NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — Fifty years ago this month, Richard Nixon resigned as US president. With all eyes on November's presidential election, the anniversary provides an occasion to consider the inherent contradictions of American political leadership.

Nixon's abuses of executive power contrasted sharply with his foreign-policy achievements. As an avowed anti-communist, he surprised the world by going to China in 1972. Nixon's triangulation strategy effectively isolated the former Soviet Union, ultimately helping to bring the Cold War to an end.

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