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Big Opportunity … Having won the White House in November ’68, Richard Nixon declared he would “bring us together.” The U.S. was ripped asunder with riots, assassinations and the war in Vietnam. Nixon’s administration, however, tore us further apart. To obscure his less devious aims, the president would sometimes make a show of appealing to the common man. One way of doing so was making a friend of Johnny Cash. It certainly made for good photo opportunities. Perhaps that’s all Nixon wanted out of the friendship, for he truly failed to sense the spirit possessed by Cash. Had he learned just a little from Johnny Cash, the nation could have avoided a lot of misery.

Suspicious Types … Sending over 20,000 young Americans to their deaths in Vietnam wasn’t enough to keep the Nixon White House busy. They also maintained an “enemies list.” Enemies within the USA. People who paid their taxes. People who contributed to our quality of life. People dubious of Nixon’s promise that new leadership would end the war.

Those enemies.

Many of the so-called enemies had made it clear they were not friends of the administration. Some had the temerity to write columns opposing the president’s policies. Some spoke out against the president in speeches and demonstrations. They didn’t realize how costly those first amendment rights could be. They might make the president’s list, whether they wanted to or not.

The existence of the Nixon administration’s enemies list was revealed by White House Counsel John Dean in 1973 before the Senate Watergate committee. It was more wacky news that made the work of political satirists so difficult. You can’t make up better stuff than that.

Esteemed Company … Some, like Paul Newman, celebrated making the list. The late Hunter S. Thompson lamented being left off. Other enemies were imagined. Even Joe Namath made the list. It must have been the Fu Manchu mustache. Or maybe Nixon lost a bundle on Super Bowl III. As Namath biographer Mark Kriegel asked, “Would an enemy of the Republic appear on The Brady Bunch as Namath did later that year?”

What John Dean filed as “Opponents List and Political Enemies Project” is old news, oft forgotten. But Nixon’s paranoia is a gift that keeps on giving. The Nixon Library, run by the National Archives, this year released 280,000 pages of records that offer more disturbing, if somewhat amusing, evidence of what made Dick tick.

He not only attacked his opponents’ beliefs; he attacked the arts they patronized. Nixon referred to modern art as “these little uglies,” and sent a memo to his chief of staff ordering the administration to ”turn away from the policy of forcing our embassies abroad or those who receive assistance from the United States at home to move in the direction of off-beat art, music and literature.”

That explains the unhappiness at embassies in France and Switzerland. Too much Coltrane on the stereo. Too many bookshelves lined with Kerouac.

But Nixon happily promoted his friendship with one great artist: Johnny Cash. To the president and his “Silent Majority,” Cash was a sure thing. No counterculture hooey with this guy. He was a big, friendly man who appeared to possess the values The White House promoted in one room as they were shredding the Constitution in the next.

Johnny Cash had a great following among those in Middle America, the symbolic territory where Nixon sought approval. Shortly after Nixon took office in ’69, Cash was at his peak of popularity. His Folsom Prison and San Quentin albums topped the country charts. His comic song, ”A Boy Named Sue,” was a favorite on jukeboxes in the Deep South and other conservative regions.

Running  Buddies …Cash was a Christian and a friend of the evangelist Billy Graham. Another famous friend of Graham’s was President Nixon.  How perfect this seemed to the White House: political hay would be made in embracing Johnny Cash. They didn’t count on one important thing, though. Johnny Cash was genuine.

In the May ’88 Musician, Cash talked much about his life, including his struggles with drugs, his faith and career. He claimed his two best friends were Billy Graham and Waylon Jennings. Cash and those two cover a lot of ground. Such friendships indicate Nixon may have misunderstood the life Johnny Cash lived before he was invited to play The White House in ’70.

Among the friends of Johnny Cash were Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and others not likely to attend Republican fundraisers. Cash admired them for the same quality they saw in him: authenticity. It wasn’t only his following in the emerging youth culture that might annoy conservatives. Cash had recorded “Bitter Tears,” an album lamenting the treatment of Native Americans. He also advocated prison reform.

Regardless of one’s politics, an invitation to perform at The White House is not taken lightly. Still Cash did not grant Nixon’s request beforehand that he play “Okie From Muskogee” and “Welfare Cadillac.” Cash declined, saying he didn’t know either of those songs. “Welfare Cadillac” was a big country hit by Guy Drake that year. Its message was considered demeaning to people in need of government assistance. Cash said he wasn’t making a political statement by rejecting those songs; he simply preferred to play songs he and his band knew.

The songs in The White House set included “What Is Truth” and “Man In Black.” Written by Cash, those songs questioned war and assailed materialism. They were not “Silent Majority” favorites.

In ’72 Cash returned to The White House to speak with the president about prison reform. In a year or so, Nixon, dealing with the crimes of Watergate, may have given serious thought to conditions in the federal pens. However, he received a pardon from President Ford after resigning from office in August ’74.

A few months later, out of the public eye in San Clemente, California, Nixon received a call from Jamaica. It was Billy Graham and then Johnny Cash to wish the Nixons a merry Christmas. The call was Graham’s idea. Cash tried to beg off, saying, “He don’t want to hear from me.” Graham handed Cash the phone anyway, and he spoke with the Nixons for a few minutes.

In his interview with Bill Flannagan of Musician, Cash admitted to being “a little nervous in the conversation.” But he was happy for Graham, who for awhile felt cast aside by the former president. Such an act of compassion explains a lot about Johnny Cash. He well understood forgiveness, from both sides. That’s something for people compiling enemies lists to consider.

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One Response to “The Johnny Cash Compassion Project”

1. Frank Povah says:

   January 15, 2010 at 7:27 am

   I have just read an excellent book on the Carter Family and it changed my opinion about Johnny Cash “getting God” – for the better. While it didn’t shake my non-belief it tells that Cash was already religious – like so many Americans in general and Southerners in particular – but found the strength in his belief to use it to fix himself up. Years ago, the popular perception – in Australia anyway – seemed to be that he met June Carter and found Jesus as a by-product when in fact the book says the Carters actually helped him through a tough time by acting as enforcers and guardians, not merely preach at him till the devil left him. My admiration for JC the musician never waned, but I liked him again as a person after reading that book. Richard Nixon? Who was he?

   Reply

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