Death and Legacy
On January 23, 1974, Chotiner was involved in an automobile accident on Virginia State Route 123 in McLean, Virginia, by the home of Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who heard the collision and called for an ambulance. Chotiner had suffered a broken leg, and appeared to be recovering. The evening before he was due to be discharged from the hospital, he started gasping uncontrollably, and X-rays revealed a blood clot near the lungs. Treatment was unsuccessful and he died of a pulmonary embolism at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. Gerald R. Warren, Nixon's deputy press secretary, stated that President Nixon was "deeply saddened" by the news.
Nixon described Chotiner as a "valued counselor and a trusted colleague. But above all, Murray Chotiner was my friend." Chotiner was survived by his fourth wife, Nancy, his son, Kenneth, from his first marriage, two stepdaughters, Renee and Julie, and his brother. The President attended his funeral, and emotionally told Nancy Chotiner that her husband was a "great guy".
Chotiner is buried at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, Virginia. The adage known as "Chotiner's Law" is named for the former Nixon adviser. It holds that if an incumbent is seriously challenged in a primary election, he will be unable to recover and will lose the general election. Chotiner's Law has held true in every presidential election since his death.
Chotiner was known to his friends as "the perfect political technician" and to his foes as "the complete political hatchet man", but often said that he had done nothing in politics that he was not proud of. Rowland Evans and Robert Novak summed up Chotiner:
Chotiner was in many ways the most interesting personality in Nixon's political camp: aggressive, egocentric, a professional among amateurs, brilliant, overbearing, ruthless, engaging, habitually guilty of overkill, constantly enlarging his area of operation. Painted in sinister colors by the press, he was both a public relations problem for Nixon and an invaluable campaign strategist.
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Famous quotes containing the words death and/or legacy:
“hung up like a pig on exhibit,
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