Digby: Wise Men Were Wiser Then

The following is an excerpt from Rick Perlstein's upcoming book Nixonland: The Politics and Culture of the American Berserk, 1965-1972

The President began to look almost demented. At a March 25th speech to AFL-CIO Building Trades Department, as North Vietnamese troops made their deepest penetration into the South so far, he cried:

"Now, the America we are building"--he paused, and hit the words deliberately for emphasis--"would--be--a--threatened--nation if we let freedom and liberty die in Vietnam...

"I sometimes wonder why we Americans enjoy punishing ourselves so much with our own criticism.

"This is a pretty good land. I am not saying you never had it so good. But that is a fact, isn't it?"

He pulled himself close to the podium, and stared into the audience, his eyes as wide as saucers.