Richard Nixon was involved in politics.
Richard Nixon . He had previously served as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower , and prior to that as a U.S. Representative and also Senator from California . Nixon served for eight years as vice president -- at 40 , the second-youngest vice president in history . He was reelected in one of the largest electoral landslides in U.S. history in 1972 , when he defeated George McGovern .