In the Arena, by Richard Nixon

...But today the media consider themselves outside of and above society at large, looking down haughtily as they fire thunderbolts at the rest of us...

...The main reason for this change is television...

...But while remaining true to our high ideals, we should pursue them in a way that takes into account the world as it is, and not as we might like it to be...

...These are the kinds of questions that In the Arena seeks to answer...

...When a journalist approaches a public official with the line, "I really want to write a positive story," this usually means "that the subject should watch his back, because someone is about to stick a knife into it...

...this is the one he really came for...

...At some of the low points of the past," he writes, "I have been sustained by recalling a note Clare Boothe Luce handed to me right after Watergate first broke, when she was sitting next to me at a meeting of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board...

...You should help them do their job," he suggests, "provided that they don't do a job on you...

...Nixon leaves little doubt that as far as he is concerned, foreign policy remains the crucial arena: "I have often said that the American economy is so strong it would take a genius to wreck it...

...Defending and promoting peace and freedom around the world is a great enterprise...

...It was St...

...For example, despite his commitment to "democratization," Mikhail Gorbachev has actually concentrated more power in his hands than any Soviet leader since Stalin...

...And how should he groom himself for leadership...

...It is then that his character faces its most severe test...

...Nixon's approach to foreign policy is idealistic in that he believes "our goal should be to make the world safe for freedom...

...In discussing U.S...

...Nixon writes, "must learn to use television...

...42 THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR JULY 1990...

...In a perfect world, we would never resort to the use of military force, or align ourselves with countries with flawed human rights records...

...What separates the men from the boys in politics," he writes, "is that the boys seek office to be somebody and the men seek office to do something...

...When they had to criticize, they did so as part of the team...

...And while there are obviously many areas in which a young congressman can develop expertise, Mr...

...With chapters on "Time," "Temperance," "Reading," "Conversation," "Memory," "Television," "Enemies," "Friends," "Philosophy," and "Causes," it sometimes rambles all over the place, and may well cause even the most die-hard Nixon partisan to wonder what on earth the Old Man is up to...

...He may insist that he wants to be a legislator, not an actor...

...never have a chance to be a legislator...

...By contrast, In the Arena seems unfocused...

...He calls it "pragmatic idealism...

...De Gaulle once said, "France was never true to herself unless she was engaged in a great enterprise...

...The press is also culpable: "The press used to consider itself part of the fabric of society, with a shared stake in America's prosperity, the health of its institutions, and the success of its initiatives around the world...

...For in recent years, politics has grown "more simplistic, less subtle, less thoughtful...

...21.95 Saul Lewis In the Arena is Richard Nixon's 1 strangest—and in some respects most interesting—book...

...Many observers," he writes, "now proclaim that the Cold War has ended...

...Nixon writes...

...Only by rededicating ourselves to that goal will we remain true to ourselves...

...A third factor that has changed politics for the worse is the high cost of 41 financing a campaign...

...Nixon to propose that the terms of House members be extended from two years to four...

...Nixon advises politicians to treat the media with respect...

...Nixon offers the political novice some mordant advice on how to handle the press...

...The reason it is so important for a congressman to be a congressman is that only by diligently applying himself to his craft can he acquire the expertise necessary for leadership...

...But television is not the only factor debasing the political process...

...What pitfalls should he avoid...

...Mr...

...Nixon cautions, politics might not be for you...

...Nixon quite reasonably focuses on Soviet-American relations...

...Perhaps the best way to approach In the Arena is to think of it as Richard Nixon's advice to a young man about to embark on a political career...

...Nixon, of course, is no stranger to shattering defeats...

...Mr...

...That is why a young politician who aspires to greatness must make American foreign policy his priority...

...They are right to draw attention to the potential importance of the reforms inside the Soviet Union...

...Rather, it comes when he loses an election, and is summarily cast out from the center of events to the periphery...

...Nixon also focuses a good deal of attention on China...

...To a young politician, however, developing a general framework with which to approach foreign policy is far more important than staking out positions on specific issues...

...I will lie me down and bleed awhile—then I'll rise and fight again.' " These are good words for any politician—young or old—to keep close to his heart...

...Come to think of it, they are pretty good words for the rest of us as well...

...But the world is not perfect...

...and his account of how he coped with them is perhaps the most moving part of his book...

...This deplorable situation leads Mr...

...He is adamant about the danger of imposing harsh sanctions against the PRC in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre...

...He will be dismayed to find that whether he has had his hair blown dry may be more important than what he has between his ears...

...Hence, we must temper our idealisms with prudence, pragmatism, and a sense of the possible...

...Only if you are prepared to devote your life to a worthy cause should you contemplate a political career...

...Similarly, when a reporter is halfway out the door and suddenly remembers "just one more question," public officials should "forget the other ten he asked...

...The greatest challenge to a politician, however, comes not from the dilemmas and complexities of foreign policy, no matter how important these may be...

...I have always believed that this was true of the United States as well...

...Politics is, or ought to be, a high and honorable calling...

...But unless he learns to be an actor, he will Saul Lewis is a writer living in Washington, D.C...

...But even if you are prepared to dedicate yourself to a great cause, Mr...

...And the hallmark of his "new thinking" in foreign policy has been "shrewder tactics, not kinder intentions...

...And, as always, his comments are worthy of serious consideration...

...Any candidate," Mr...

...Earlier works were built around specific themes: alerting the public to the dangers of Soviet expansionism, mapping out a strategy to deal with Gorbachev, or examining the nature of political leadership...

...In general, Mr...

...Isolating China with sanctions will close off a major stimulus for the economic reforms that havealready improved the lives of the Chinese people and for the long-term political change that will lessen the repressiveness of the regime's rule...

...How should he conduct himself...

...As he explains it: We should engage in this cause not just for others but for ourselves...

...But they overstate the extent to which these reforms have changed the fundamental structure of the Soviet system and the nature of Soviet foreign policy...

...M r. Nixon's starting point is that no one should embark on a political career unless he has a powerful sense of mission...

...foreign policy, Mr...

...Contact with the West represents a principal impetus for reform," Mr...

...Nixon estimates that even taking inflation into account, it costs five times as much to finance a campaign for the House and Senate today as it did forty years ago...

...But even a small mistake in foreign policy could bring destruction to the United States and even to the world...

...Barton's Ode: 'I am hurt but I am not slain...

...As a result, idealistic young congressmen who come to Washington to do good are shocked to find themselves spending an inordinate amount of time "schmoozing with their PACs and fat cats at private cocktail parties...

...Nixon provides such a framework...

...This would mean that for at least two years of his four year term, a Congressman could be a Congressman rather than a perpetual candidate spending 75 percent of his time raising campaign funds and campaigning for re-election...

...H ow to handle the Russians and how to deal with the Chinese are complicated questions over which even the most astute scholars and policy-makers might disagree...