Hi Teresa. In the prologue to "Go quietly... or else!" (1980), Agnew wrote, "I am writing this book because I am innocent of the allegations against me which compelled me to resign from the vice-presidency of the United States in 1973. This is not to say I have not made mistakes, or failed to do things I ought to have done, or done things I ought not to have done. I am human, and my conduct has been no better and no worse than that of other officeholders in these United States.... I have made many enemies in my political life. I believe this happened mainly because I was an outspoken advocate of unpopular stands—stands which I believed were correct and still believe to be correct. I was a conservative at a time when liberals captured the imagination and sympathy of the communications media. I took a tough line when those who had the attention of the nation wanted a weak line. I staunchly and loyally supported a President who eventually left office against his will and in disgrace. I challenged some of the myths of the liberal establishment. And perhaps more dangerous politically to myself than any other factor, I antagonized the press of this nation.... I believe in a free press, not an irresponsible press, and because of that belief I was reviled and damned."
It's interesting how he blamed the media, even though in his book he covers machinations of the many hands of "government" at both federal and state levels that ground away at him, continuing after he resigned. The unfair "press" made an easy and obvious target but the powers that pushed and pulled the strings were deeper (pun intended).
When I met him, a dozen or so years before the book was written, the events were still fresh and confusing and Nixon hadn't yet resigned. But Agnew had been sidelined and, though personally still facing major problems, was out of the intense fire Nixon was under, and so he was trying to make sense of it all. How could a powerful elected official be ground down and effectively booted from office if he had done nothing to deserve it?
I don't know if we're better off today now that we daily witness the gloves-off attacks of our elected and unelected "ruling elites" on Mr. Trump by the progeny of the same "elites" who assassinated JFK and destroyed Nixon, two very different Presidents whom they didn't control, with RFK and Spiro Agnew as collateral damage.
Well, this story is about war of another kind, so it is a very good fit to the theme for 51 Ancestors Week 17, "War."