A New York Times article on some new Nixon tapes includes the following gem:

Nixon worried that greater access to abortions would foster “permissiveness,” and said that “it breaks the family.” But he also saw a need for abortion in some cases — like interracial pregnancies, he said.
“There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white,” he told an aide, before adding, “Or a rape.”

Nixon is something of a Midas in reverse: He can make even the noblest cause — the protection of human life — look seedy and disreputable.

(H/t Mollie Wilson O’Reilly of dotCommonweal.)