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Game Plan for Disaster
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 4, 2023
Clark R. Mollenhoff's Game Plan for Disaster attempts to explain why and how the Nixon Administration descended into criminal behavior. Mollenhoff, a hard-hitting investigative reporter who exposed Jimmy Hoffa's graft and mob ties, gained Nixon's attention for his books examining shady deals in the Kennedy-Johnson Administration. Appointed to a position as White House Ombudsman, Mollenhoff was tasked with keeping the new Administration honest, reporting unethical behavior to the President in order to head off potential conflicts of interest. Mollenhoff's brief tenure found his efforts thwarted by Bob Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and other members of Nixon's inner circle, who only dealt with scandals when it reflected badly on the President and resented this interloper's criticisms of their boss. Mollenhoff, hardly naive about political wheel-dealing, resigned in disgust at the pervasiveness of secrecy and criminal behavior under Nixon, on issues ranging from the minor (appointments and contracts given to Administration favorites) to the petty (cutting funding to a federally-run old-age home to spite liberals in the Department of Housing and Urban Development) to the serious (attempts to cover-up the My Lai Massacre and pardon a Green Beret indicted for murder). He was especially disturbed by the President invoking "executive privilege" to derail the most routine audits and investigations of the Executive Branch, debasing the concept long before it incited a constitutional crisis. Mollenhoff left in May 1970 thinking that Haldeman's "Berlin Wall" insulated the President from the misdeeds; the Watergate scandal persuaded Mollenhoff (who covered Nixon as a reporter) otherwise, that the culture of corruption he'd witnessed firsthand, and fruitlessly fought against, went straight to the President. (He notes wryly that Haldeman gave his "ombudsman" functions to John Dean and Chuck Colson, both key players in Watergate.) Mollenhoff concludes that while Nixon's predecessors engaged in corrupt and unethical behavior, the sheer breadth, depth and normalization of such under him reached another level. For the 37th President, Watergate was less a scandal than a way of life.
April 17, 2017
An overlooked gem from a temporary Nixon White House insider- This book is an excellent study and supplement for those already familiar with the story of Watergate and the downfall of Nixon.
"Game Plan for Disaster" tells the tale of a good-government advocate hired by Nixon in his first term to root out any government malfeasance. At first he had some success- warning Nixon about pending scandals and cover-ups, including those leftover from the Johnson Administration, and getting Nixon to take proper and decisive action.
Eventually his effectiveness was reduced as his direct access to Nixon was curtailed by "The Berlin Wall", aka Haldeman & Ehrlichman. After a year of diminishing returns, Mollenhoff resigned and resumed his duties as the Washington editor of the Des Moines Register and Tribune, and used his perch to continue his pursuit of clean and accountable government.
There is a lot of forgotten history in this essential first-person tale, including accounts of many smaller scandals of the Nixon and LBJ administrations which have been drowned out and overshadowed by Watergate. For history's sake, I'm thankful to read & learn about: Corruption at the top of NASA, Peter Flanigan and the Sansinena affair, The Austin Geriatric Center mess, The Jimmy Hoffa pardon, and much more.
For this reason alone I would highly recommend "Game Plan for Disaster", but it also reveals contemporaneous inside information on press interactions with the White House, as well as delivering new tales of familiar Nixon aides, including Ziegler, Kissinger, Haig, and, of course, the Berlin Wall.
"Game Plan for Disaster" tells the tale of a good-government advocate hired by Nixon in his first term to root out any government malfeasance. At first he had some success- warning Nixon about pending scandals and cover-ups, including those leftover from the Johnson Administration, and getting Nixon to take proper and decisive action.
Eventually his effectiveness was reduced as his direct access to Nixon was curtailed by "The Berlin Wall", aka Haldeman & Ehrlichman. After a year of diminishing returns, Mollenhoff resigned and resumed his duties as the Washington editor of the Des Moines Register and Tribune, and used his perch to continue his pursuit of clean and accountable government.
There is a lot of forgotten history in this essential first-person tale, including accounts of many smaller scandals of the Nixon and LBJ administrations which have been drowned out and overshadowed by Watergate. For history's sake, I'm thankful to read & learn about: Corruption at the top of NASA, Peter Flanigan and the Sansinena affair, The Austin Geriatric Center mess, The Jimmy Hoffa pardon, and much more.
For this reason alone I would highly recommend "Game Plan for Disaster", but it also reveals contemporaneous inside information on press interactions with the White House, as well as delivering new tales of familiar Nixon aides, including Ziegler, Kissinger, Haig, and, of course, the Berlin Wall.
August 15, 2023
Amazone
An overlooked gem from a temporary insider- This book is an excellent study for those already familiar with the story of Watergate and the downfall of Nixon.
This tells the tale of a good-government advocate hired by Nixon in his first term, to root out any government malfeasance.At first he had success with warning Nixon about pending scandals and cover-ups, including those leftover from the Johnson Administration, and getting Nixon to take proper and decisive action.
Eventually his effectiveness was reduced as his direct access to Nixon was curtailed by "The Berlin Wall", aka Haldeman & Erlichman.
After a year, Mollenhoff resigned and resumed his duties as the Washington editor of the Des Moines Newspaper and used his perch there to continue his desire for clean and accountable government.
There is a lot of forgotten history in this book, including accounts of many smaller scandals of the Nixon (and LBJ) administration which have been drowned out by Watergate. For this reason alone I highly recommend this book.
Peter M.
An overlooked gem from a temporary insider- This book is an excellent study for those already familiar with the story of Watergate and the downfall of Nixon.
This tells the tale of a good-government advocate hired by Nixon in his first term, to root out any government malfeasance.At first he had success with warning Nixon about pending scandals and cover-ups, including those leftover from the Johnson Administration, and getting Nixon to take proper and decisive action.
Eventually his effectiveness was reduced as his direct access to Nixon was curtailed by "The Berlin Wall", aka Haldeman & Erlichman.
After a year, Mollenhoff resigned and resumed his duties as the Washington editor of the Des Moines Newspaper and used his perch there to continue his desire for clean and accountable government.
There is a lot of forgotten history in this book, including accounts of many smaller scandals of the Nixon (and LBJ) administration which have been drowned out by Watergate. For this reason alone I highly recommend this book.
Peter M.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews