[Nixon’s] concern was my conservatism. “You’re not as far right as Buckley, are you?” he asked. “I’m a great admirer of Bill Buckley,” I replied. Nixon was then in a nasty dispute with National Review over a comment he made in private, that “the Buckleyites are more dangerous than the Birchers.” – Pat Buchanan, Nixon’s White House Wars

I ran across this title while looking for Nixon-related books, and it’s proving rather surprising. Although I knew “movement conservatism” was just coming of age in the 1960s, I didn’t realize Nixon put as much distance between it and his own politics. Buchanan’s book makes it appear that Nixon regarded the Goldwater crowd as an annoying subsection of his voter base that he had to throw the odd bone to. Given the period, there’s a lot of deja vu — student protests taking over college campuses, the president at war with the media, etc.

Related:
Getting it Right, Willam F. Buckley. A novel about a romance between an Ayn Randian and a Bircher that explores the attraction and weaknesses of both approaches.