I can’t believe this bit of news escaped us this week while I was away attending to real life work. But, like a gift that never stops giving, another round of Nixon tapes were released in the past week, and in them, was the call placed by Nixon to Senator-elect Joe Biden on the day after his wife and daughter were killed. Now, I can only imagine how difficult these calls are to make, but I would think that they only thing you can say on those calls is to express your deep sympathy and offer up any help the person needs. We have all been there, searching for what to say to someone whose world has just been destroyed. And we have all learned that that is all you really can say, no matter how limited it may be.
And I think we have learned that it is usually not wise to tell the mourning “Hey, don’t worry about it, you have a bright future ahead of you anyway!”
Nixon, apparently, did not learn that.
An exhausted-sounding Biden … answered the phone, saying “Hello, Mr. President. How are you?”
Taking a deep breath, Nixon expressed his condolences, saying he knew it was “a very tragic day” and that he wanted to let him know “all of us here at the White House” were thinking and praying for him and his two surviving children.
….
“I understand that you were on the Hill at the time and your wife was just driving by herself,” Nixon said.
“Yes, that’s correct,” said Biden, then 30.
Nixon continued, “I mean looking at it as you must in terms of a future because you, you have the great fortune of being young. I remember I was two years older than you when I went to the House” he said.
“But the main point is, you can remember that she was there when you won a great victory and uh, you enjoyed it together,” Nixon said. “And now I’m sure that she’ll be watching you from now on. Good luck to you.”
Oh. My. God. We all know that Nixon was a social moron. But he made his condolscence call to Biden all about Biden. Biden is fortunate because he is young? That makes it sounds like Nixon considered the loss of Neilia no big loss since Biden is young enough to find another wife. Biden can remember that his late wife was there for him? She will be watching him? No mention of his dead infant daughter. I don’t know, maybe I am overreacting because of loathing of Nixon, but he certainly comes off as a jackass in this call. But maybe not. Being a social moron does not mean your a jackass at heart. It just means you have no idea how to relate to other people and no understanding of circumstance.