Did Richard Nixon invent the Internet?

The following quote -- which appears to infer that Richard Nixon dreamed up a kind of Ur-Internet in the early 1970s -- appears on page 483 of The Book of Lists #2, which I have been reading off and on in Baja.

What I find especially fascinating is that this Ur-Internet scheme appeared in the book under a heading called "Six Outrageous Plans That Didn't Happen" -- implying that, in 1980 (when The Book of Lists #2 was published), editor David Wallechinsky was oblivious to the potential usefulness of inter-linked personal computers.

Indeed, Nixon and H.R. Haldeman's "Wired Nation" scheme is listed alongside such wacky plans as G. Gordon Liddy's attempt to kidnap anti-war leaders in anticipation of the '72 GOP convention in San Diego; the CIA plan to make Fidel Castro's beard fall out; and the Nixon-era "Huston Plan" to increase domestic spying on US citizens (which sounds to me like a kind of Ur-"Patriot Act").

Anyhow, here's the quote:

"In his book The Shadow Presidents, author Michael Medved relates the extreme disappointment of H.R. Haldeman over his failure to implement his plan to link up all the homes in America by coaxial cable. In Haldeman's words, "There would be two-way communication. Through computer, you could use your television set to order up whatever you wanted. The morning paper, entertainment services, shopping services, coverage of sporting events and public events. …Just as Eisenhower linked up the nation's cities by highways so that you could get there, the Nixon legacy would have linked them by cable communications so you wouldn't have to go there". One can almost see the dreamy eyes of Nixon and Haldeman as they sat around discussing a plan that would eliminate the need for newspapers, seemingly oblivious to its Big Brother aspects. Fortunately, the Watergate scandal intervened, and Nixon was forced to resign before "the Wired Nation" could be hooked up."