In November 1972, the Democratic Party was devastated. Richard Nixon had just romped to reelection, his standing buoyed by his dramatic turn on the world stage. Footage of Nixon athwart the Great Wall and images of Nixon chinking glasses in the Kremlin showcased the Cold War presidency in all its splendor. Watergate was still just a high-rise on the Potomac, not yet a cloud on Nixon’s horizon. To think differently in the nadir of defeat took audacity.
Hamilton Jordan was as audacious as he was perceptive. As the pundits chewed over George McGovern’s landslide defeat, Jordan concocted a strategy to retake the White House.
