Nixon saw the wisdom in these bipartisan appointments, and when it came time to make them himself, he considered doing so in dramatic fashion. After defeating Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey for the presidency in 1968 – and by a comparably slim margin – Nixon offered Humphrey the post of ambassador to the United Nations. As he told President Lyndon B. Johnson in a phone call just over two weeks after the election, Humphrey’s appointment to the U.N. “would be in the interests of the country.”
Nixon thought it would provide a kind of “continuum” to help the nation, particularly with “this Vietnam thing.” Not only that, as he told Democratic Sen. George A. Smathers of Florida, “It would give the appearance that I’m trying to . . . unify the country, which I am.”
Nixon’s election victory, like Kennedy’s eight years earlier, was a close call, at least in the popular vote, and the idea of appointing Democrats to Cabinet posts – Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson, a Democrat from Washington, was offered but declined the top job at the Pentagon – addressed that political reality.
Nixon went further, however, suggesting Humphrey’s appointment would be good not only for the country’s image at home and abroad, but for Humphrey himself. The Vice President would likely be casting about for a purpose following his defeat, Nixon mused. The president-elect understood the situation well, given his own loss to Kennedy in 1960. When a fellow leaves office, Nixon said, “he’s just sort of at loose ends, and he needs something to do right away.”
Humphrey ultimately declined Nixon’s offer, explaining to Johnson that financial concerns, his reluctance at being “confined to New York” and his interest in possibly returning to the Senate, where he had previously served for 16 years, was leading him to consider other options. But the imagery of Nixon’s proposal – a victorious presidential candidate reaching out to a vanquished opponent – remains a potent symbol of national reconciliation.
The prospect of such an offer materializing after this year’s election is unlikely, given the polarization of our current politics. Still, in light of the bomb threats, assassination attempts and incendiary rhetoric infusing the current campaign, the winner this November would do well to consider the virtues of making select bipartisan appointments.
Doing so might signal to members of the opposing camp, at the very least, that “We the People” means all of us.
