Tanned, Rested, and Ready

[you can read the full press release about this event here.]

In 1968, Richard Nixon returned from the political wilderness, declaring himself a candidate for the presidency. Of course, he buried Hubert Humphrey in November, reelected in 1972, until he was forced to resign the office in August 1974, amid the Watergate scandal. The 38th President of the United States began a long rehabilitation after leaving the White House. He even became a respected elder statesman, prior to his death in 1994.

Yesterday, July 12, 2007 (34 years after the last Presidential conversation recorded on the secret taping system took place - and the anniversary of the fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis), the National Archives and Records Administration took formal control of the Richard M. Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. The Richard Nixon Library and Museum joins the other 11 presidential libraries in the National Archives system.

The ceremony yesterday also allowed staff to highlight 11 1/2 hours of newly-released tape-recorded conversations revealing Nixon's thoughts on the 1972 Presidential and Congressional elections and his plans for the reorganization of his administration in its second term. The materials in the library are available due to a deed of gift from the private Nixon Foundation to the National Archives.

So, love him or hate him, Nixon's been given a new place to continue to work on his image, even from beyond the grave. To paraphrase New York City's energetic mayor, Ed Koch, "How's He Doin'?"