Got into politics with sleaze. Went out the same way.

A significant VP because he was one of the very few VP's to serve two-full terms, and he filled in for Ike on two occasions while Ike recovered from major health setbacks. Nixon also took significant historical foreign visits while serving as VP. It's not so much that he was a "great" VP as much as he played a more significant role as VP than most VP's did while in office.

OK veep

He kept Checkers. UPDATE: And I think he said his wife wore a good Repbublican cloth coat and was born on St.Patrick's Day. They don't make 'em like Nixon anymore. I wish someone like Andrew Lloyd Webber would create a Broadway musical about Nixon. It would be hilarious.

He was an outstanding Vice-President: young, forceful, intelligent, and incapable of being bullied by the communists. It's a shame he didn't do as well when he later became President.

He served ably under Eisenhower. He frequently served as a foreign emissary abroad, traveling to 56 countries, including Russia, where he engaged in a verbal clash with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. This kitchen debate enhanced Nixon's stature. Nixon also undertook several executive duties following Eisenhower's health problems between 1955 and 1957.