At least Richard Nixon understood the intricacies of global diplomacy

Kissinger’s tactics worked. On June 15 1971, Nixon told the Soviet Ambassador that he wanted one-on-one confidential talk with Kissinger with no involvement from the conventional channels of the US State and Defence Departments. “Kissinger has a special relationship with me,” Nixon said.

While the tendency of the media these days is to focus on the colourful language, crazy plots and schemes and Nixon’s vengeful ruminations whenever there’s a new release of White House tapes from the archives (a recent media headline revealed that Nixon had been too drunk to meet British PM Edward Heath!), it is worth recalling that Nixon’s intellect and vision in foreign policy were first rate.

It is hard to imagine a greater contrast between George W Bush’s simplistic and naïve neo-conservatism that divides the world into good versus evil, and Nixon’s finely calibrated sense of global architecture.

For Nixon, success in foreign policy meant striking a balance between, to use his words, "deterrence, competition and negotiation". He was critical of the extremists who surrounded Ronald Regan – and no doubt would have regarded the present Bush Administration with equal disdain. The recognition of China in 1972 and the arms limitation treaties with the Soviet Union during his presidency were made possible because of Nixon’s interest and capacity in the intricately nuanced world of foreign affairs.

That Watergate and the corruption of the Presidency it exposed weakened the US is not in question, but Richard Nixon’s domestic (he established the Environment Protection Act and was a middle-of-the-road interventionist on welfare policy and the economy) and foreign policy record should allow him a more elevated place in history. 

The last word on Nixon – and one which all politicians should note daily – belongs to himself. He wrote in 1990: “No victory is ever permanent and no defeat irredeemable.” Nixon’s flawed and tumultuous life and the ongoing debate about his legacy today is living proof of that observation.