John Ehrlichman: In the Eye of the Storm

As domestic advisor and confidant to President Nixon (1969-73), John Ehrlichman indeed found himself in the eye of the storm. He was a participant, witness, and sometimes home movie recorder of the dizzying highs and lows of Nixon's presidency. Sitting down with popular novelist Tom Clancy, Ehrlichman looks back from a 25 year perspective, recalling Nixon as a man of grit, determination, and great foreign policy gifts who brought himself low by paranoia (which extended to his own staff), plus a lethal mixture of arrogance and overweening ambition. As a young lawyer out of Seattle, Ehrlichman was recruited during Nixon's unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign. Nixon and many of those around him were convinced the Kennedys had stolen that election, yet one of the many paradoxes about Nixon was that he decided not to contest the election. For Nixon, politics was war and by 1968 he was ready to wage battle. Under Clancy's friendly but firm prodding, Ehrlichman gives a comprehensive picture of Nixon's aloof management style and growing siege mentality in the White House. He discusses why the infamous, incriminating Oval Office tapes were made, explains key decisions such as the fateful move to block publication of the Pentagon Papers, and offers plenty of insights and bombshells (for instance, Ehrlichman reveals that Nixon made his impulsive 1962 "farewell" address after a night of heavy drinking). Despite its conservative slant and Ehrlichman's self exculpatory tone (he admits to obstruction of justice and was imprisoned for that), this interview will be of great interest to history buffs. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)