The movie Frost/Nixon has opened in Bogota Colombia, and according to Antonio Caballero of the newspaper Semana, it is a reminder of the political lessons that the career of Richard Nixon has taught generations of politicians around the world who look to get away with wrongdoing.
Caballero writes in part:
“In Bogotá they’re showing a film entitled Frost/Nixon about the famous 1977 television interviews of British presenter David Frost and ex-President Richard Nixon in which Nixon suddenly confessed that he had told lies in 1974. Nothing similar has happened since. Never again has a politician recognized that what he said, announced, told, or promised to do, or assured that he didn’t do, wasn’t true. No one since has performed a public act of contrition like Nixon’s, with the exception, of course, of the abject ‘self-criticisms’ coerced out of some by torture or threats.”
So is the movie worth seeing? Caballero continues:
“The movie isn’t any good. But it’s worth seeing for this lesson in living history, which traces the original interviews exactly as they were done, with that rare moment of truth in which the most famous North American political liar was forced to acknowledge that yes, he was [a liar], and ask for forgiveness in a litany of self criticism like an alcoholic who wants to give up drink.”
“One could cite many examples of the success politicians from around the world have had by following Richard Nixon’s moral teachings, from France to Zimbabwe, from Russia to Cambodia or even Madagascar. … Everyone wanted to be like him, except for his melancholy end. That’s why they copied his success, but were careful not to repeat his errors. His success was only this: coming to power through trickery … his mistakes were three: first, getting caught up in his own lies; second, letting go of power; and third, admitting his guilt.”
By Antonio Caballero
Translated By Liz Essary
March 14, 2009
Semana – Colombia – Original Article (Spanish)
In Bogotá they’re showing a film entitled Frost/Nixon about the famous 1977 television interviews of British presenter David Frost and ex-President Richard Nixon, in which Nixon suddenly confessed that he had told lies in 1974. Nothing similar has happened since. Never again has a politician recognized that what he said, announced, told, or promised to do, or assured that he didn’t do, wasn’t true. No one since has performed a public act of contrition like Nixon’s, with the exception, of course, of the abject ‘self-criticisms’ coerced out of some by torture or threats, or purchased with the promise of rewards or legal benefits. Like, say, in the Moscow show trials of Stalin’s time or in the ‘free interpretations’ of Colombia’s Justice and Peace Law by the high commissioner of peace, Luis Carlos Restrepo. Nixon’s confession of his sins, far from doing any good, served to sink him even further in the eyes of his country and the world. And by charging $600,000 for this, it discredited him doubly: As a businessman and as a bad businessman.
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