In his 1975 book, The Accountability of Power, Walter Mondale described why he had abandoned his campaign for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination in midstream. “I simply did not have the overwhelming desire necessary to do what had to be done to get elected,” he wrote. By 1981 Mondale had put that hesitation aside. He was ready to do
THIRTY-ONE YEARS AGO, A SECRET SLUSH FUND nearly ended the public career of Richard M. Nixon. The fund — which contained $18,235 — had been spent to supplement Nixon’s Senate allowances and to advance his national political prospects. Nixon, of course, salvaged his spot as the 1952 Republican vice presidential nominee by making one of the most famous political