Author and historian Zachary Karabell compared U.S. President Chester Arthur reforming the civil service system (in the early 1880s) to Nixon going to China, since Arthur himself was a product of the spoils system and yet he was the one who helped get rid of it (with the Pendleton Act).
Pengarang dan sejarawan Zachary Karabell membandingkan reformasi sistem layanan sipil Presiden A.S. Chester Arthur pada awal 1880-an dengan Nixon pergi ke Tiongkok, karena Arthur sendiri masuk dunia politik berkat sistem pampasan dan malah ia sendiri yang menuntut penghapusan sistem tersebut lewat Undang-Undang Pendleton).