Poisoning the Press : Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture

From Publishers Weekly Feldstein, an award-winning journalist and professor at the University of Maryland, chronicles the controversial careers of two iconic figures, former president Richard Nixon and the investigative reported he feared most--Jack Anderson. With the astute analysis of a psychotherapist, Feldstein shows how the emotional and religious strengths, or flaws, of Nixon, the over-ambitious Quaker politician, and Anderson, the pious Mormon scribe, play out in a three-decade-long game to win over American public opinion. Whether Nixon was engineering a homosexual smear through wiretaps and doctored photos or the muckraking columnist was probing the Republican's hidden slush funds and numerous scandals, the book chronicles a slew of wrongdoings worthy of a sleazy pulp bestseller. Neither man escapes unscathed: Nixon, the schizoid schemer, or Anderson, the self-righteous campaigner. Brutal, brilliant, and gripping, this dark parable of tainted Beltway politics and an overreaching media lays the groundwork for the current cultural stench of celebrity exposes and bed-hopping lawmakers. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. From Booklist For a quarter of a century, politician Richard Nixon and columnist Jack Anderson engaged in a bitter battle royal, each occasionally using blackmail, bribery, spying, and burglary to try and defeat the other. Media scholar and former reporter Feldstein offers a deliciously detailed account of the backstory, fierce enmity, and legacy of scandalmongering and poisonous conflict between the media and political figures. Despite their similar backgrounds—both grew up in working-class families steeped in religion (Nixon a Quaker, Anderson a Mormon)—they nurtured career ambitions, with no compunction about moral ambiguity, that eventually led them to Washington. While Nixon climbed through the ranks of the Republican Party until he reached the presidency, Anderson exceeded his mentor, Drew Pearson, to make his “Merry-Go-Round” column a powerful force for destroying political careers. The two battled through the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, with Anderson riffling through garbage and bugging conversations to document each and every Nixon misstep, triggering Nixon’s retaliation with wiretaps, smears, and even a plot to kill Anderson. Feldstein delivers an engaging chronicle of the poisoned relationship between two powerful men and its lasting impact on political journalism. --Vanessa Bush It is March 1972, and the Nixon White House wants Jack Anderson dead. The syndicated columnist Jack Anderson, the most famous and feared investigative reporter in the nation, has exposed yet another of the President's dirty secrets. Nixon's operatives are ordered to'stop Anderson at all costs'—permanently. Across the street from the White House, they huddle in a hotel basement to conspire. Should they try'Aspirin Roulette'and break into Anderson's home to plant a poisoned pill in one of his medicine bottles? Could they smear LSD on the journalist's steering wheel, so that he would absorb it through his skin, lose control of his car, and crash? Or stage a routine-looking mugging, making Anderson appear to be one more fatal victim of Washington's notorious street crime?Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture recounts not only the disturbing story of an unprecedented White House conspiracy to assassinate a journalist, but also the larger tale of the bitter quarter-century battle between the postwar era's most embattled politician and its most reviled newsman. The struggle between Nixon and Anderson included bribery, blackmail, forgery, spying, and burglary as well as the White House murder plot. Their vendetta symbolized and accelerated the growing conflict between the government and the press, a clash that would long outlive both men.Mark Feldstein traces the arc of this confrontation between a vindictive president and a flamboyant, crusading muckraker who rifled through garbage and swiped classified papers in pursuit of his prey—stoking the paranoia in Nixon that would ultimately lead to his ruin. The White House plot to poison Anderson, Feldstein argues, is a metaphor for the poisoned political atmosphere that would follow, and the toxic sensationalism that contaminates contemporary media discourse. Melding history and biography, Poisoning the Press unearths significant new information from more than two hundred interviews and thousands of declassified documents and tapes. This is a chronicle of political intrigue and the true price of power for politicians and journalists alike. The result—Washington's modern scandal culture—was Richard Nixon's ultimate revenge. It is March 1972, and the Nixon White House wants Jack Anderson dead. The syndicated columnist Jack Anderson, the most famous and feared investigative reporter in the nation, has exposed yet another of the Presidents dirty secrets. Nixons operatives are ordered to stop Anderson at all costspermanently. Across the street from the White House, they huddle in a hotel basement to conspire. Should they try Aspirin Roulette and break into Andersons home to plant a poisoned pill in one of his medicine bottles? Could they smear LSD on the journalists steering wheel, so that he would absorb it through his skin, lose control of his car, and crash? Or stage a routine-looking mugging, making Anderson appear to be one more fatal victim of Washingtons notorious street crime? Poisoning the Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson, and the Rise of Washingtons Scandal Culture recounts not only the disturbing story of an unprecedented White House conspiracy to assassinate a journalist, but also the larger tale of the bitter quarter-century battle between the postwar eras most embattled politician and its most reviled newsman. The struggle between Nixon and Anderson included bribery, blackmail, forgery, spying, and burglary as well as the White House murder plot. Their vendetta symbolized and accelerated the growing conflict between the government and the press, a clash that would long outlive both men. Mark Feldstein traces the arc of this confrontation between a vindictive president and a flamboyant, crusading muckraker who rifled through garbage and swiped classified papers in pursuit of his preystoking the paranoia in Nixon that would ultimately lead to his ruin. The White House plot to poison Anderson, Feldstein argues, is a metaphor for the poisoned political atmosphere that would follow, and the toxic sensationalism that contaminates contemporary media discourse. Melding history and biography, Poisoning the Press unearths significant new information from more than two hundred interviews and thousands of declassified documents and tapes. This is a chronicle of political intrigue and the true price of power for politicians and journalists alike. The resultWashingtons modern scandal culturewas Richard Nixons ultimate revenge. It is March 1972, and the Nixon White House wants Jack Anderson dead. The syndicated columnist Jack Anderson, the most famous and feared investigative reporter in the nation, has exposed yet another of the President's dirty secrets. Nixon's operatives are ordered to "stop Anderson at all costs", permanently. Across the street from the White House, they huddle in a hotel basement to conspire. Should they try "Aspirin Roulette" and break into Anderson's home to plant a poisoned pill in one of his medicine bottles? Could they smear LSD on the journalist's steering wheel, so that he would absorb it through his skin, lose control of his car, and crash? Or stage a routine-looking mugging, making Anderson appear to be one more fatal victim of Washington's notorious street crime? This book recounts not only the disturbing story of an unprecedented White House conspiracy to assassinate a journalist, but also the larger tale of the bitter quarter-century battle between the postwar era's most embattled politician and its most reviled newsman. The struggle between Nixon and Anderson included bribery, blackmail, forgery, spying, and burglary as well as the White House murder plot. Their vendetta symbolized and accelerated the growing conflict between the government and the press, a clash that would long outlive both men. The author traces the arc of this confrontation between a vindictive president and a flamboyant, crusading muckraker who rifled through garbage and swiped classified papers in pursuit of his prey, stoking the paranoia in Nixon that would ultimately lead to his ruin. The White House plot to poison Anderson, the author argues, is a metaphor for the poisoned political atmosphere that would follow, and the toxic sensationalism that contaminates contemporary media discourse. Melding history and biography, the book unearths significant new information from more than two hundred interviews and thousands of declassified documents and tapes. This is a chronicle of political intrigue and the true price of power for politicians and journalists alike. The result, Washington's modern scandal culture, was Richard Nixon's ultimate revenge Recounts Not Only The Disturbing Story Of An Unprecedented White House Conspiracy To Assassinate A Journalist, But Also The Larger Tale Of The Bitter Quarter-century Battle Between The Postwar Era's Most Embattled Politician, Richard Nixon, And Its Most Reviled Newsman, Jack Anderson. Pt. I. Beginnings. The Quaker And The Mormon -- Pt. Ii. Rise To Power. Washington Whirl -- Bugging And Burglary -- Comeback -- Pt. Iii. Power. The President And The Columnist -- Revenge -- Vietnam -- The Anderson Papers -- Sex, Spies, Blackmail -- Cat And Mouse -- Brothers -- Destroy This -- From Burlesque To Grotesque -- Kill Him -- Watergate -- Disgrace -- Pt. Iv. Endings. Final Years -- Epilogue. Mark Feldstein. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Part I: Beginnings -- 1. The Quaker and the Mormon -- Part II: Rise to power -- 2. Washington whirl -- 3. Bugging and burglary -- 4. Comeback -- Part III: Power -- 5. The president and the columnist -- 6. Revenge -- 7. Vietnam -- 8. The Anderson papers -- 9. Sex, spies, blackmail -- 10. Cat and mouse -- 11. Brothers -- 12. "Destroy this"--13. From burlesque to grotesque -- 14. "Kill him"--15. Watergate -- 16. Disgrace -- Part IV: Endings -- 17. Final years -- Epilogue