Nov. 17, 1962 - Richard M. Nixon questioned today the importance of Alger Hiss’s comments about him on television “when weighed on the scales against thousands of wires and letters from patriotic Americans.” He made this observation in telegrams to a number of newspapers. Mr. Nixon was reacting to comments made about him last Sunday night by Mr. Hiss on an ABC-TV program called “The Political Obituary of Richard M. Nixon.” In his telegram, Mr. Nixon said the California gubernatorial race that he lost to Gov. Edmund G. Brown was “my last campaign for public office.” The statement read, in part, “As I begin a long-delayed vacation, I want to thank you for your recent editorials and the objective news coverage of my activities during the 16 years I have been in public life. As I finish my last campaign for public office, I shall always be grateful for the opportunity that has been accorded of serving as a Congressman, Senator, and Vice President of the U.S. for eight years…My parting advice to all those contemplating a political career is simply this: It is not whether we win or lose that counts, but whether we fight to the best of our abilities for the cause in which we believe.”
