Because Nixon resigned in disgrace after the Watergate Scandal, many Americans
remember him as a failed president. In terms of Nixon's foreign and domestic
policies, do you think Nixon deserves this reputation?

Question

Because Nixon resigned in disgrace after the Watergate Scandal, many Americans 
remember him as a failed president. In terms of Nixon's foreign and domestic 
policies, do you think Nixon deserves this reputation?

anonymous · Answer

no, he did a good job with those and over all wasnt that bad of a president he just made some bad mistakes down the stretch

anonymous · Answer

I agree with megatron_88. Nixon actually had a number of big accomplishments during his Presidency such as opening up China ("Only Nixon could go to China" is an old saying), setting up detente between the US and the Soviets, pushed for further desegregation in the South (yes, it was the 70s and that was still going on), created the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), kicked off the space shuttle program (he basically greenlighted the process to develop one) and was re-elected with a huge win.

Unfortunately, Watergate essentially threw all of that under the bus because that's all he's remembered for nowadays. The tapes also revealed facets to his personality that also didn't resonate with his public accomplishments which further muddied his reputation. Not saying that he didn't deserve the flak he received -- he most certainly did for his abuse of power -- but at the same time, he was also a guy who did some pretty impressive things before screwing up.

anonymous · Answer

While Nixon was a crook, he still did plenty of very good things. He opened China to the rest of the world. He signed into law the EPA. He also signed into law the Clean Air Act and created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.