Q&A with Heath Hardage Lee

 

 

 

Heath Hardage Lee is the author of the new biography The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon: The Life and Times of Washington's Most Private First Lady. Lee's other books include The League of Wives. She lives in Roanoke, Virginia.

 

Q: What inspired you to write a biography of Pat Nixon?

 

A: My previous book, The League of Wives, was about the courageous wives of Vietnam War serviceman who were POWs or MIAs. Pat Nixon was First Lady during much of the time period I wrote about in that book (late 1960s and early1970s). 

 

I kept running across photos of her with the POW MIA wives looking so engaged and dynamic. These photos were at odds with so many of the media portrayals of Mrs. Nixon as aloof and reserved.

 

I surmised the real story about her might be much more intriguing than the simplistic portrait the media painted of Mrs. Nixon during the time her husband was president.

 

Q: What would you say are some of the most common perceptions and misconceptions about Pat Nixon?

 

A: Pat Nixon was unfairly tagged as “Plastic Pat” for being “too perfect” and for keeping her own counsel. Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein accused her of being a heavy drinker and a recluse during the Watergate years. There is no evidence to support those claims. She was instead a warm person who declared “People are my project.” 

 

As both Second and First Lady, Mrs. Nixon was a highly skilled global diplomat, and a supporter of women’s rights. She was pro-ERA, pro-choice, and publicly advocated putting a woman on the Supreme Court.  She collected more high-quality art and period furniture for the White House than any other First Lady before or since her time. 

 

She also worked to open the White House to working people with evening tours and those with disabilities by making accommodations for them on special tours. She was a remarkable woman who still gets little credit for her many achievements. 

Q: The writer Debby Applegate said of the book, “The Mysterious Mrs. Nixon convinced me that the tragedy of Watergate could have been avoided entirely had Dick Nixon followed the path of his remarkable First Lady.” What do you think of that assessment, and how would you describe the dynamic between the Nixons?

 

A: I think Ms. Applegate really has a great take on Pat Nixon.  She was a role model for First Ladies past and present. Despite her controversial husband, she maintained a wide popularity among many Americans:   She was voted most admired woman in the world in 1972, and she made the Gallup Poll’s top 10 list of most admired 14 times. 

 

Like most couples, the Nixons experienced ups and downs during their marriage--mainly due to Richard Nixon’s political career and their very public life. Pat Nixon would have preferred a more private existence outside the political fishbowl. Being a “country lawyer’s wife” would have been more appealing to her. 

 

However, she and her husband maintained a deep commitment to each other and to their marriage even during the dark times of the Watergate era. I do think if Richard Nixon had listed to her counsel more often during that period as opposed to the counsel of his close aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, he might have made far different choices.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I am currently working on adapting The League of Wives into a television series and looking for a new book subject! I am open to suggestions! I would love to stay in the era of the 1960s or 1970s if possible, as it was such a groundbreaking time for women.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Heath Hardage Lee.