policy - The Black Vault

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criticism by only a few Democrats like Fulbright at a time when the public
support for his war policies was high.
Johnson's defensiveness in 1966 and
1967 and in his ability to break with the left wing of his party also prevented
him from moving firmly to the right and marshalling American public
sentiment for a crusade in Vietnam.
The clarity of Nixon's political base
gave him the opportunity to withdraw American troops and at the same time
to appeal to patriotism and n&tional honor to gain support for his poliLies.
While Nixon's political base
wed him considerable latitude
in dealing with the Vietnam war, he eAperienced continuing difficulty
in defining his domestic policies. 31/ This lack of definition and the
philosophy described as "pragmatic conservatism" were at the root of the
rapid fluctuations that took place in the administration's economic Nil
policies as they were tailored to meet changing economic and political
conditions. Nevertheless, there was an internal consistency in Nixon's
policies which angered liberals and the left in American politics because
of both his war policies and his domestic policies. As he pursued both
aspects of policy making Nixon was to continue building his new majority by
isolating dissent on the left.
In dealing with the press, Nixon-s political base also provided
him with opportunities that had not been open to Johnson.
in spite of his
heavy editorial support, Nixon had launched a campaign through Spiro Agnew
against the press, especially against the New York Times and the Washington
Post (See Chapter 3). Johnson had sought to win press support througn
courting individual reporters. Nixon instead attacked his enemies and
sought to isolate them with his enemies on the political left. While
Nixon's political strategies provided him with partisan gains in the 1972
election, they also exacerbated the tendency in American politics during
the Vietnam war to polarize left and right political opinion.
b. Nixon's Personal Policy Predilections
El. Richard Nixon, like John Kennedy, sat out to make his mark
in foreign affairs.
In this effort he was assisted by Henry Kissinger with
whom he had compatible views or. foreigrn policy objectives and strategies.
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