Nixon was a very, very smart person. In fact, he had one of the highest IQs of any public official I’ve met. The problem with Nixon was not intelligence and not prejudices. The problem with him was that he was willing to sacrifice principles too easily for political advantage. But at any rate, as I was getting up to leave, President Nixon said to me, “Don’t blame George for this silly business of wage and price controls,” meaning George Shultz. And I believe I said to him, I think I said to him, “Oh, no, Mr. President. I don’t blame George; I blame you!” And that, I think, was the last thing I said to him.
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Milton Friedman
