Video below: If one ever wonders why it is called the Checkers speech, some here may not know:
September, 1952:
One other thing I probably should tell you because if we don't they'll probably be saying this about me too, we did get something—a gift—after the election. A man down in Texas heard Pat on the radio mention the fact that our two youngsters would like to have a dog. And, believe it or not, the day before we left on this campaign trip we got a message from Union Station in Baltimore saying they had a package for us. We went down to get it. You know what it was?
It was a little cocker spaniel dog in a crate that he'd sent all the way from Texas. Black and white spotted. And our little girl—Tricia, the 6-year-old—named it Checkers. And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog and I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it.[47]
! No longer availableNixon's famous book:
The
"Six Crisis": Alger Hiss case
Fund crisis and Checkers speech
Eisenhower's heart attack
Attack by a mob in Venezuela
Kitchen debate in Moscow
Loss in 1960 presidential campaign---------------
And per the Checkers speech, see he interjected a bit of humor in a serious situation and it seemed to work.
