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November 4, 2016 – I didn’t get to bed until late Wednesday. \u00a0(Another sleepless night.) <\/em>I wanted to see if the Chicago Cubs could “break the curse.” They started Game 7 strong, and built a solid lead. Then things got close. The Indians tied it up in the eighth inning. The game went into extra innings, and in the top of the 10th the Cubs got another apparently-solid lead. Two runs, to go up 8-6. \u00a0But the Indians came back and got a run in the bottom of the 10th. Finally the Cubs hung on and ended up winning, “by the narrowest of margins.” \u00a0(8-7.)<\/em><\/p>\nI’m starting to wonder if the upcoming election will turn out the same way.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n One reason is the recent 11th-hour<\/a>\u00a0hubbub about\u00a0Hillary Clinton\u00a0facing “FBI indictment<\/a>.” (A report “later debunked.”) But the hubbub reminded me – after the initial shock – of a story I read some time ago in\u00a0The Presidents Club<\/a><\/em>. (By Nancy Gibbs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Michael Duffy<\/a>,\u00a0Managing Editors at\u00a0Time<\/a> magazine.) <\/span>Starting on page 236, they described Richard Nixon<\/a> committing treason to get elected president in 1968. \u00a0But don’t take my word for it: See George Will Confirms Nixon’s Vietnam Treason<\/a>. And by the way, the title of this post harks back<\/a>\u00a0to one I did last May: \u00a0<\/span>Is this \u201cdeja vu all over again<\/a>?” \u00a0<\/em><\/span>(Which asked\u00a0the musical question<\/a>: \u00a0\u201cIs\u00a0there a new\u00a0Maverick<\/a>\u00a0in town?)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The upshot – South Vietnam pulling out – was that Richard Nixon got elected instead of Hubert Humphrey. And as Nixon later confessed, if the peace treaty had<\/em> <\/strong>been signed – some 72 hours before Election Day, 1968 – Humphrey “would have had the election in the bag.” So how did Nixon do it?<\/em> <\/strong>\u00a0According to one official, “It is not stretching the truth … to say that the Nixon campaign had a secret source within the U.S. negotiating team.”<\/p>\n Which leads to my question: \u00a0“Does Donald Trump have a secret source within the FBI?” \u00a0(Or is the\u00a0<\/em>FBI simply an anti-Clinton “Trumpland<\/a><\/em>,” as other sources say…)<\/em><\/p>\n He was wrong – very wrong – about Nixon.<\/p>\n Over the next two weeks the plot thickened. \u00a0Nixon figured that Johnson wanted to bring peace in Vietnam – to end the war – solely to “swing the election in the final days,” to Humphrey. \u00a0And he had sources inside LBJ’s camp, including Henry Kissinger, who was “working both sides of the game.” \u00a0(And despite Kissinger’s thinking that Nixon was “a disaster,” “unfit to be President,”and “the most dangerous of all men running.”)<\/em><\/p>\n Later – when Nixon spoke with Johnson in person, by phone – he “poured it on thick,” saying that he would “never<\/em> do anything to encourage Saigon not to come to the table.” \u00a0But after the phone call ended:<\/p>\n “Nixon and his friends collapsed with laughter,” reported the Sunday “Times” of London in an account of the episode months later. \u00a0“It was partly in sheer relief that their victory had not been taken from them at the eleventh hour<\/a>.” \u00a0Forty-eight hours later, Nixon won the presidency by the \u00a0narrowest of margins: \u00a0seven tenths of one percent<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Which brings up a key point: \u00a0Although Nixon won the popular<\/em> vote by that mere “seven tenths of one percent,” he won by a wide margin in the Electoral College. \u00a0(301 Electoral College votes to 191 for Humphrey and 46 for Wallace. \u00a0See\u00a0Presidential Election of 1968 – 270toWin.com<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n Which means – in a word – that quite often the popular vote\u00a0doesn’t mean squat<\/a>.<\/p>\n But getting back to the election in 1968. \u00a0The other upshot of Nixon’s treachery was that Hubert Humphrey found out about it soon after the fact. \u00a0However, in the best interests of the country he kept it a secret. \u00a0(As did all other members of the “President’s Club.”) \u00a0<\/em>All those arguably-honorable men kept Nixon’s treason a secret, “until the tapes revealed all.”<\/p>\n As to his committing treason to get elected? \u00a0“‘It sure beats losing,’ he said with a smile.”<\/p>\n * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n \u00a0* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n The original post had an upper image courtesy of Richard Nixon – Wikipedia<\/a>. I captioned it, “Richard Nixon<\/a> – ‘traitor’ – goes on the air three months before resigning to avoid impeachment<\/a>.”<\/em><\/p>\n For another take on Clinton’s “11th-hour woes,” see\u00a0FiveThirtyEight\u2019s extraordinary prediction model is failing<\/a>. \u00a0(And also\u00a0Matthew 20:9<\/a>, and\/or\u00a0What’s the Origin of the Phrase “The Eleventh Hour<\/a>.”)<\/em><\/p>\n Re: “Eleventh-hour hubbub.” \u00a0For one take, see the\u00a0Fox News claim<\/a>. \u00a0For another take, see\u00a0<\/em>‘The FBI is Trumpland’: anti-Clinton atmosphere spurred leaks, sources say<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Re: \u00a0“President’s Club.” \u00a0The full title:\u00a0The Presidents Club:\u00a0 Inside the World\u2019s Most Exclusive Fraternity<\/a>, by\u00a0Nancy Gibbs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Michael Duffy<\/a>. \u00a0The quotes from the book are from the “October Surprise” section, from page 236 to 249. <\/em>See also\u00a0\u201cBrother from another mother\u201d and other ex-Prez tales<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Re: Nixon treason: \u00a0See also\u00a0How Richard Nixon Sabotaged 1968 Vietnam Peace Talks<\/a>;\u00a0Yes, Nixon Scuttled the Vietnam Peace Talks – POLITICO<\/a>;\u00a0Yep, he sabotaged peace talks in Vietnam for political gain (Smithsonian)<\/a>;\u00a0and\/or\u00a0Nixon sabotaged the Paris Peace Talks – Esquire<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The “Thieu” image is courtesy of\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n Thi\u1ec7u.jpg <\/a>…\u00a0wikimedia.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Donald](\"http:\/\/static1.businessinsider.com\/image\/56684d90dd089548678b46f7-480\/donald-trump.jpg\")
The “new Maverick” – of whom I asked – was\u00a0Donald Trump. \u00a0(And the post included the image at right.)<\/span>But back to Nixon’s<\/em><\/strong> treason: The story – said Gibbs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Duffy<\/a>, sub-head, “October Surprise” was of Nixon “scuttling” the Paris Peace Talks<\/a>. The kicker was that despite having a peace treaty ready to be signed – to end the war in Vietnam – the South Vietnamese suddenly pulled out.<\/p>\n![\"George](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/c9\/George_C_Wallace.jpg\/220px-George_C_Wallace.jpg\")
But again, let’s get back to Nixon’s<\/em> <\/strong>treason. \u00a0Before announcing the tentative accord – some three weeks before the election – then-President Johnson called the three candidates for president: \u00a0Nixon, Humphrey, and\u00a0George Wallace<\/a>. \u00a0(At left.)<\/em> \u00a0To each candidate he said the same thing, “I know you don’t want to play politics with your country.”<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/1\/1b\/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_Thi%E1%BB%87u.jpg\")
The upshot was that Nixon made a deal with\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n Thi\u1ec7u<\/a>\u00a0– at right –\u00a0then-president of South Vietnam. \u00a0He pulled out of the talks, with the result that Johnson looked like “a sneak, a manipulator who put his own agenda ahead of the country’s.” \u00a0(Even as Nixon himself was doing just that.) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/7d\/Air_Force_One_over_Mt._Rushmore.jpg\/250px-Air_Force_One_over_Mt._Rushmore.jpg\")
Another result: \u00a0U.S. involvement in the\u00a0Vietnam War<\/a>\u00a0continued until August of 1973, instead of ending closer to Election Day, 1968. \u00a0The “war would continue and widen [and] the death toll mount … until it finally ended on terms very much like the ones tentatively agreed to in October of 1968.” \u00a0And incidentally, Nixon made his “in the bag” comment while sitting in\u00a0Air Force One<\/a>, one version of which is shown at left.\u00a0 (And which a gracious Lyndon Johnson let Nixon use – as president-elect – as a “club courtesy.” \u00a0Referring again to the so-called “President’s Club.”) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/7\/75\/OperationHueCity1967wounded.jpg\/800px-OperationHueCity1967wounded.jpg\")
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