In a Fresh Air podcast titled "Nixon's Failed Attempts at 'Poisoning the Press'", writer Mark Feldstein discusses the mormon columnist Jack Anderson. Anderson was really good at deluding himself about his own corruption. Anderson took payoffs from various unsavory characters from the 1950s through the late 1980s, at least.

Feldstein first mentions Anderson's mormon religion, and how it affected his ability to rationalize bad behavior at about 18:00, "Doing the Lord's work on earth." Interestingly, Feldstein notes that Anderson thought of himself as a devout Christian, just like Nixon. Feldstein uses the term "mormon" and "mormon belief."

Podcast and story link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130192940

The story notes that Anderson both exposed and fueled the worst abuses of the Nixon White House. In some ways, this is the usual mormon story, with its mix of both good and bad. Somehow the good, or what the mormon character believes to be The Best, is used in service of the bad.

Related story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130052158

That he wasn't responsible for his own behavior and those of his subordinates when he was commander-in-chief (second-worst in my lifetime, IMHO, BTW)?

>The story notes that Anderson both exposed and fueled the worst abuses of the Nixon White House...

Here's the standard M.O. for good ol' "Law'n Order" Tricky Dick...

>In the two decades that followed, the conflict became so ferocious, Feldstein says, that Nixon ordered CIA surveillance of Anderson and his family — and White House operatives seriously considered assassinating the journalist.

G. Gordon Liddy was all ready to make the hit on Anderson, until somebody reigned him in and it was all allegedly a misunderstanding...

This statement by Feldstein is rich, and pardon me for insulting a PhD sort when I don't have one, but pretty sophomoric...

http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2010/09/mark-feldstein-poisoning-the-press-richard-nixon-jack-anderson-politics-prose.php

>"When I started, I thought it was going to be a classic hero-villain story," Feldstein said, "but the more investigating I did, I started to have some sympathy for Nixon. Even though he was paranoid, I did discover that they really were out to get him."

Here's a more balanced account from David Corn of Mother Jones...

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/09/nixon-jack-anderson-mark-feldstein

BTW, your title is a misnomer. With Jack Anderson, it was a case of "one Mormon and Nixon." As those of us who lived through that Nightmare know, there were a number of Mormons associated with Nixon (Gordon Strachan and soon-to-be-former-Senator Bob Bennett come to mind), and Howard Hughes, who was linked to a number of Nixon scandals surrounded himself with Mormons who comprised his inner circle of associates.

Nixon's enemies were probably out to get him because he was paranoid and unfit for the job, a reality that was born out by the historical outcome...

SL Cabbie Wrote:
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> That he wasn't responsible for his own behavior
> and those of his subordinates when he was
> commander-in-chief (second-worst in my lifetime,
> IMHO, BTW)?

No, I didn't mean to imply that at all. If it came off that way as a result of my having summarized poorly, my apologies.

I also forgot to make a point noting that both Nixon and Anderson were so strongly homophobic that their homophobia drove some of their actions. A homophobic mormon, no surprise. Kinda of ironic that they both used homophobia as a weapon.

> >In the two decades that followed, the conflict
> became so ferocious, Feldstein says, that Nixon
> ordered CIA surveillance of Anderson and his
> family — and White House operatives seriously
> considered assassinating the journalist.

Yes. Fascinating. Until Bob Woodward came along, Anderson was the most deadly enemy.

> Here's a more balanced account from David Corn of
> Mother Jones...

Ah, good link. Thanks, SL Cabbie.

> BTW, your title is a misnomer. With Jack Anderson,
> it was a case of "one Mormon and Nixon." As those
> of us who lived through that Nightmare know, there
> were a number of Mormons associated with Nixon
> (Gordon Strachan and soon-to-be-former-Senator Bob
> Bennett come to mind), and Howard Hughes, who was
> linked to a number of Nixon scandals surrounded
> himself with Mormons who comprised his inner
> circle of associates.

Good point. The title is off. Also, mormons abound in the federal government. I think someone made the point earlier that they comprise 5 per cent of the Senate, but only 1 percent of the population?

Anderson's method of excusing his own corruption interests me. It reminds me of some of my mormon friends who are currently participating in pyramid schemes. Somehow it's all the Lord's work.