No presidential candidate ever made more use of advertising skills and techniques than Richard Nixon—or employed more former admen as top assistants after attaining office. H.R. Haldeman, Ronald Ziegler and Dwight Chapin, among others in the White House, all came from the advertising industry. Nixon's 1968 campaign script even led to a successful book, The Selling of the President 1968, by Joe McGinniss. It chronicled how Nixon's media men skillfully packaged his assets —and disguised his weaknesses—to present him to the American public.
Last week, as John W. Dean fired away at...