Truman n' Nixon, just hangin' out

photo credit: Truman Presidential Library


A couple of weeks ago I mentioned watching footage of Nixon playing the piano, when I was a kid in Lebanon...

You know about rose-colored glasses, oui? Of course you do. I'll admit it-- I'd like to look at this photo of Nixon playing the piano at the Truman library in Missouri and say, "oh, yes, those were the days, when the democrats and republicans got along, went bowling together, attended each other's kids' barmitzvahs, went to church together(the next day),and things were just peachy..." But then there's what RMN did to Helen Gahagan Douglas, the enemies list, and, um, ... that Watergate thing. And yes, on our side, LBJ's rise to power wasn't exactly all sweetness and light.
Of course, I didn't know about any of that stuff when I was 10 years old, watching Nixon on tv, but learned about them later. Many people seem to so treasure that state of lost innocence that they try to perpetuate it as their adult world-view. But I think they secretly know better.