Pat Nixon
* There have been some truly remarkable women in public life during this century. None has been more gracious, warm or loving than Pat Nixon. She had her own brand of quiet calm that was able to withstand the buffeting of political forces throughout her husband’s political career.
She endured hardship with grace; she faced setbacks with courage; and she remained steadfastly loving and loyal to her family through good times and bad. She was a lovely, well-mannered and gracious First Lady who served her nation and her husband’s presidency with her own brand of quiet class and dignity.
GERALD M. REEVES
El Cajon
* I was incensed by the sexist message of your front-page headline and article regarding Pat Nixon’s death (June 23). What exactly is a “model political wife,” as your reporter and headline writer so eloquently put it?
Your staff thinks it’s a woman who “stands stoically behind her man.” If this is the case, where does Hillary Rodham Clinton fit in? To me, she is the model wife, political or otherwise--one who is in equal partnership with her husband, working to build a relationship of mutual support throughout each other’s lives and careers.
LISA MARGOLIN-FEHER
Solana Beach
Yes, Pat Nixon is to be remembered with honor for her loyalty to Richard Nixon. But what makes this one attribute stand out? It is that in our society it has become so archaic. What a beautiful and courageous role model Pat Nixon was to all of us imperfect people struggling to love other imperfect people within our imperfect marriages in this imperfect world.
HALLIE PALSGROVE
Long Beach
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