Richard Nixon, Crook

Yesterday marked the 31st Anniversary of the resignation of President Richard Nixon, and true to form, MSNBC's conservative lapdog Monica Crowley did her best to re-write history, describing his presidency in rosy and sentimental terms. What a great, misunderstood guy! Apparently so-called journalist Crowley never read the Nixon tape transcripts, nor the growing library of books detailing his nefarious tenure in the White House.

Richard Nixon was a flat-out crook, a paranoid, scheming dirt-bag who spent his time ordering his staff to break any number of laws to intimidate, violate or dig up dirt on his opponents. One of those opponents was my Grandmother, Petey Cerf, who had the audacity to denounce Nixon and give money to the McGovern campaign, a patriotic act if ever there was one. But for her efforts, Nixon added her to his infamous "enemies list," entitling her to be audited by the IRS and put under scrutiny by the FBI. These egregious violations of her civil rights, illegal and unconstitutional, are often overlooked, indeed forgotten, by commentators reviewing the Nixon years. But they were every bit as corrupt and un-American as the Watergate break-in and its cover-up.

To experience just how scummy, scheming, foul-mouthed, bigoted, paranoid and criminal Richard Nixon was, just read some of the transcripts of his conversations.* They are beyond appalling, and expose him for what many, like my Grandmother, knew he was. A filthy crook, absolutely unfit for the presidency.

Vividly, I remember returning from a kayak trip with my father in the summer of 1974, several days after my 12th birthday, turning on the radio, and hearing Nixon's resignation. We were overjoyed and celebrated, relieved that the disgraceful era of Tricky Dick was over.

Shame on you, Monica Crowley. If you hope to give the impression of intelligence, get the facts straight before you carry water for Nixon again.

* A good place to start would be "All The President's Men," by Woodward and Bernstein, and "The Secret Man" by Woodward. Also, selected tape transcripts are available through the National Archive and its website, www.archive.gov.