As for Nixon, I imagine he'd be a Republican but it's hard to say - he lived through Reagan's presidency but died months before the Republican Revolution of '94. He was, as angus said, more interested in foreign policy than anything. As far as domestic policies are concerned, he was a pragmatist above all else, neither liberal nor conservative. I won't reiterate the well-documented activism of his presidency as far as social programs are concerned but I do think the fact that he very much embraced the prevailing attitude of the day - that government existed to solve problems - is certainly worth noting.
This whole attempt to characterize Richard M. Freaking Nixon of all people by ideology is foolhardy at best.
