"My partisan days are over."
Coming from Richard Nixon, who has raised more partisan ire than any American public figure in the past half-century, that's a stunning statement.Back in 1966, the year of his first comeback, reporters listening to his longheaded world views would narrow their eyes and wonder about the "new" Nixon.
In 1993, at age 80, the American uniquely qualified to be foreign-policy elder statesman is renewing his role again. "There may be a need for a Vandenberg," he says, recalling the Republican senator whose name is still associated with bipartisanship in foreign policy.
He has just returned from a grueling two-week private trip to Russia and other republics of the former Soviet Union. Monday, he responds to an invitation from President Clinton to report his findings and help educate his youthful successor on global power-playing. A month from now, he's off to Japan and China.
Last Wednesday night at 9:40, the White House operator reached the former president in his New Jersey town house. The operator then could not find Clinton, and apologized; Nixon said, "I'll wait; he's a lot busier than I am." When Clinton came on, they talked for nearly 40 minutes.
I tried to find out what was said in that call (recommended to Clinton by Bob Dole and Bob Strauss) and received a mock-glower: one does not reveal confidences with presidents. But Nixon returning from abroad always writes his thoughts and sticks to them; his long article on The Times' Op-Ed page telegraphed his central points:
1. Boris Yeltsin is not hard to read - charismatic, refreshingly straightforward - and if he were replaced, we would not likely get a better hope for democracy in Russia, only a worse one.
2. The reformers need help from Western executives in developing an entrepreneurial class to attract private investment. In next month's summit in Vancouver, Clinton should have specific ways "to put some meat on the table," as statesmen say, and Nixon has a few thoughts about that.
3. Our stakes in Russia's reform could not be higher, because Clinton's budget package would be a dead letter if Russian nationalists took over and our defense budget had to be increased.
Clinton's call to arms? Looking out across a snowy landscape, Nixon gives an indirect reply: "By making freedom work here, we set a powerful example. We have to exercise leadership that makes the world respect us and build a society that makes the world admire us. You see misery in Moscow, but determination - poor in goods, rich in spirit. That's the message to get across to kids these days. What a great chance for Clinton."
The 1996 campaign? Nixon, the old gleam in his eye, leans forward: "Republicans should forget about '96 and think about good candidates for '94 - you can't win seven Senate seats with turkeys. In '66, two years after the Goldwater debacle, we - "
He catches himself.
"Nope. I don't want to reduce my effectiveness in foreign affairs. My partisan days are over."