Craig Shirley: Villain Stereotype Unfair to Nixon's Legacy

Historians are taking a second look at the legacy of President Richard M. Nixon — but the nation's 37th president will forever be portrayed as a villain in the press and popular culture, says veteran public affairs consultant Craig Shirley.

"Historians are taking a second look at him, but the media treatment is that he has become so identified as this figure of contempt," Shirley, who wrote "Nixon Revisited,'' the cover story in the July issue of Newsmax Magazine, told "The Steve Malzberg Show'' Thursday on Newsmax TV.

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"Whether it's 'Nixon-Frost' or whether it's 'All the President's Men,' in plays, and in song 'Four Dead in Ohio,' [by] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ... There's a conspiracy that basically grinds Nixon's legacy into the ground.''

But Shirley said the fact remains that Nixon has five "extremely significant years'' in the White House, including his historic 1972 visit to China, which helped normalize relations with the United States.

"Even his policy on Vietnamization. When he became president in 1968, there were 500,000 troops in Southeast Asia. By the time he left in 1974, there were 25,000 troops,'' he said.