 In particular, Thomas Nast, who had old-line Republican leanings, took aim at "Elegant Oakey" whom he considered to be the worst of the Tweed politicians because of his high standing, education and open presidential ambitions.Nast also felt that Hall got off lightly in the affair because of his continued personal connections with reformer and prosecutor Samuel Tilden, though later historians have shown that Hall and Tilden were never very close in the 1860s and 1870s and that Hall did not receive any special assistance.In fact, Tilden was the chief opponent of Tweed, Hall, et al.