Trump channels Nixon in his state of the union

The president had been there before and knew what he was doing.

It wasn't, as they say, his first rodeo.

“Mr. Speaker, and Mr. President, and my distinguished colleagues and our guests: I would like to add a personal word with regard to an issue that has been of great concern to all Americans over the past year,

“I refer, of course, to the investigations of the so-called Watergate affair. As you know, I have provided to the special prosecutor voluntarily a great deal of material. I believe that I have provided all the material that he needs to conclude his investigations and to proceed to prosecute the guilty and to clear the innocent.

"I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end. One year of Watergate is enough.”


Richard Nixon probably didn't realize that Jan. 30, 1974, would be his final State of the Union address. Although he knew he was as guilty as homemade sin, odds are he figured he could still find a way to finish his term.

Nixon in 1974.

He didn't, and less than eight months later he had become a historical footnote, the only man ever to resign the presidency.

He lived another 20 years, dying early in the Bill Clinton administration.

Time passed on, and eventually Karl Marx's old expression about history repeating itself came to pass.

And 45 years and six days later, on a Tuesday night in February, history repeated itself as farce.

Donald Trump went to Congress with the advance notice that he would try to encourage bipartisanship, but of course these days, bipartisanship means coercing Democrats to do what Republicans want them to do.

Trump sounded at first as if he might be serious.

“We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution, and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. Together, we can break decades of political stalemate.”

Trump in 2019.

Of course it was just words.

Then:

“An economic miracle is taking place in the United States — and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations. If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn’t work that way! We must be united at home to defeat our adversaries abroad.”

Ridiculous partisan investigations?

Like the investigations into Benghazi that Republicans later admitted were done for the sole purpose of weakening Hillary Clinton as a presidential candidate?

Like the investigations ...

Oh, hell. It really isn't worth listing them all. If there is one thing we've learned over the last 25 years or so, it's the Republican investigations are for the good of America. Anything else is ridiculous and partisan.

Somewhere Richard Nixon is smiling.

Karl Marx too.