A claim that Richard Nixon never made â?? that he had a â??secret planâ? to end the war in Vietnam â?? has surfaced amid the snark and one-upmanship of politics in Illinois.
Nixonâ??s mythical pledge was invoked the other day by John Cullerton, president of the Illinois senate, who taunted the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Bruce Rauner, for not directly addressing how his administration would cover the stateâ??s multibillion budget deficit.
â??Itâ??s like,â? Cullerton said, â??Richard Nixon: â??I have a secret plan to get out of Vietnam, just after the election.â??â? His comment was aired in a report on WUIS radio in Springfield, Illinois.
Media Myth Alert is only faintly interested in the intricacies of Illinois state politics. But it does find Cullertonâ??s snarky quip intriguing, as it suggests a casual, almost-reflexive embrace of a claim that rather sounds Nixonian but really wasnâ??t.
The â??secret planâ? chestnut, which circulates periodically as purported evidence of Nixonâ??s venality and sneaky ways, dates to the presidential election campaign in 1968 and a speech in New Hampshire. There, in early March 1968, Nixon pledged that â??new leadershipâ? in Washington â?? a Nixon administration, in other words â?? would â??end the warâ? in Vietnam.
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