set the tone for the 1952 campaign.