--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What? -- RICHARD M NIXON" description: "\"“What? -- RICHARD M NIXON”\" — Thomas Pynchon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/thomas-pynchon-533_nixon_what-richard-m-nixon-2671207_2671207.jpg" --- # What? -- RICHARD M NIXON ![“What? -- RICHARD M NIXON” quote by Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/thomas-pynchon-533_nixon_what-richard-m-nixon-2671207_2671207.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/thomas-pynchon-533_nixon_what-richard-m-nixon-2671207_2671207.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/thomas-pynchon-533_nixon_what-richard-m-nixon-2671207_2671207.jpg) > ““What? -- RICHARD M NIXON”” [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A brief, cryptic remark suggests a sudden, possibly humorous interjection of a historical figure’s name. **In simple terms:** A short, puzzling comment about Richard Nixon. Key Takeaway Consider context before quoting. Themes humor history surprise dialogue Mood witty enigmatic Type literary satirical When to use this quote - conversation - writing - satire Key Concepts interjection reference absurdity literary style Questions to Reflect On - Why insert a historical name unexpectedly? - What effect does abruptness have? A Different Perspective May confuse readers without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nixon/) [Richard nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/richard-nixon/) ## Related quotes > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Richard Nixon was the best thing that ever happened to journalism. I mean this guy was wonderful. Just when you thought he could get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/richard-nixon-was-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-journalism-i/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [George Washington was the president who could never tell a lie, and Richard Nixon was the president who could never tell the truth. Donald…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/george-washington-was-the-president-who-could-never-tell-a-lie-and/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [John Kennedy won the first televised presidential debate among those watching it, while Richard Nixon won among those listening on the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-estrich/john-kennedy-won-the-first-televised-presidential-debate-among-those/) [Susan Estrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-estrich/) > [We forced Richard Nixon and the Congress who established, and thanks to your leadership, we supported you and we got the Environmental Protection Act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/we-forced-richard-nixon-and-the-congress-who-established-and-thanks/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ Mr. \[Richard M.\] Nixon never has anything but hindsight. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/mr-richard-m-nixon-never-has-anything-but-hindsight/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [ \[democrats\] hated Richard Nixon, and no wonder. It was Nixon who sent Alger Hiss to jail, and Nixon who waged the Vietnam War after… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/democrats-hated-richard-nixon-and-no-wonder-it-was-nixon-who-sent/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [The essence of Richard Nixon is loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/the-essence-of-richard-nixon-is-loneliness/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [For Obama to save himself, he should be thinking about the example of an unlikely Republican predecessor: Richard Nixon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/for-obama-to-save-himself-he-should-be-thinking-about-the-example-of/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Only a cheap politician, greedy for political gain, would try to single out one individual for blame. The fault lies not with the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/only-a-cheap-politician-greedy-for-political-gain-would-try-to-single/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [ I'd almost prefer \[Richard\] Nixon. I'd say \[Bill\] Clinton is every bit as corrupt as Nixon, but a lot smoother. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/i-d-almost-prefer-richard-nixon-i-d-say-bill-clinton-is-every-bit-as/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [ \[On Richard M. Nixon:\] Americans began with a president who couldn't tell a lie and now they have one who can't tell the truth. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/on-richard-m-nixon-americans-began-with-a-president-who-couldn-t-tell/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [Experience helped Richard Nixon, but it didn't save him, and it certainly wasn't a blanket endorsement. He blundered terribly in dealing with Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/experience-helped-richard-nixon-but-it-didn-t-save-him-and-it/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [ There were really funny characteristics about this guy \[Richard Nixon\], chief of which would be that he seemed to devote about 85 percent of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-shearer/there-were-really-funny-characteristics-about-this-guy-richard-nixon/) [Harry Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-shearer/) > [More than half the combat deaths in Vietnam occurred after Richard Nixon was elected on a promise to bring the war to an end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-grijalva/more-than-half-the-combat-deaths-in-vietnam-occurred-after-richard/) [Raul Grijalva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-grijalva/) ## More by Thomas Pynchon > [“How strange tonight, this city. As if something trembled below its surface, waiting to burst through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/how-strange-tonight-this-city-as-if-something-trembled-below-its/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“It was one of those great iron afternoons in London: the yellow sun being teased apart by a thoasand chimneys breathing, fawning upward without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/it-was-one-of-those-great-iron-afternoons-in-london-the-yellow-sun/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Surely for as long as there have been nights as bad as this one---something to raise the possibility of another night that could actually,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/surely-for-as-long-as-there-have-been-nights-as-bad-as-this-one/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Death glided by, shadowless, among the empties on the grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/death-glided-by-shadowless-among-the-empties-on-the-grass/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Out of that night and day of unconditional wrath, folks would've expected to see any city, if it survived, all newly reborn, purified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/out-of-that-night-and-day-of-unconditional-wrath-folks-would-ve/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“As spread thighs are to the libertine...so was the letter V to young Stencil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/as-spread-thighs-are-to-the-libertine-so-was-the-letter-v-to-young/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Oedipa wondered whether, at the end of this (if it were supposed to end), she too might not be left with only compiled memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/oedipa-wondered-whether-at-the-end-of-this-if-it-were-supposed-to-end/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/if-they-can-get-you-asking-the-wrong-questions-they-don-t-have-to/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“remember didn't you sneak away from camp to have a moment alone with What you felt stirring across the land . . . it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/remember-didn-t-you-sneak-away-from-camp-to-have-a-moment-alone-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Through rain...then through dreaming glass, green with the evening. And herself in chair, old-fashioned, bonneted, looking west over the deck of Earth, inferno red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/through-rain-then-through-dreaming-glass-green-with-the-evening-and/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“She knew instinctively: he will be fine as the fraternity boy just out of an Ivy League school who knows he will never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/she-knew-instinctively-he-will-be-fine-as-the-fraternity-boy-just-out/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Lovely morning, World War Two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/lovely-morning-world-war-two/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“Listen to anything and take it apart again. Spectrum analysis, in my head. I can break down chords, and timbres, and words too into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/listen-to-anything-and-take-it-apart-again-spectrum-analysis-in-my/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [A screaming comes across the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/a-screaming-comes-across-the-sky/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) [Explore all 483 Thomas Pynchon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) ## More Nixon quotes > [“Is something bothering you, Sam?” Nixon asked with a deep furrow between his concerned chocolate eyes. “You mean besides the dead body lying in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-dyllin/is-something-bothering-you-sam-nixon-asked-with-a-deep-furrow-between/) [D.T. Dyllin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-dyllin/) > [“he could yet make a case for a straight line from Nixon to Trump.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-wolff/he-could-yet-make-a-case-for-a-straight-line-from-nixon-to-trump/) [Michael Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-wolff/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [ There were really funny characteristics about this guy \[Richard Nixon\], chief of which would be that he seemed to devote about 85 percent of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-shearer/there-were-really-funny-characteristics-about-this-guy-richard-nixon/) [Harry Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-shearer/) > [My mother was an elementary school teacher for 35 years and taught at the Nixon School in New Jersey. I was raised as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/my-mother-was-an-elementary-school-teacher-for-35-years-and-taught-at/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Experience helped Richard Nixon, but it didn't save him, and it certainly wasn't a blanket endorsement. He blundered terribly in dealing with Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/experience-helped-richard-nixon-but-it-didn-t-save-him-and-it/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [ \[On Richard M. Nixon:\] Americans began with a president who couldn't tell a lie and now they have one who can't tell the truth. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/on-richard-m-nixon-americans-began-with-a-president-who-couldn-t-tell/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [I wasn't alive when President Nixon was impeached, but I know that public opinion changed over time and that there was very little support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-tarlov/i-wasn-t-alive-when-president-nixon-was-impeached-but-i-know-that/) [Jessica Tarlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-tarlov/) > [Nixon's own protection from the assassin's bullet... nattering nabobs of negativism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spiro-t-agnew/nixon-s-own-protection-from-the-assassin-s-bullet-nattering-nabobs-of/) [Spiro T. Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spiro-t-agnew/) > [ I'd almost prefer \[Richard\] Nixon. I'd say \[Bill\] Clinton is every bit as corrupt as Nixon, but a lot smoother. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/i-d-almost-prefer-richard-nixon-i-d-say-bill-clinton-is-every-bit-as/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Only a cheap politician, greedy for political gain, would try to single out one individual for blame. The fault lies not with the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/only-a-cheap-politician-greedy-for-political-gain-would-try-to-single/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [For Obama to save himself, he should be thinking about the example of an unlikely Republican predecessor: Richard Nixon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/for-obama-to-save-himself-he-should-be-thinking-about-the-example-of/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [Nixon was the most dishonest individual I have ever met in my life. He lied to his wife, his family, his friends, his colleagues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-goldwater/nixon-was-the-most-dishonest-individual-i-have-ever-met-in-my-life-he/) [Barry Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-goldwater/) > [The trouble with Nixon is that he's a serious politics junkie. He's totally hooked ... and like any other junkie, he'sa bummer to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-trouble-with-nixon-is-that-he-s-a-serious-politics-junkie-he-s/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Nixon had sought the treatment of a psychiatrist throughout the 1950s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colapietro-roger-stone/nixon-had-sought-the-treatment-of-a-psychiatrist-throughout-the-1950s/) [Mike Colapietro Roger Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colapietro-roger-stone/) [Browse all 386 Nixon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nixon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What? -- RICHARD M NIXON”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Pynchon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/what-richard-m-nixon/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nixon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/what-richard-m-nixon/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/thomas-pynchon-533_nixon_what-richard-m-nixon-2671207_2671207.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/thomas-pynchon-533_nixon_what-richard-m-nixon-2671207_2671207.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/thomas-pynchon-533_nixon_what-richard-m-nixon-2671207_2671207.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What? -- RICHARD M NIXON” — Thomas Pynchon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thomas Pynchon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What? -- RICHARD M NIXON”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/what-richard-m-nixon/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/what-richard-m-nixon/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```