In first year of the Clinton presidency, much has been made of the need for the new president to set his agenda and achieve as much as possible during the so-called "honeymoon" period when the press and the Congress are supposedly more accepting, more supportive, and more ready to encourage the new administration. Every president is thought to have such a period when the country is behind him, a period that in truth lasts varying lengths of time but which may be thought of as the first 100 days or so of the new administration. An analysis of the presidency of Richard Nixon will show what use he made of this period, how effective he was at setting and communicating his program, and how effective he was at starting to get that program passed. Even if there was not time to pass the program there should have been time to prepare for later passage, and the ultimate fate of Nixon's proposals will show how well he has done the job.
Every president is faced with the need for an agenda on the domestic front and one on the foreign policy front. When Nixon entered the White House, the most important element on the foreign policy front was the Vietnam War, and domestically this war was having a major role as well, contributing to the general unrest in the country and to a public perception of growing lawlessness and anarchy. Nixon was forced to approach foreign policy from a position he would have opposed had he had any real choice: "It was Richard Nixon's fate that he had to preside over the retreat of American power. He hated it" (Ambrose, 1989, p. 252). Left entirely to his own devices, Nixon would have followed the idea of increased armament, increased firepower, and the use of that firepower in taking the offensive against the Communists. When he became president, however, he faced a situation in which America had to retreat. The war in Vietnam was going badly, and American resolve was waning. Nixon knew that this was the case...