She was in many ways the first conservative political pundit, the forerunner of outspoken voices like Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin. Garrett Graff, author of the recently published Watergate: A New History, said: “Martha Mitchell is one of the most significant figures of the Watergate age and has been largely lost to history for most of the intervening 50 years. Born in Arkansas, she earned the nickname “the Mouth of the South”, while the New York Times once called her “the most talked about, talkative woman in Washington”. Mitchell was a garrulous bon vivant on the Washington social scene with a penchant for drinking whisky and calling journalists late at night. In today’s phrase, they gaslit her, they called her crazy, they used that age-old reference for women as hysterical … She was the whistleblower and we respect her today.” “People denied that this happened to her. “She was kidnapped, sedated, drugged,” said Kate Clarke Lemay, a historian at Washington’s Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, which features a Time magazine cover image of Mitchell in its Watergate: Portraiture and Intrigue exhibition. Martha Mitchell is one of the most significant figures of the Watergate age and has been largely lost to history Garrett Graff The series on America’s Starz network – riding a wave of books, exhibitions and films marking the 50th anniversary of the break‐in and burglary of the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate complex – illuminates the mostly forgotten role of a woman who paid a tragic price for trying to raise the alarm about Nixon’s skulduggery. The 1970s celebrity socialite will next month be played by the Hollywood actor Julia Roberts in Gaslit, an eight-part TV drama co-starring Sean Penn as John Mitchell and Dan Stevens as the White House counsel, John Dean. Mitchell would also see her reputation destroyed by loyalists to the then president, Richard Nixon, because of what she knew about Watergate – dooming her to become one of the hidden figures of the biggest political scandal of the 20th century. She had been accosted by a former FBI agent and would be forcibly tranquilized and held captive for days. It is part of a policy of rapprochement aimed at restoring diplomatic relations between the two sides.But the conversation ended abruptly and Mitchell was heard shouting: “You just get away – get away!” Then the line went dead. This historic visit was engineered by the president's national security adviser, Dr Henry Kissinger, during two visits to China last year. There followed an elaborate round of toasts, in which the 800 guests at the banquet wandered from table to table clinking thimble-sized glasses containing Chinese firewater.Ĭommentators said the elaborate banquet was in marked contrast to the coolness of the president's reception at the airport. Using one of Mao's own quotations, Mr Nixon said it was time to seize the day and seize the hour "for our two peoples to rise to the heights of greatness which can build a new and better world". "Neither of us seeks the territory of the other neither of us seeks domination over the other neither of us seeks to stretch out our hands and rule the world." "There is no reason for us to be enemies," he said. He hinted at the years of tension between China and the United States - largely due to American support for nationalists in Taiwan - and credited both governments for "common efforts" to open the gate to better contacts at last. Mr Chou described Mr Nixon's long journey to China as a "positive move" responding to the wishes of the peoples of both countries. ![]() Few details have been released, but officials said the one-hour meeting involved a "serious and frank discussion".Īfter a modest reception at Peking airport, the president was formally welcomed at a lavish banquet held in the Great Hall of the People and hosted by Prime Minister Chou En-lai. ![]() His visit began with an unexpected audience with Chairman Mao Zedong at the leader's home. ![]() The American President Richard Nixon has arrived in China at the start of a week-long summit aimed at ending 20 years of frosty relations between the two countries. 1972: Nixon makes historic visit to China
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |