Nixon Administrations - Nixon's Advisers

Nixon's Advisers

Nixon was a loner and had few friends. As president he did not rely much on his cabinet or other advisory groups such as the National Security Council in foreign affairs or the Council of Economic Advisers on domestic matters. Instead, he sought out individuals who seemed to have ideas similar to his own and drew upon their expertise for specific projects.

One such person was Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Moynihan was a Harvard professor and an Irish Catholic Democrat, but he was moderately conservative. This appealed to Nixon, and the president began to listen to the professor's ideas. Moynihan persuaded Nixon that he could secure his place in history just as Benjamin Disraeli had done as prime minister of England a century earlier. Disraeli had succeeded in the 1870s in promoting social reform even though he was a conservative. Thus Nixon embraced Moynihan's proposal for welfare reform (See also, Domestic...

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