Sold – The Very Instrument of One of Nixon’s Greatest Public Relations Maneuvers

Richard Nixon Nixon was an early master of the politics of television and the use of spin to create impressions. On November 3, 1969, he went before the cameras and appealed to the “silent majority” for support against those who opposed the Vietnam War. This was a salvo in a developing “us versus them” policy, which Nixon saw as amply justified when less than two weeks later, proponents of a war moratorium brought over 500,000 people to protest in Washington, constituting the largest anti-war demonstration up to that point.

Although a second round of talks to end the war opened to press fanfare in Paris in early 1970, neither side seemed interested and they were not productive. The North Vietnamese invaded Laos and Cambodia in February so the war actually intensfied. Then on March 18 a U.S.-supported coup in Cambodia dethroned neutralist Norodam Sihanouk and replaced him with the pro-American Lon Nol. A U.S. movement into Cambodia was now planned, and it would take place on April 30. This action, in which 32,000 U.S. troops attacked the Fishhook and Parrot’s Beak for two months, destroyed North Vietnamese supplies and set their military plans back for two years.

However, the escalation of the war was inconsistant with Nixon’s promises of withdrawal, and caused a political firestorm at home. Massive protests culminated on May 4, when at a demonstration at Kent State University, 4 students were killed. The nation was utterly divided and riven by dissension, anger and bitterness, which had in part been fostered by the President as a political tactic.

Back in mid-April, with the plans for the Cambodia invasion on his desk, and knowing that the war would not end in the forseeable future, Nixon nontheless wanted to make the point that he was for peace. Moreover, with a disproportionate percentage of U.S. soldiers sent to Vietnam being black, and with very few boosters in their community, he wanted nonetheless to stress how blacks were supportive of his measures. He therefore determined to make a gesture that can only be described as Nixonian (many saw it as cynical).

He liked to have Pearl Bailey at the White House, and she presented him with an opportunity. She was a popular black singer who performed throughout the world, starred in night clubs, on the stage, in movies and was often seen on television. Moreover, she was public-spirited and fought against illiteracy and child abuse (she would in later years be named United States Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations). On April 10, 1970, amidst his (and the nation’s) host of troubles, Nixon appointed her to an imaginery office, was seen photographed with her, and received just the publicity he hoped for.

Document Signed as president using the same format as actual presidential appointments, 14 by 16 inches folio, naming Bailey “Ambassador of Love to the entire World.”

It bears a gold seal at top and is authentically signed in full by Nixon, which itself is very unusual, as he very seldom authentically signed letters or documents as president. It should be noted that at this particular moment in history, the words “love” and “peace” were virtually interchangeable. An important example of Nixon’s successful use of political strategy and even manipulation of the press, using Bailey to make the point that he was a peacemaker with a very broad constituency of support.