One memorable speech can turn around a faltering campaign − how Nixon did it with his ‘Checkers’ talk
- Written by W. Joseph Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Communication, American University School of Communication
Richard Nixon poses with his family and their dog, Checkers, in Washington, D.C., in September 1952. Bettmann/Contributor Twenty years before Watergate, then-Sen. Richard Nixon’s national political ambitions were in peril. He was accused of dipping into a private, $18,000 slush fund to cover expenses, and doubts about the propriety of his...