1 00:00:11,233 --> 00:00:13,900 (applause) 2 00:00:13,900 --> 00:00:15,933 MAN: Ladies and gentlemen, 3 00:00:15,933 --> 00:00:18,266 the president of the United States of America 4 00:00:18,266 --> 00:00:20,066 and Mrs. Nixon, 5 00:00:20,066 --> 00:00:24,700 Mr. and Mrs. David Eisenhower, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cox. 6 00:00:24,700 --> 00:00:26,800 NARRATOR: On August 9, 1974, 7 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,566 Richard Milhous Nixon became the first president 8 00:00:29,566 --> 00:00:32,800 in the history of the United States to resign from office. 9 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:37,333 His staff gathered in the White House to bid him farewell 10 00:00:37,333 --> 00:00:40,400 as millions of Americans watched on television, 11 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,966 some in sorrow and disbelief, others glad to see him go. 12 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,300 Richard Nixon had accomplished great things as president 13 00:00:50,300 --> 00:00:52,933 and had been reelected overwhelmingly, 14 00:00:52,933 --> 00:00:54,600 but he was also widely distrusted, 15 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:58,666 sometimes ridiculed, even despised. 16 00:00:58,666 --> 00:01:04,433 You're here to say goodbye to us, 17 00:01:04,433 --> 00:01:09,733 and we don't have a good word for it in English. 18 00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:13,766 The best is "au revoir." 19 00:01:13,766 --> 00:01:15,833 We'll see you again. 20 00:01:15,833 --> 00:01:17,666 (applause) 21 00:01:24,466 --> 00:01:31,800 JOHN EHRLICHMAN: Richard Nixon was studiedly different to different people, 22 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:35,133 and I don't think there's any one person-- 23 00:01:35,133 --> 00:01:39,833 including his wife, probably-- who could sit down and write 24 00:01:39,833 --> 00:01:42,700 the definitive explanation of Richard Nixon. 25 00:01:42,700 --> 00:01:44,466 We all saw him differently. 26 00:01:44,466 --> 00:01:47,066 (applause) 27 00:01:47,066 --> 00:01:49,400 NARRATOR: He was a tireless campaigner, 28 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:53,100 a survivor of more than a quarter of a century 29 00:01:53,100 --> 00:01:54,633 of political battle, 30 00:01:54,633 --> 00:01:58,566 yet so self-conscious that he disliked shaking hands 31 00:01:58,566 --> 00:02:01,266 and found it hard to look anyone in the eye. 32 00:02:01,266 --> 00:02:02,500 NIXON: And I intend to continue 33 00:02:02,500 --> 00:02:04,333 to expose the people 34 00:02:04,333 --> 00:02:06,933 that have sold this country down the river 35 00:02:06,933 --> 00:02:09,300 until we have driven all the crooks and the Communists 36 00:02:09,300 --> 00:02:11,133 and those that defend them out of Washington. 37 00:02:11,133 --> 00:02:12,966 (cheers and applause) 38 00:02:12,966 --> 00:02:16,066 NARRATOR: He rose to power as a crusader against Communism, 39 00:02:16,066 --> 00:02:18,466 only to make his most lasting mark 40 00:02:18,466 --> 00:02:21,833 building bridges to China and the Soviet Union. 41 00:02:25,333 --> 00:02:28,400 He had millions of admirers all over the world 42 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,400 but trusted almost no one, 43 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,466 and in the end was left to face his enemies alone. 44 00:02:36,700 --> 00:02:39,900 The advice he offered his staff in his last speech as president 45 00:02:39,900 --> 00:02:43,266 stirred the thick August air with admonitions 46 00:02:43,266 --> 00:02:46,866 that seemed to apply most aptly to Nixon himself. 47 00:02:46,866 --> 00:02:49,333 Always give your best. 48 00:02:49,333 --> 00:02:51,500 Never get discouraged. 49 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:54,566 Never be petty. 50 00:02:54,566 --> 00:02:56,866 Always remember: 51 00:02:56,866 --> 00:02:59,600 others may hate you, 52 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:04,400 but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. 53 00:03:05,866 --> 00:03:08,033 And then, you destroy yourself. 54 00:03:17,133 --> 00:03:20,366 ELLIOT RICHARDSON: It's struck me from time to time 55 00:03:20,366 --> 00:03:25,800 that, that Nixon as a character would have been so easy to fix 56 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:30,700 in the sense of removing these rather petty flaws, 57 00:03:30,700 --> 00:03:36,566 and yet I think it's also true that if you, if you did this, 58 00:03:36,566 --> 00:03:39,766 you would probably have removed 59 00:03:39,766 --> 00:03:44,866 that very inner core of insecurity 60 00:03:44,866 --> 00:03:47,633 that led to his drive. 61 00:03:47,633 --> 00:03:52,133 A secure Nixon almost surely, in my view, 62 00:03:52,133 --> 00:03:55,000 would never have been president of the United States at all. 63 00:04:06,666 --> 00:04:14,200 SINGER 1: ♪ Sing a song of golden California ♪ 64 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:17,833 SINGER 2: ♪ Grain reflects the lofty mountain ♪ 65 00:04:17,833 --> 00:04:24,600 SINGERS: ♪ And the sunset sea... the sunset sea. ♪ 66 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:26,233 NARRATOR: Richard Nixon was born 67 00:04:26,233 --> 00:04:29,366 in the tiny Southern California desert town of Yorba Linda 68 00:04:29,366 --> 00:04:31,200 in 1913. 69 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:32,766 SINGER 2: ♪ Golden paradise... ♪ 70 00:04:32,766 --> 00:04:34,966 NARRATOR: He grew up among the people he would one day call 71 00:04:34,966 --> 00:04:38,600 "forgotten Americans" and the "silent majority." 72 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,833 SINGERS: ♪ My California... ♪ 73 00:04:41,833 --> 00:04:44,766 NARRATOR: Hardworking, churchgoing people... 74 00:04:46,666 --> 00:04:48,266 Farmers, shopkeepers, 75 00:04:48,266 --> 00:04:51,800 people with an inbred respect for authority 76 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,266 and an unyielding belief in the American Dream. 77 00:04:55,266 --> 00:04:57,366 SINGERS: ♪ ...that's my honey ♪ 78 00:04:57,366 --> 00:05:03,700 ♪ That's my sunny California. ♪ 79 00:05:03,700 --> 00:05:05,966 NIXON: I remember my old man. 80 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,533 I think that they would have called him sort of a, 81 00:05:10,533 --> 00:05:11,600 (soft chuckle) 82 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,700 a sort of little man, common man. 83 00:05:15,700 --> 00:05:18,533 He didn't consider himself that way. 84 00:05:18,533 --> 00:05:20,600 (clears throat) You know what he was? 85 00:05:22,300 --> 00:05:24,633 He was a streetcar motorman first, 86 00:05:24,633 --> 00:05:29,266 and then he was a farmer, and then he had a lemon ranch, 87 00:05:29,266 --> 00:05:31,333 and then he was a grocer. 88 00:05:36,466 --> 00:05:38,733 But he was a great man. 89 00:05:42,100 --> 00:05:43,966 NARRATOR: "Richard had his father's fire," 90 00:05:43,966 --> 00:05:46,600 his mother, Hannah Milhous Nixon, once said, 91 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:48,566 "and my tact." 92 00:05:48,566 --> 00:05:51,833 She seemed the opposite of the loud, aggressive husband 93 00:05:51,833 --> 00:05:54,900 her Quaker family always believed beneath her-- 94 00:05:54,900 --> 00:05:57,333 soft-spoken, tightly controlled, 95 00:05:57,333 --> 00:06:00,533 never allowing anger to get the better of her. 96 00:06:00,533 --> 00:06:05,900 She insisted her second son be called Richard, not Dick, 97 00:06:05,900 --> 00:06:08,566 taught him to read before he entered school, 98 00:06:08,566 --> 00:06:10,333 and made sure he said his prayers daily 99 00:06:10,333 --> 00:06:13,700 and went four times to Quaker meeting on Sundays. 100 00:06:15,366 --> 00:06:17,433 WOMAN: I taught Richard Nixon 101 00:06:17,433 --> 00:06:20,333 in the second grade here in Yorba Linda. 102 00:06:20,333 --> 00:06:24,500 He sat in the back seat and always came to school 103 00:06:24,500 --> 00:06:28,500 with a white, starched shirt with long sleeves. 104 00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:32,400 He was always a quiet, dignified little fellow 105 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,500 and a very good student. 106 00:06:35,500 --> 00:06:37,933 NARRATOR: He was clumsy but dogged at games, 107 00:06:37,933 --> 00:06:40,833 shy but gifted at reciting poetry, 108 00:06:40,833 --> 00:06:44,000 and full of his father's enthusiasm for politics. 109 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,966 MERLE WEST: Dick was politically inclined as a kid. 110 00:06:46,966 --> 00:06:49,000 I remember walking to school, 111 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,933 and I think it was when Harding was running for president, 112 00:06:52,933 --> 00:06:54,833 and old Dick was there on a stump 113 00:06:54,833 --> 00:06:57,400 saying why everybody should vote for Harding. 114 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:00,300 ♪ ♪ 115 00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:04,600 NARRATOR: The Nixons moved to nearby Whittier when Richard was nine. 116 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,000 Founded by Quakers in 1887, 117 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,833 it was a sober, industrious community: 118 00:07:09,833 --> 00:07:14,033 no liquor stores, no bars, no dance halls. 119 00:07:14,033 --> 00:07:17,966 Frank Nixon bought a gas station along the highway 120 00:07:17,966 --> 00:07:22,333 and soon added a general store where the whole family worked, 121 00:07:22,333 --> 00:07:25,233 often 16 hours a day, seven days a week. 122 00:07:25,233 --> 00:07:28,600 One thing my mother and dad always used to say 123 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,500 when we were growing up-- 124 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:32,133 I don't mean my mother, 125 00:07:32,133 --> 00:07:34,400 because she was a little biased-- 126 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:36,700 but my dad used to say when we were growing up, 127 00:07:36,700 --> 00:07:38,766 he said, "You know, you boys"-- 128 00:07:38,766 --> 00:07:40,633 speaking to me particularly-- 129 00:07:40,633 --> 00:07:44,833 "that you boys have got to get out and scratch. 130 00:07:44,833 --> 00:07:47,666 You're not gonna get anywhere on your good looks." 131 00:07:47,666 --> 00:07:50,700 ♪ ♪ 132 00:07:50,700 --> 00:07:52,866 NARRATOR: When Richard was 12, 133 00:07:52,866 --> 00:07:57,100 his younger brother, Arthur, suddenly fell ill and died, 134 00:07:57,100 --> 00:07:58,833 and within eight years, 135 00:07:58,833 --> 00:08:02,400 Harold, the eldest brother and family favorite, 136 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:04,766 would succumb to tuberculosis. 137 00:08:04,766 --> 00:08:08,366 Hannah Nixon recalled, "It was Arthur's passing 138 00:08:08,366 --> 00:08:11,866 "that first stirred within Richard a determination 139 00:08:11,866 --> 00:08:16,233 "to help make up for our loss by making us very proud of him. 140 00:08:16,233 --> 00:08:18,666 "He may have felt a kind of guilt 141 00:08:18,666 --> 00:08:21,000 "that Harold and Arthur were dead 142 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,533 and he was alive," she remembered. 143 00:08:24,866 --> 00:08:27,033 My mother was a saint. 144 00:08:33,333 --> 00:08:40,700 And I think of her, two boys dying of tuberculosis, 145 00:08:40,700 --> 00:08:46,866 nursing four others, and seeing each of them die, 146 00:08:46,866 --> 00:08:49,500 and when they died, it was like one of her own. 147 00:08:53,233 --> 00:09:00,000 Yes, she will have no books written about her, 148 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,066 but she was a saint. 149 00:09:04,666 --> 00:09:06,333 NARRATOR: "I would like to study law 150 00:09:06,333 --> 00:09:08,400 and enter politics for an occupation," 151 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,166 Nixon wrote in the eighth grade, 152 00:09:10,166 --> 00:09:12,566 "so that I might be of some good to the people." 153 00:09:14,833 --> 00:09:17,066 Nixon worked hard for everything he got, 154 00:09:17,066 --> 00:09:19,400 and his sober, industrious air 155 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,300 sometimes put off his contemporaries. 156 00:09:22,300 --> 00:09:25,400 When he ran for class president at Whittier High, 157 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,266 he lost to a candidate he later dismissed 158 00:09:28,266 --> 00:09:31,966 as an athlete and personality boy. 159 00:09:31,966 --> 00:09:35,566 He would not lose another election for 30 years. 160 00:09:39,633 --> 00:09:44,500 Both Harvard and Yale invited Nixon to apply for scholarships, 161 00:09:44,500 --> 00:09:47,333 but his dream of a prestigious eastern university 162 00:09:47,333 --> 00:09:49,533 was frustrated. 163 00:09:49,533 --> 00:09:52,200 It was 1930, the Great Depression, 164 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,433 and Harold was in the midst 165 00:09:54,433 --> 00:09:57,566 of his long struggle with tuberculosis. 166 00:09:57,566 --> 00:10:02,866 "We needed Richard at home," Hannah Nixon remembered. 167 00:10:02,866 --> 00:10:07,100 Nixon had to settle for Whittier College, just down the road, 168 00:10:07,100 --> 00:10:10,300 and later said he'd never felt disappointed. 169 00:10:10,300 --> 00:10:13,566 He soon became a big man on the small campus. 170 00:10:14,900 --> 00:10:18,366 ♪ ♪ 171 00:10:18,366 --> 00:10:20,833 He was an ambitious student politician, 172 00:10:20,833 --> 00:10:24,433 an accomplished actor, a champion debater. 173 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,766 The Whittier student body elected Nixon president in 1933. 174 00:10:30,766 --> 00:10:34,700 He was both admired and resented for what one student called 175 00:10:34,700 --> 00:10:37,666 "an almost ruthless cocksureness." 176 00:10:39,100 --> 00:10:42,766 The exclusive Franklin Club denied Nixon membership. 177 00:10:42,766 --> 00:10:45,533 He helped organize a competing club: 178 00:10:45,533 --> 00:10:48,233 The Orthogonians, or Square Shooters-- 179 00:10:48,233 --> 00:10:49,966 students who took pride 180 00:10:49,966 --> 00:10:52,600 in working their way through college. 181 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:55,800 They wore no ties, served spaghetti and beans, 182 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,866 and attracted the college's best athletes. 183 00:11:00,766 --> 00:11:04,266 Nixon later denied there was any class distinction 184 00:11:04,266 --> 00:11:06,866 between his shirt-sleeved Orthogonians 185 00:11:06,866 --> 00:11:08,733 and the tuxedoed Franklins, 186 00:11:08,733 --> 00:11:11,900 but throughout his life, he would emphasize the differences 187 00:11:11,900 --> 00:11:13,900 between his own modest beginnings 188 00:11:13,900 --> 00:11:16,500 and the wealthy, privileged backgrounds 189 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:18,200 of his political opponents. 190 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,233 Duke Law School was Nixon's next training ground 191 00:11:35,233 --> 00:11:38,133 in persistence, success, and frustration. 192 00:11:38,133 --> 00:11:41,000 His classmates called him "Gloomy Gus." 193 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,666 He lived frugally, studied endlessly, 194 00:11:43,666 --> 00:11:47,500 and never walked away from a classroom confrontation. 195 00:11:47,500 --> 00:11:51,066 LYMAN BROWNFIELD: We had a professor of torts, Douglas Maggs, 196 00:11:51,066 --> 00:11:54,466 who was so intimidating that most people backed down. 197 00:11:54,466 --> 00:11:56,666 The first person in our class that I remember 198 00:11:56,666 --> 00:11:59,566 that stood up to him and kind of barked back 199 00:11:59,566 --> 00:12:01,433 was Nixon. 200 00:12:01,433 --> 00:12:04,333 And he had-- he was standing there kind of flat-footed, 201 00:12:04,333 --> 00:12:06,900 and you could just see he was dug in, 202 00:12:06,900 --> 00:12:08,666 and he was just standing up to Maggs, 203 00:12:08,666 --> 00:12:10,400 kind of almost shaking in his shoes, 204 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:12,866 but by gosh, he wasn't going to back down. 205 00:12:12,866 --> 00:12:15,900 NARRATOR: Nixon graduated third in his class, 206 00:12:15,900 --> 00:12:20,066 hoping for a job with an East Coast law firm or the FBI. 207 00:12:20,066 --> 00:12:22,466 But his applications were rejected. 208 00:12:22,466 --> 00:12:25,000 He went back home to Whittier. 209 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,133 SINGER: ♪ California, here I come... ♪ 210 00:12:29,133 --> 00:12:32,700 NARRATOR: Nixon's mother helped him get a job in a friend's law office. 211 00:12:32,700 --> 00:12:34,566 Small-town law bored him, 212 00:12:34,566 --> 00:12:36,733 and he was still too young and inexperienced 213 00:12:36,733 --> 00:12:38,700 for state politics. 214 00:12:38,700 --> 00:12:40,933 Then, while auditioning for a local play, 215 00:12:40,933 --> 00:12:42,600 he fell in love. 216 00:12:44,633 --> 00:12:47,433 Pat Ryan was a truck farmer's red-haired daughter 217 00:12:47,433 --> 00:12:49,100 ten months older than he 218 00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:52,366 and even more accustomed to hard work and hardship. 219 00:12:52,366 --> 00:12:54,900 She had worked her way through college 220 00:12:54,900 --> 00:12:58,300 as a switchboard operator, salesgirl, and movie extra 221 00:12:58,300 --> 00:13:01,366 before taking a teaching job at Whittier High. 222 00:13:01,366 --> 00:13:05,033 "Don't laugh," Nixon told her, even before their first date, 223 00:13:05,033 --> 00:13:07,700 "but someday I'm going to marry you." 224 00:13:09,833 --> 00:13:12,133 He pursued Pat for over two years, 225 00:13:12,133 --> 00:13:15,133 even driving her to Los Angeles on weekends 226 00:13:15,133 --> 00:13:17,433 when she had dates with other men, 227 00:13:17,433 --> 00:13:20,466 then waiting around to take her home again. 228 00:13:20,466 --> 00:13:25,333 He married her in June of 1940, but his political ambitions 229 00:13:25,333 --> 00:13:28,266 would have to wait five more years. 230 00:13:28,266 --> 00:13:30,033 The world was at war. 231 00:13:30,033 --> 00:13:32,000 SINGER: ♪ ...California, here I come. ♪ 232 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,633 NARRATOR: Eight months after Pearl Harbor, Nixon joined the Navy, 233 00:13:36,633 --> 00:13:40,000 and as a lieutenant commander was sent to the Solomon Islands. 234 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,066 He was best remembered for his skill 235 00:13:42,066 --> 00:13:44,866 at scrounging food and liquor and supplies 236 00:13:44,866 --> 00:13:47,733 for the grateful men who called him "Nick." 237 00:13:47,733 --> 00:13:49,633 And he learned to play poker 238 00:13:49,633 --> 00:13:53,633 not just to fill the time, but to make some extra money. 239 00:13:53,633 --> 00:13:55,100 JAMES STEWART: He said to me, 240 00:13:55,100 --> 00:13:57,033 "Do you think that there's any sure way to win?" 241 00:13:57,033 --> 00:13:58,566 And I said, 242 00:13:58,566 --> 00:14:01,300 "Well, if you don't think you have the best hand going in, 243 00:14:01,300 --> 00:14:03,966 get out, drop, don't, don't ante up." 244 00:14:03,966 --> 00:14:06,500 I said, "The trouble with that is, is that 245 00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:08,933 "you'll probably drop three or four hands out of five 246 00:14:08,933 --> 00:14:10,600 "and it's very boring, 247 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:12,700 and I haven't got the patience to do it." 248 00:14:12,700 --> 00:14:16,666 Well, to our intense surprise, he did exactly that, 249 00:14:16,666 --> 00:14:22,000 and he won quite more frequently than he lost 250 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,000 and he sent home to California a fair amount of money. 251 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,200 I have no idea exactly how much, 252 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,433 but my estimate was between $6,000 and $7,000. 253 00:14:32,466 --> 00:14:34,800 NARRATOR: It was his poker winnings 254 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:38,333 that helped finance Nixon's first political campaign. 255 00:14:38,333 --> 00:14:40,466 At war's end, he was approached 256 00:14:40,466 --> 00:14:44,266 by a group of Republican bankers and businessmen from Whittier 257 00:14:44,266 --> 00:14:46,500 who sought a candidate to unseat 258 00:14:46,500 --> 00:14:49,000 the five-term Democratic congressman Jerry Voorhis. 259 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,366 Voorhis, a Yale graduate from a wealthy family, 260 00:14:53,366 --> 00:14:56,033 was anathema to Whittier Republicans. 261 00:14:56,033 --> 00:14:59,700 He supported labor, opposed big oil and big banking, 262 00:14:59,700 --> 00:15:02,766 and championed the social welfare programs 263 00:15:02,766 --> 00:15:04,300 of the New Deal. 264 00:15:04,300 --> 00:15:07,300 Lieutenant Commander Nixon jumped at the opportunity 265 00:15:07,300 --> 00:15:08,600 to run against him. 266 00:15:10,233 --> 00:15:12,700 Leading Republicans around Whittier were confident 267 00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:16,433 they finally had found the man to defeat Jerry Voorhis. 268 00:15:16,433 --> 00:15:20,466 "Nixon comes from good Quaker stock," a local banker wrote. 269 00:15:20,466 --> 00:15:22,766 "He is a very aggressive individual." 270 00:15:22,766 --> 00:15:27,800 Another partisan said, "This man is saleable merchandise." 271 00:15:29,566 --> 00:15:32,300 In his first campaign, Nixon developed an approach 272 00:15:32,300 --> 00:15:34,733 that remained remarkably consistent 273 00:15:34,733 --> 00:15:36,700 through nearly three decades. 274 00:15:36,700 --> 00:15:38,766 The candidate presented himself as a family man 275 00:15:38,766 --> 00:15:41,533 from a long tradition of work and service, 276 00:15:41,533 --> 00:15:44,100 a firm believer in individual initiative, 277 00:15:44,100 --> 00:15:46,133 a champion of the forgotten man, 278 00:15:46,133 --> 00:15:48,733 and at the same time, 279 00:15:48,733 --> 00:15:52,000 he proved to be a fierce no-holds-barred combatant, 280 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,366 accusing Voorhis of ties to Communist organizations, 281 00:15:55,366 --> 00:15:58,066 distorting Voorhis's record in Congress. 282 00:15:58,066 --> 00:15:59,966 JERRY VOORHIS: Just before the election, 283 00:15:59,966 --> 00:16:02,366 a good many people came and told me, 284 00:16:02,366 --> 00:16:06,300 "Do you know about the telephone calls that are being made?" 285 00:16:06,300 --> 00:16:08,333 And I said, no, I didn't. 286 00:16:08,333 --> 00:16:11,966 "Well," they said, "I was called on the phone 287 00:16:11,966 --> 00:16:15,333 "by an unidentified person who simply said, 288 00:16:15,333 --> 00:16:18,800 "'Do you know that Jerry Voorhis is a Communist?' 289 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,333 "and 'You should vote for Mr. Nixon 290 00:16:21,333 --> 00:16:23,833 because of this fact.'" 291 00:16:23,833 --> 00:16:26,866 NARRATOR: The character of Nixon's campaign 292 00:16:26,866 --> 00:16:28,800 surprised many of his friends. 293 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,033 "Of course I knew Jerry Voorhis wasn't a Communist," 294 00:16:31,033 --> 00:16:33,933 he later told a Voorhis aide, "but I had to win. 295 00:16:33,933 --> 00:16:36,033 "That's the thing you don't understand. 296 00:16:36,033 --> 00:16:38,466 The important thing is to win." 297 00:16:38,466 --> 00:16:40,466 VOORHIS: All the stops were pulled 298 00:16:40,466 --> 00:16:42,300 and Mr. Nixon beat me. 299 00:16:42,300 --> 00:16:44,033 He was a good debater. 300 00:16:44,033 --> 00:16:45,666 He was a clever debater. 301 00:16:45,666 --> 00:16:49,466 I wouldn't deny that at all. 302 00:16:49,466 --> 00:16:52,800 But, uh... 303 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:54,266 I... 304 00:16:56,300 --> 00:17:00,966 I still feel that there were a good many... 305 00:17:00,966 --> 00:17:04,400 good many below-the-belt blows struck in the campaign. 306 00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:10,266 NARRATOR: Nixon was swept into office with 60% of the vote, 307 00:17:10,266 --> 00:17:13,233 part of a nationwide Republican surge. 308 00:17:13,233 --> 00:17:17,700 His boyhood goal, to enter politics, had been achieved. 309 00:17:23,833 --> 00:17:28,100 ♪ ♪ 310 00:17:28,100 --> 00:17:31,633 ANNOUNCER: Capitol Hill in Washington is again the nation's focal point 311 00:17:31,633 --> 00:17:33,666 as the 80th Congress convenes 312 00:17:33,666 --> 00:17:37,066 during one of the most crucial periods in the nation's history. 313 00:17:37,066 --> 00:17:39,300 The Republican-controlled Congress takes the helm 314 00:17:39,300 --> 00:17:41,000 in the House. 315 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,900 NARRATOR: As the Nixons posed beneath the cherry blossoms 316 00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:45,666 with baby Tricia, 317 00:17:45,666 --> 00:17:47,933 it was a heady time for a young Republican. 318 00:17:47,933 --> 00:17:50,733 The G.O.P. controlled both houses of Congress 319 00:17:50,733 --> 00:17:54,566 for the first time in 20 years, and the fervent anti-Communism 320 00:17:54,566 --> 00:17:56,566 that had helped Nixon win the election 321 00:17:56,566 --> 00:17:58,533 was well suited to the times. 322 00:17:58,533 --> 00:18:01,100 ANNOUNCER: Soviet Russia was expansively stabbing westward, 323 00:18:01,100 --> 00:18:04,133 knifing into nations left empty by war. 324 00:18:04,133 --> 00:18:05,866 Already, an iron curtain had dropped 325 00:18:05,866 --> 00:18:11,300 around Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria... 326 00:18:11,300 --> 00:18:13,300 I am not now a Communist... 327 00:18:13,300 --> 00:18:15,233 NARRATOR: And in the United States, 328 00:18:15,233 --> 00:18:18,166 the House Committee on Un-American Activities 329 00:18:18,166 --> 00:18:20,500 searched for Soviet sympathizers. 330 00:18:20,500 --> 00:18:23,133 Congressman Nixon soon became the junior member 331 00:18:23,133 --> 00:18:25,633 of that controversial, headline-making body. 332 00:18:25,633 --> 00:18:28,433 And on August 3, 1948, 333 00:18:28,433 --> 00:18:30,966 shortly after the birth of Nixon's second daughter, Julie, 334 00:18:30,966 --> 00:18:32,533 an unlikely drama began 335 00:18:32,533 --> 00:18:35,800 that would make the issue of Communist subversion 336 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,033 front-page news 337 00:18:37,033 --> 00:18:39,600 and make Congressman Nixon a national figure 338 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,866 almost overnight. 339 00:18:41,866 --> 00:18:43,466 MAN: ...will be the truth, the whole truth, 340 00:18:43,466 --> 00:18:45,300 and nothing but the truth, so help you God? 341 00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:46,600 I do. 342 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,766 NARRATOR: A strange, self-confessed ex-Communist 343 00:18:48,766 --> 00:18:51,900 and editor of "Time" magazine named Whittaker Chambers 344 00:18:51,900 --> 00:18:55,466 appeared before the committee to make a sensational charge. 345 00:18:55,466 --> 00:18:59,266 Alger Hiss, protégé of Oliver Wendell Holmes, 346 00:18:59,266 --> 00:19:01,900 aide to Franklin Roosevelt at Yalta, 347 00:19:01,900 --> 00:19:05,266 and one of the organizers of the United Nations 348 00:19:05,266 --> 00:19:07,466 was, said Chambers, a Communist 349 00:19:07,466 --> 00:19:11,766 intent upon infiltrating the highest offices of government. 350 00:19:11,766 --> 00:19:13,733 CHAMBERS: Mr. Hiss... 351 00:19:13,733 --> 00:19:17,400 represents the concealed enemy 352 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:23,700 against which we are all fighting and I am fighting. 353 00:19:23,700 --> 00:19:27,233 My contacts with any foreign representative 354 00:19:27,233 --> 00:19:30,633 who could possibly have been a Communist 355 00:19:30,633 --> 00:19:32,966 have been strictly official. 356 00:19:32,966 --> 00:19:36,133 NARRATOR: Most observers found Hiss persuasive, 357 00:19:36,133 --> 00:19:39,833 but Nixon had learned through Father John Cronin, 358 00:19:39,833 --> 00:19:42,600 the Catholic priest with FBI connections, 359 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,633 that Hiss had been under suspicion for years. 360 00:19:45,633 --> 00:19:48,066 Nixon insisted the hearings continue. 361 00:19:48,066 --> 00:19:51,400 NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER: "Who's the Liar?" might well be the title of the drama 362 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,766 which unfolds before a packed caucus room 363 00:19:53,766 --> 00:19:56,966 where the House Un-American Affairs Committee members 364 00:19:56,966 --> 00:19:58,133 swear in Alger Hiss. 365 00:19:58,133 --> 00:20:00,133 NARRATOR: The hearings were high drama. 366 00:20:00,133 --> 00:20:03,200 Rumors spread that Chambers was a psychopath. 367 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,166 Hiss claimed never to have known him. 368 00:20:06,900 --> 00:20:08,933 President Truman denounced the proceedings 369 00:20:08,933 --> 00:20:10,666 as politically motivated 370 00:20:10,666 --> 00:20:13,566 and ordered government agencies to refuse to cooperate. 371 00:20:13,566 --> 00:20:17,133 Nixon charged that the Democrats were mounting a cover-up. 372 00:20:17,133 --> 00:20:19,200 The freshman congressman from Whittier 373 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,266 had put himself in the center of it all. 374 00:20:21,266 --> 00:20:25,333 RALPH DE TOLEDANO: Nixon realized that once he had committed himself 375 00:20:25,333 --> 00:20:28,233 that if everything collapsed, if Hiss was exonerated, 376 00:20:28,233 --> 00:20:31,566 or if the charges were not proved to the hilt, 377 00:20:31,566 --> 00:20:34,066 he would be badly hurt. 378 00:20:34,066 --> 00:20:37,133 Now, I don't think he would have been permanently hurt, 379 00:20:37,133 --> 00:20:39,900 but certainly I think if that had happened, 380 00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:42,533 Richard Nixon would never have become a senator 381 00:20:42,533 --> 00:20:46,533 and never would have become president of the United States. 382 00:20:46,533 --> 00:20:49,166 NARRATOR: "He immersed himself in the case 383 00:20:49,166 --> 00:20:51,500 with an absorption that was almost frightening," 384 00:20:51,500 --> 00:20:53,300 Pat Nixon remembered. 385 00:20:53,300 --> 00:20:55,266 When others were ready to drop the case, 386 00:20:55,266 --> 00:20:57,533 Nixon and chief investigator Robert Stripling 387 00:20:57,533 --> 00:20:59,100 talked them out of it. 388 00:20:59,100 --> 00:21:00,933 They were sure Hiss was lying 389 00:21:00,933 --> 00:21:02,700 when he claimed not even to have known Chambers, 390 00:21:02,700 --> 00:21:05,833 and they set out to prove it. 391 00:21:05,833 --> 00:21:09,600 We went up and got Mr. Chambers, put him in the grand jury room. 392 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:12,833 We put him under oath and we said, in effect, 393 00:21:12,833 --> 00:21:16,600 "You claim you know Mr. Hiss; tell us all about him. 394 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:18,533 "What did he call his wife? 395 00:21:18,533 --> 00:21:20,200 "What did she call him? 396 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:21,733 "Did they have a dog? 397 00:21:21,733 --> 00:21:23,166 "Did they have a veterinarian? 398 00:21:23,166 --> 00:21:24,533 "Did they have a doctor? 399 00:21:24,533 --> 00:21:26,033 "Did they have a cook? 400 00:21:26,033 --> 00:21:29,966 Give us the housekeeping details beginning at the front door." 401 00:21:29,966 --> 00:21:32,700 And he rattled on for two hours. 402 00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:41,100 It was very obvious that he indeed did know Mr. Hiss, 403 00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:43,533 and quite well. 404 00:21:43,533 --> 00:21:47,200 There was also another factor which I think is very important, 405 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,700 and that was a kind of personal animus. 406 00:21:49,700 --> 00:21:53,466 Hiss was arrogant on the stand 407 00:21:53,466 --> 00:21:55,833 and he rubbed Nixon the wrong way 408 00:21:55,833 --> 00:21:59,466 and he snapped at Nixon a couple of times, and so on. 409 00:21:59,466 --> 00:22:04,633 And it became I think also a personal thing for Nixon. 410 00:22:04,633 --> 00:22:07,533 He saw that it could be a big issue, 411 00:22:07,533 --> 00:22:12,066 and his whole temperament made him want to pursue it. 412 00:22:12,066 --> 00:22:16,933 CHAMBERS: I believe that I was first introduced to Mr. Hiss 413 00:22:16,933 --> 00:22:20,733 by Harold Ware and J. Peters. 414 00:22:20,733 --> 00:22:23,433 NARRATOR: Chambers, now fighting a libel suit, 415 00:22:23,433 --> 00:22:25,866 leveled a still more sensational charge, 416 00:22:25,866 --> 00:22:28,166 one he had not yet shared with the committee. 417 00:22:28,166 --> 00:22:31,333 He claimed that Hiss had actually been a spy 418 00:22:31,333 --> 00:22:34,500 before the war, copying secret State Department documents 419 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:38,400 which Chambers himself had passed on to a Soviet contact. 420 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:42,433 Nixon was furious that Chambers had been holding out on him. 421 00:22:42,433 --> 00:22:45,466 He ordered any evidence Chambers might have subpoenaed, 422 00:22:45,466 --> 00:22:46,633 then left with his wife 423 00:22:46,633 --> 00:22:48,833 on a long-delayed Caribbean vacation. 424 00:22:48,833 --> 00:22:52,933 ♪ ♪ 425 00:22:52,933 --> 00:22:56,933 ANNOUNCER: In the latest sensational turn of the red espionage probe, 426 00:22:56,933 --> 00:22:58,700 the Maryland farm of the magazine editor 427 00:22:58,700 --> 00:23:00,733 becomes the focus of attention. 428 00:23:00,733 --> 00:23:03,333 NARRATOR: From a hollowed-out pumpkin, 429 00:23:03,333 --> 00:23:06,666 Chambers produced apparent proof of espionage: 430 00:23:06,666 --> 00:23:09,033 microfilm of stolen documents. 431 00:23:10,133 --> 00:23:12,266 Nixon made the nation's front pages 432 00:23:12,266 --> 00:23:14,366 when he was plucked from mid-ocean 433 00:23:14,366 --> 00:23:17,533 and flown back to Washington for a press conference. 434 00:23:17,533 --> 00:23:20,400 I am holding in my hand a microfilm 435 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,733 of very highly confidential 436 00:23:22,733 --> 00:23:25,800 secret State Department documents... 437 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,200 NARRATOR: The microfilm, thereafter known as the "Pumpkin Papers," 438 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,633 provided the evidence and the publicity Nixon needed. 439 00:23:32,633 --> 00:23:36,133 Finally, after two controversial trials, 440 00:23:36,133 --> 00:23:40,533 Hiss was found guilty of perjury and imprisoned. 441 00:23:40,533 --> 00:23:44,933 The Hiss case polarized American opinion about Richard Nixon. 442 00:23:44,933 --> 00:23:46,900 To conservatives, 443 00:23:46,900 --> 00:23:50,033 he had fearlessly rooted out a dangerous subversive, 444 00:23:50,033 --> 00:23:52,400 but in the eyes of many liberals, 445 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,966 Nixon had destroyed an honorable man 446 00:23:54,966 --> 00:23:59,066 and set the stage for more unscrupulous Communist hunters. 447 00:23:59,066 --> 00:24:02,300 But there was no doubt that at the age of 35, 448 00:24:02,300 --> 00:24:06,566 the congressman from Whittier had become a national figure. 449 00:24:12,433 --> 00:24:14,233 (explosion) 450 00:24:17,166 --> 00:24:22,233 NARRATOR: 1950-- the Russians had exploded an atomic bomb of their own. 451 00:24:22,233 --> 00:24:24,066 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were charged 452 00:24:24,066 --> 00:24:27,300 with giving the Soviets atomic secrets. 453 00:24:27,300 --> 00:24:31,266 Communists took control of mainland China. 454 00:24:31,266 --> 00:24:34,400 In Korea, Communist troops poured across the 38th parallel 455 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,833 and American soldiers were sent to stop them. 456 00:24:37,833 --> 00:24:41,200 Senator Joseph McCarthy charged that Communists in government 457 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:42,800 were responsible for it all. 458 00:24:42,800 --> 00:24:44,000 And call the roll! 459 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,400 And call the roll of the traitors who plunder. 460 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:51,966 NARRATOR: And Congressman Nixon had his sights on the Senate. 461 00:24:51,966 --> 00:24:53,300 His opponent was 462 00:24:53,300 --> 00:24:56,500 three-term congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas. 463 00:24:56,500 --> 00:24:59,966 Like Jerry Voorhis, she was wealthy, well educated, 464 00:24:59,966 --> 00:25:02,633 and an outspoken New Dealer. 465 00:25:02,633 --> 00:25:06,433 She condemned the fear of internal Communism as irrational 466 00:25:06,433 --> 00:25:08,633 and opposed the very existence 467 00:25:08,633 --> 00:25:11,833 of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. 468 00:25:11,833 --> 00:25:15,333 Politicians in both parties called the former actress 469 00:25:15,333 --> 00:25:18,033 a "bleeding-heart liberal," a "do-gooder," 470 00:25:18,033 --> 00:25:22,400 a "Hollywood parlor pink." 471 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,566 Congressman John F. Kennedy quietly gave Nixon $1,000 472 00:25:25,566 --> 00:25:28,466 to help defeat her, saying, "It won't break my heart 473 00:25:28,466 --> 00:25:31,700 if you can turn the Senate's loss into Hollywood's gain." 474 00:25:33,733 --> 00:25:35,900 Mrs. Douglas was a perfect target for what Nixon called 475 00:25:35,900 --> 00:25:39,300 his "rocking, socking" style of campaigning. 476 00:25:41,166 --> 00:25:44,133 Implying the congresswoman was pro-Communist, 477 00:25:44,133 --> 00:25:46,033 he distributed a flyer on pink paper 478 00:25:46,033 --> 00:25:48,600 showing Mrs. Douglas had voted with the controversial 479 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:53,633 left-wing congressman Vito Marcantonio 354 times. 480 00:25:53,633 --> 00:25:57,166 The fact that most Democrats and a good many Republicans 481 00:25:57,166 --> 00:26:00,566 had voted the same way was ignored. 482 00:26:00,566 --> 00:26:02,633 Nixon charged that his opponent 483 00:26:02,633 --> 00:26:05,166 was "pink right down to her underwear." 484 00:26:05,166 --> 00:26:09,533 Mrs. Douglas fought back hard, calling Nixon a "peewee" 485 00:26:09,533 --> 00:26:13,100 who is trying to scare people into voting for him. 486 00:26:13,100 --> 00:26:16,100 And she gave him the nickname he would never entirely shake: 487 00:26:16,100 --> 00:26:17,866 "Tricky Dick." 488 00:26:17,866 --> 00:26:19,833 DOUGLAS: When Richard Nixon ran 489 00:26:19,833 --> 00:26:23,100 for the House of Representatives and unseated Jerry Voorhis, 490 00:26:23,100 --> 00:26:26,433 it was the same kind of campaign as he waged against me in 1950. 491 00:26:26,433 --> 00:26:31,666 But the essence of that kind of campaign is this: 492 00:26:31,666 --> 00:26:33,766 to avoid the issues. 493 00:26:33,766 --> 00:26:36,900 You work up bogus issues, 494 00:26:36,900 --> 00:26:41,366 trying to play on the fears of people, 495 00:26:41,366 --> 00:26:45,733 because if you talk about the real issues, you may lose votes. 496 00:26:45,733 --> 00:26:48,266 It's as simple as that. 497 00:26:48,266 --> 00:26:51,300 NARRATOR: Other candidates employed scare tactics that year, 498 00:26:51,300 --> 00:26:55,433 but few were more blatant than Richard Nixon's. 499 00:26:55,433 --> 00:27:00,533 "People react to fear," he once told an aide, "not love. 500 00:27:00,533 --> 00:27:03,933 They don't teach that in Sunday school, but it's true." 501 00:27:03,933 --> 00:27:07,933 Nixon defeated Mrs. Douglas by almost 700,000 votes, 502 00:27:07,933 --> 00:27:09,900 the largest plurality won 503 00:27:09,900 --> 00:27:12,900 by any senatorial candidate in the country. 504 00:27:12,900 --> 00:27:15,500 A lot of people probably wonder how it is possible 505 00:27:15,500 --> 00:27:20,333 for a candidate to be elected into any office in California 506 00:27:20,333 --> 00:27:22,833 when he is a member of the Republican Party. 507 00:27:22,833 --> 00:27:25,766 I have just had that experience and I should like to point out 508 00:27:25,766 --> 00:27:28,800 the reason for our election victory. 509 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,533 It's because in this particular election, the issues, 510 00:27:31,533 --> 00:27:34,033 rather than the partisan labels of the candidates, 511 00:27:34,033 --> 00:27:35,566 were what governed the electorate. 512 00:27:35,566 --> 00:27:37,000 I think the major issue... 513 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,533 MORRIS: Richard Nixon does not simply defeat 514 00:27:38,533 --> 00:27:40,400 Jerry Voorhis for the Congress 515 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,633 or defeat Helen Gahagan Douglas for the Senate in 1950; 516 00:27:43,633 --> 00:27:45,733 he destroys these people politically 517 00:27:45,733 --> 00:27:47,766 and very nearly personally. 518 00:27:47,766 --> 00:27:51,433 And he does that in such a way 519 00:27:51,433 --> 00:27:54,233 as to leave a great legacy of bitterness 520 00:27:54,233 --> 00:27:57,033 among their supporters, and even among onlookers-- 521 00:27:57,033 --> 00:28:01,266 people who are sort of neutral observers on the side. 522 00:28:05,333 --> 00:28:09,400 ♪ ♪ 523 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:12,433 ANNOUNCER: Chicago is a city divided 524 00:28:12,433 --> 00:28:16,600 as thousands of delegates and observers stream into the city 525 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,900 for the 25th Republican Convention. 526 00:28:18,900 --> 00:28:21,300 Partisanship runs high, 527 00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,666 and the trappings of the Grand Old Party dominate the scene 528 00:28:23,666 --> 00:28:27,366 before the serious business gets under way. 529 00:28:27,366 --> 00:28:30,466 NARRATOR: After only a year and a half in the Senate, 530 00:28:30,466 --> 00:28:32,266 Nixon was a leading candidate 531 00:28:32,266 --> 00:28:34,500 for the vice-presidential nomination. 532 00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:38,433 ANNOUNCER: Here comes "Mr. Republican" himself, Senator Robert Taft. 533 00:28:38,433 --> 00:28:42,433 NARRATOR: Taft partisans, mostly conservative and isolationist, 534 00:28:42,433 --> 00:28:45,500 applauded Nixon's fervent anti-Communism, 535 00:28:45,500 --> 00:28:48,566 while General Eisenhower's more liberal, 536 00:28:48,566 --> 00:28:51,166 internationalist backers were attracted to Nixon's support 537 00:28:51,166 --> 00:28:52,766 of the Marshall Plan, 538 00:28:52,766 --> 00:28:55,966 his commitment to rebuilding post-war Europe. 539 00:28:55,966 --> 00:28:59,300 The California delegation was pledged 540 00:28:59,300 --> 00:29:02,533 to its favorite son, Governor Earl Warren. 541 00:29:02,533 --> 00:29:05,166 But behind the scenes, Nixon lobbied hard 542 00:29:05,166 --> 00:29:07,233 for the nomination of Eisenhower. 543 00:29:07,233 --> 00:29:09,700 He was a man with no set ideology, 544 00:29:09,700 --> 00:29:13,966 no set, real deep-down principles. 545 00:29:13,966 --> 00:29:16,700 Uh, I... 546 00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:18,433 He wasn't a Taft Republican, 547 00:29:18,433 --> 00:29:20,100 he wasn't an Eisenhower Republican; 548 00:29:20,100 --> 00:29:22,200 he was a Nixon Republican. 549 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,733 ♪ ♪ 550 00:29:24,733 --> 00:29:26,466 ANNOUNCER: With New York's big bloc of votes, 551 00:29:26,466 --> 00:29:29,566 the issue is no longer in doubt, 552 00:29:29,566 --> 00:29:31,966 and a wildly cheering convention hails its nominee, 553 00:29:31,966 --> 00:29:35,400 Dwight D. Eisenhower, soldier and statesman. 554 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:40,066 NARRATOR: Away from the convention floor, Eisenhower huddled with Nixon. 555 00:29:40,066 --> 00:29:41,633 The young senator represented 556 00:29:41,633 --> 00:29:44,266 the growing power of the West Coast, 557 00:29:44,266 --> 00:29:46,533 and he was a rough-and-tumble campaigner. 558 00:29:46,533 --> 00:29:49,400 The general offered him the vice-presidency. 559 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,533 And as we contribute to the Republican cause, 560 00:29:52,533 --> 00:29:56,166 what we will do is to forge a great victory 561 00:29:56,166 --> 00:29:59,166 for the Republican Party next November. 562 00:29:59,166 --> 00:30:00,966 But a victory which will be a victory 563 00:30:00,966 --> 00:30:02,966 not only for the Republican Party, 564 00:30:02,966 --> 00:30:06,733 but what is more important, it will be a victory for America 565 00:30:06,733 --> 00:30:10,700 and for the cause of free peoples throughout the world. 566 00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:14,133 (applause) 567 00:30:14,133 --> 00:30:16,700 NARRATOR: Eisenhower intended to keep to the high road, 568 00:30:16,700 --> 00:30:18,500 he told his new running mate. 569 00:30:18,500 --> 00:30:22,000 It was up to Nixon to flail the Democrats 570 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,233 and their presidential candidate, Adlai Stevenson. 571 00:30:24,233 --> 00:30:26,700 There is no question in my mind 572 00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:29,066 as to the loyalty of Mr. Stevenson. 573 00:30:29,066 --> 00:30:32,833 But the question is one as to his judgment. 574 00:30:32,833 --> 00:30:34,933 Many good Americans are concerned 575 00:30:34,933 --> 00:30:37,766 by the way that President Truman and Governor Stevenson 576 00:30:37,766 --> 00:30:39,866 have both attempted to ridicule and pooh-pooh 577 00:30:39,866 --> 00:30:42,866 the Communist threat within the United States. 578 00:30:42,866 --> 00:30:45,966 You read about another bribe, you read about another tax fix, 579 00:30:45,966 --> 00:30:47,633 you read about another gangster 580 00:30:47,633 --> 00:30:49,500 getting favors from the government. 581 00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:51,733 The people are sick and tired of it. 582 00:30:51,733 --> 00:30:53,766 They're outraged and they want something done about it, 583 00:30:53,766 --> 00:30:55,533 and they're tired of an administration 584 00:30:55,533 --> 00:30:57,766 which instead of cleaning up is covering up 585 00:30:57,766 --> 00:31:00,833 the scandals in Washington at the present time. 586 00:31:00,833 --> 00:31:04,200 NARRATOR: Suddenly, Nixon faced a scandal of his own. 587 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,733 "The New York Post" reported that wealthy supporters 588 00:31:07,733 --> 00:31:10,866 had set up a secret fund for Nixon's personal use. 589 00:31:10,866 --> 00:31:13,866 NIXON: And if that were true, let me say first of all 590 00:31:13,866 --> 00:31:17,600 that I should never have accepted the nomination 591 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,400 for the vice-presidency of the United States, 592 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:21,400 and if it were true, I would get off the ticket right away. 593 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:22,800 But it is not true. 594 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:24,933 NARRATOR: In fact, the fund was not secret 595 00:31:24,933 --> 00:31:27,300 and was earmarked exclusively for political expenses. 596 00:31:27,300 --> 00:31:29,733 But the damage had been done. 597 00:31:29,733 --> 00:31:33,100 Aides urged Eisenhower to drop Nixon from the ticket. 598 00:31:33,100 --> 00:31:37,200 Even Republican newspapers demanded he resign. 599 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,933 HANNAH: When those headlines first came in the paper, 600 00:31:39,933 --> 00:31:42,333 I just wanted to hide that paper. 601 00:31:42,333 --> 00:31:44,666 I didn't want anyone to see it. 602 00:31:44,666 --> 00:31:47,000 I couldn't eat. 603 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,533 And I knew that it wasn't true, but, but what could I do? 604 00:31:50,533 --> 00:31:52,600 PATRICK HILLINGS: Well, when the world seemed the blackest-- 605 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:56,333 and the whole Nixon campaign had halted in Portland, Oregon-- 606 00:31:56,333 --> 00:31:58,500 I got a telegram from his mother. 607 00:31:58,500 --> 00:32:01,233 I took it in to him and gave it to him 608 00:32:01,233 --> 00:32:04,700 and he was sitting in a large chair with his arms on the side 609 00:32:04,700 --> 00:32:08,100 almost like the Lincoln statue that you see in Washington, 610 00:32:08,100 --> 00:32:10,100 the Lincoln Memorial, 611 00:32:10,100 --> 00:32:12,100 and I handed him the telegram and he read it 612 00:32:12,100 --> 00:32:16,300 and he dropped it on his... in the chair 613 00:32:16,300 --> 00:32:20,333 and his head fell forward, and tears came down his eyes. 614 00:32:20,333 --> 00:32:23,733 And it was obvious that he'd been terribly moved 615 00:32:23,733 --> 00:32:25,400 by what all this meant. 616 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,866 It was so important to him to prove to his mother 617 00:32:28,866 --> 00:32:31,566 that, that he had never done anything wrong. 618 00:32:31,566 --> 00:32:34,400 NARRATOR: Was Nixon on or off the ticket? 619 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,800 General Eisenhower had been frustratingly silent. 620 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:40,266 Finally, after three days of waiting, 621 00:32:40,266 --> 00:32:44,200 a weary, anxious Nixon received Eisenhower's phone call. 622 00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:47,366 And he said, "General," he said, "I'm just Richard Nixon." 623 00:32:47,366 --> 00:32:49,366 And he said, "I'm just a very young guy 624 00:32:49,366 --> 00:32:51,633 that doesn't know you very well." 625 00:32:51,633 --> 00:32:53,600 But he said, "I must tell you, General, 626 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:55,600 "that there comes a time, even in your life, 627 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,933 when you have to shit or get off the pot." 628 00:32:57,933 --> 00:33:00,500 And there was this dead silence, and we didn't know 629 00:33:00,500 --> 00:33:02,933 whether the ball game was over right then or not. 630 00:33:02,933 --> 00:33:07,566 But Eisenhower seemed to take it as it was meant to be given 631 00:33:07,566 --> 00:33:11,633 and came to the conclusion-- as he told Nixon on the phone, 632 00:33:11,633 --> 00:33:15,233 he reported to us after the conversation-- 633 00:33:15,233 --> 00:33:18,033 that Nixon should go to California 634 00:33:18,033 --> 00:33:20,466 and make a nationwide speech 635 00:33:20,466 --> 00:33:23,600 explaining all the details of this so-called secret fund, 636 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:25,900 and that he would authorize the national committee 637 00:33:25,900 --> 00:33:27,933 to pay for the cost. 638 00:33:27,933 --> 00:33:30,933 NARRATOR: Nixon secluded himself in Los Angeles 639 00:33:30,933 --> 00:33:34,066 and prepared to use the young medium of television 640 00:33:34,066 --> 00:33:35,966 as it had never been used before. 641 00:33:35,966 --> 00:33:39,166 He would bypass the press, bypass even Eisenhower, 642 00:33:39,166 --> 00:33:42,533 and plead his case directly to the American people. 643 00:33:42,533 --> 00:33:45,733 This prime-time broadcast would come to be known 644 00:33:45,733 --> 00:33:48,533 as "The Checkers Speech," and widened the gap 645 00:33:48,533 --> 00:33:51,466 between Nixon's admirers and his detractors. 646 00:33:51,466 --> 00:33:54,333 To some, he seemed humble, honest, sincere; 647 00:33:54,333 --> 00:33:58,033 to others, self-righteous and shamelessly manipulative. 648 00:33:58,033 --> 00:34:01,933 My fellow Americans, I come before you tonight 649 00:34:01,933 --> 00:34:05,100 as a candidate for the vice-presidency 650 00:34:05,100 --> 00:34:10,166 and as a man whose honesty and integrity has been questioned. 651 00:34:10,166 --> 00:34:14,033 And so now what I am going to do-- 652 00:34:14,033 --> 00:34:16,300 and incidentally, this is unprecedented 653 00:34:16,300 --> 00:34:18,800 in the history of American politics-- 654 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:21,366 I am going at this time 655 00:34:21,366 --> 00:34:26,000 to give to this television and radio audience 656 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,266 a complete financial history-- 657 00:34:29,266 --> 00:34:33,333 everything I've earned, everything I've spent, 658 00:34:33,333 --> 00:34:35,500 everything I owe. 659 00:34:35,500 --> 00:34:38,066 I don't remember talking to his mother. 660 00:34:38,066 --> 00:34:41,400 But his father, he thought that he really did all right. 661 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:44,666 He said, "I hated to hear him say some of the things he said, 662 00:34:44,666 --> 00:34:46,766 "but he told the truth, 663 00:34:46,766 --> 00:34:49,000 "and that's what the people wanted to hear, 664 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,500 and that's... did the job for him." 665 00:34:52,500 --> 00:34:55,500 First of all, we've got a house in Washington 666 00:34:55,500 --> 00:35:01,600 which cost $41,000 and on which we owe $20,000. 667 00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:06,733 We have a house in Whittier, California, which cost $13,000 668 00:35:06,733 --> 00:35:09,300 and on which we owe $3,000. 669 00:35:09,300 --> 00:35:11,433 My folks are living there at the present time. 670 00:35:11,433 --> 00:35:13,300 NARRATOR: His wife asked him, 671 00:35:13,300 --> 00:35:15,633 "Why do you have to tell people how little we have 672 00:35:15,633 --> 00:35:17,066 and how much we owe?" 673 00:35:17,066 --> 00:35:19,566 "People in political life 674 00:35:19,566 --> 00:35:21,966 have to live in a goldfish bowl," he answered. 675 00:35:21,966 --> 00:35:23,866 "But I knew it was a weak explanation 676 00:35:23,866 --> 00:35:26,000 for the humiliation I was asking her to endure." 677 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:30,333 I should say this: that Pat doesn't have a mink coat. 678 00:35:30,333 --> 00:35:35,000 But she does have a respectable, Republican, cloth coat, 679 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:39,400 and I always tell her that she'd look good in anything. 680 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:42,300 NARRATOR: The cloth coat remark was aimed at the Truman administration, 681 00:35:42,300 --> 00:35:45,466 then plagued by mink coat bribery charges. 682 00:35:45,466 --> 00:35:49,066 Next, Nixon borrowed a technique from Franklin Roosevelt: 683 00:35:49,066 --> 00:35:50,833 he talked about his dog. 684 00:35:50,833 --> 00:35:55,500 "Using the same ploy as FDR," he wrote in his memoirs, 685 00:35:55,500 --> 00:35:59,300 "would irritate my opponents and delight my friends." 686 00:35:59,300 --> 00:36:02,700 We did get something-- a gift-- after the election. 687 00:36:02,700 --> 00:36:07,866 It was a little cocker spaniel dog, black and white, spotted. 688 00:36:07,866 --> 00:36:10,466 And our little girl, Tricia, the six-year-old, 689 00:36:10,466 --> 00:36:12,866 named it Checkers. 690 00:36:12,866 --> 00:36:16,466 And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, 691 00:36:16,466 --> 00:36:18,766 and I just want to say this right now 692 00:36:18,766 --> 00:36:21,133 that regardless of what they say about it, 693 00:36:21,133 --> 00:36:22,733 we're going to keep him. 694 00:36:22,733 --> 00:36:26,566 NIXON: I would do nothing that would harm the possibilities 695 00:36:26,566 --> 00:36:30,866 of Dwight Eisenhower to become president of the United States, 696 00:36:30,866 --> 00:36:33,366 and for that reason, I am submitting 697 00:36:33,366 --> 00:36:36,433 to the Republican National Committee tonight 698 00:36:36,433 --> 00:36:38,700 through this television broadcast 699 00:36:38,700 --> 00:36:41,266 the decision which is theirs to make. 700 00:36:41,266 --> 00:36:44,100 Wire and write the Republican National Committee 701 00:36:44,100 --> 00:36:46,100 whether you think I should stay on 702 00:36:46,100 --> 00:36:48,100 or whether I should get off. 703 00:36:48,100 --> 00:36:51,900 And whatever their decision is, I will abide by it. 704 00:36:51,900 --> 00:36:57,600 I have been a warrior, and I like courage. 705 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,533 And tonight, I saw an example of courage. 706 00:37:00,533 --> 00:37:03,033 MAN: All those in favor 707 00:37:03,033 --> 00:37:05,100 of Nixon continuing as a candidate 708 00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:06,933 will say "Aye!" 709 00:37:06,933 --> 00:37:09,133 CROWD: Aye! 710 00:37:11,433 --> 00:37:15,633 BROWNFIELD: I had called some Republican friends of mine 711 00:37:15,633 --> 00:37:17,866 and had asked them to send telegrams to Nixon saying, 712 00:37:17,866 --> 00:37:20,866 "Don't drop off the ticket," and they had refused. 713 00:37:20,866 --> 00:37:24,366 And I was with some of them when I watched the Checkers speech, 714 00:37:24,366 --> 00:37:28,233 and afterwards, every one of them sent a telegram to Nixon 715 00:37:28,233 --> 00:37:30,933 saying, "Great job-- stay on the ticket." 716 00:37:30,933 --> 00:37:31,966 (crowd cheering) 717 00:37:31,966 --> 00:37:33,600 NARRATOR: Nixon stayed on the ticket 718 00:37:33,600 --> 00:37:36,400 that was swept into office in November-- 719 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:40,800 the first Republican administration in two decades. 720 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:46,133 HILLINGS: During the Eisenhower years, Nixon became the point man. 721 00:37:46,133 --> 00:37:47,866 Eisenhower never expected 722 00:37:47,866 --> 00:37:50,100 to have to get into too much political discussion, 723 00:37:50,100 --> 00:37:51,800 but that was one of the reasons he put 724 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,000 young Senator Richard Nixon on the ticket, 725 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:56,533 because he could do that. 726 00:37:56,533 --> 00:37:59,066 So all the tough political assignments 727 00:37:59,066 --> 00:38:01,033 usually were given to Nixon. 728 00:38:01,033 --> 00:38:04,566 All the Democrat Congress offers if elected this year 729 00:38:04,566 --> 00:38:08,300 is a return to the policies of the Truman administration. 730 00:38:08,300 --> 00:38:10,666 MORRIS: He's a very partisan creature, after all. 731 00:38:10,666 --> 00:38:13,866 And he becomes, for the first time, really the focus 732 00:38:13,866 --> 00:38:16,333 of genuine criticism in the press. 733 00:38:16,333 --> 00:38:18,700 He has enjoyed enormous immunity in the press 734 00:38:18,700 --> 00:38:21,333 in Southern California and nationally 735 00:38:21,333 --> 00:38:23,200 up until the '52 campaign. 736 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:27,900 And he suffers his first tarnish in the fund episode, 737 00:38:27,900 --> 00:38:30,233 and that gets worse and worse 738 00:38:30,233 --> 00:38:32,300 until Herblock begins to give him a heavy beard 739 00:38:32,300 --> 00:38:34,666 in cartoons in the "Washington Post" 740 00:38:34,666 --> 00:38:37,166 and he comes under sometimes vicious, 741 00:38:37,166 --> 00:38:41,666 often very telling and accurate attack in the national media. 742 00:38:46,566 --> 00:38:48,466 ♪ ♪ 743 00:38:48,466 --> 00:38:51,833 ANNOUNCER: A stunned nation hears that its president is stricken 744 00:38:51,833 --> 00:38:53,733 with a heart attack... 745 00:38:53,733 --> 00:38:55,266 NARRATOR: Nixon's detractors held their breath 746 00:38:55,266 --> 00:38:59,666 during Eisenhower's illness in September 1955. 747 00:38:59,666 --> 00:39:03,300 But the vice president surprised even his most severe critics. 748 00:39:03,300 --> 00:39:06,333 For nearly two months, Nixon was a cautious substitute president, 749 00:39:06,333 --> 00:39:08,233 standing in for Eisenhower 750 00:39:08,233 --> 00:39:11,166 while not calling attention to himself. 751 00:39:11,166 --> 00:39:13,533 The American people can be assured 752 00:39:13,533 --> 00:39:15,566 that the business of government will go ahead as usual 753 00:39:15,566 --> 00:39:17,600 despite the president's illness. 754 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:19,466 Under the president's leadership, 755 00:39:19,466 --> 00:39:21,300 a team has been developed in Washington 756 00:39:21,300 --> 00:39:24,800 which will carry out the very well defined foreign policies 757 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:29,200 and domestic policies that the president himself has laid down 758 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:31,800 during his first two-and-a-half years in office. 759 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,800 NARRATOR: Fully recovered, Eisenhower announced 760 00:39:34,800 --> 00:39:36,933 he would seek reelection 761 00:39:36,933 --> 00:39:39,933 but did not guarantee Nixon a place on the ticket. 762 00:39:39,933 --> 00:39:44,066 Privately, he thought him immature, a political liability. 763 00:39:44,066 --> 00:39:46,733 But Nixon refused to consider the president's offer 764 00:39:46,733 --> 00:39:50,433 of a cabinet position instead of the vice-presidency. 765 00:39:50,433 --> 00:39:52,566 He finally forced Eisenhower's hand. 766 00:39:52,566 --> 00:39:54,266 I met with the president 767 00:39:54,266 --> 00:39:56,633 this afternoon in the White House, 768 00:39:56,633 --> 00:39:59,000 and at that time, I informed him 769 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:02,133 that in the event that he and the delegates 770 00:40:02,133 --> 00:40:04,800 to the Republican National Convention 771 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:07,600 decided that it was in the best interests 772 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:10,033 of the Republican Party and his administration 773 00:40:10,033 --> 00:40:12,200 for me to continue in my present office 774 00:40:12,200 --> 00:40:15,033 that I would be honored to accept renomination 775 00:40:15,033 --> 00:40:17,433 as the Republican candidate for vice president. 776 00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:23,100 The president has asked me to say 777 00:40:23,100 --> 00:40:24,533 that he was delighted 778 00:40:24,533 --> 00:40:26,833 to hear of the vice president's decision. 779 00:40:26,833 --> 00:40:29,333 (applause) 780 00:40:36,700 --> 00:40:39,500 No man could be more highly honored 781 00:40:39,500 --> 00:40:42,666 than to be selected as the running mate 782 00:40:42,666 --> 00:40:44,866 of such a great president. 783 00:40:44,866 --> 00:40:49,100 I accept this nomination in that spirit. 784 00:40:49,100 --> 00:40:54,100 NARRATOR: Nixon was less aggressive in 1956 than in earlier campaigns. 785 00:40:54,100 --> 00:40:56,600 The press began to write of "a new Nixon." 786 00:40:56,600 --> 00:41:00,500 But the vice president remained the Democrats' favorite target. 787 00:41:00,500 --> 00:41:02,000 STEVENSON: I must say bluntly 788 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,433 that every piece of scientific evidence we have, 789 00:41:05,433 --> 00:41:10,033 every lesson of history and experience, 790 00:41:10,033 --> 00:41:12,766 indicates that a Republican victory tomorrow 791 00:41:12,766 --> 00:41:16,233 would mean that Richard Nixon would probably be 792 00:41:16,233 --> 00:41:20,533 president of this country within the next four years. 793 00:41:20,533 --> 00:41:24,533 I say frankly, as a citizen more than a candidate, 794 00:41:24,533 --> 00:41:29,400 that I recoil at the prospect of Mr. Nixon 795 00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:32,000 as custodian of this nation's future, 796 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,400 as guardian of the hydrogen bomb, 797 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,366 as representative of America in the world, 798 00:41:37,366 --> 00:41:41,433 as commander in chief of the United States armed forces. 799 00:41:41,433 --> 00:41:43,966 ANNOUNCER: As evening returns come in, the trend is unmistakable. 800 00:41:43,966 --> 00:41:45,966 It's Eisenhower by a landslide 801 00:41:45,966 --> 00:41:51,233 with 457 electoral votes to 74 for Stevenson 802 00:41:51,233 --> 00:41:53,700 and a nine-million-vote plurality. 803 00:41:53,700 --> 00:41:57,000 I, Richard M. Nixon, do solemnly swear... 804 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,733 NARRATOR: Nixon was a survivor. 805 00:41:59,733 --> 00:42:02,600 He had overcome Eisenhower's indifference, 806 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:04,900 a sometimes hostile press, and bitter partisan attacks. 807 00:42:04,900 --> 00:42:07,133 Congratulations, Mr. Vice President. 808 00:42:07,133 --> 00:42:10,233 NARRATOR: He entered his second vice-presidential term 809 00:42:10,233 --> 00:42:13,133 as the Republican heir apparent. 810 00:42:13,133 --> 00:42:15,800 (applause and whistling) 811 00:42:21,266 --> 00:42:27,233 (marching band playing) 812 00:42:27,233 --> 00:42:29,633 (applause) 813 00:42:32,033 --> 00:42:34,133 NARRATOR: Richard Nixon was the favorite 814 00:42:34,133 --> 00:42:38,133 to win the Republican presidential nomination in 1960. 815 00:42:38,133 --> 00:42:40,100 Events of the last four years had made him 816 00:42:40,100 --> 00:42:42,133 one of the most visible vice presidents in history. 817 00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:46,666 During a tour of South America, 818 00:42:46,666 --> 00:42:48,633 he had faced down angry leftist mobs 819 00:42:48,633 --> 00:42:52,466 that spat upon him and his wife and attacked their motorcade. 820 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:57,200 Maintaining his composure throughout the ordeal, 821 00:42:57,200 --> 00:42:59,600 Nixon returned home to a hero's welcome. 822 00:43:01,766 --> 00:43:03,433 And in Moscow, he had confronted 823 00:43:03,433 --> 00:43:06,200 the leader of the Communist world, Nikita Khrushchev, 824 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:08,966 in an impromptu televised debate. 825 00:43:08,966 --> 00:43:13,400 There must be a free exchange of ideas. 826 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:15,800 There are some instances 827 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,000 where you may be ahead of us-- 828 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:20,500 for example, in the development 829 00:43:20,500 --> 00:43:22,766 of the thrust of your rockets 830 00:43:22,766 --> 00:43:24,900 for the investigation of outer space. 831 00:43:24,900 --> 00:43:26,533 There may be some instances-- 832 00:43:26,533 --> 00:43:28,133 for example, color television-- 833 00:43:28,133 --> 00:43:29,566 where we're ahead of you. 834 00:43:29,566 --> 00:43:31,333 But in order for both of us... 835 00:43:31,333 --> 00:43:33,500 Nyet, nyet. 836 00:43:33,500 --> 00:43:35,266 ...both of us to benefit... 837 00:43:35,266 --> 00:43:38,166 You see, you never concede anything! 838 00:43:38,166 --> 00:43:42,700 NARRATOR: Nixon's combination of toughness and humor played well back home. 839 00:43:42,700 --> 00:43:44,633 In July 1960, 840 00:43:44,633 --> 00:43:48,366 Republicans embraced him as their presidential candidate. 841 00:43:48,366 --> 00:43:49,833 MAN: It is declared, therefore, 842 00:43:49,833 --> 00:43:52,000 that Vice President Richard M. Nixon 843 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:53,833 has been unanimously nominated 844 00:43:53,833 --> 00:43:56,000 to be the candidate of the Republican Party 845 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,733 for the office of president of the United States. 846 00:43:58,733 --> 00:44:01,833 (cheers and applause) 847 00:44:07,333 --> 00:44:10,100 NARRATOR: Just 14 years after he was tapped 848 00:44:10,100 --> 00:44:12,466 by a group of small-town businessmen 849 00:44:12,466 --> 00:44:14,600 to run for Congress in California, 850 00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,533 Richard Nixon stood at the top of his party. 851 00:44:17,533 --> 00:44:20,066 As he mapped out an ambitious 50-state campaign, 852 00:44:20,066 --> 00:44:23,466 he was challenged by his opponent, John F. Kennedy, 853 00:44:23,466 --> 00:44:25,733 to a series of televised debates-- 854 00:44:25,733 --> 00:44:27,833 the first in American history. 855 00:44:27,833 --> 00:44:30,833 Even when hospitalized for two weeks with a knee injury, 856 00:44:30,833 --> 00:44:32,233 Nixon remained confident, 857 00:44:32,233 --> 00:44:33,866 anxious for the debates to begin, 858 00:44:33,866 --> 00:44:36,666 eager once again to use television 859 00:44:36,666 --> 00:44:39,300 to talk directly to the voters. 860 00:44:39,300 --> 00:44:41,166 At the time, there was a feeling 861 00:44:41,166 --> 00:44:43,800 that this, overall, might be a mismatch. 862 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:49,833 Nixon was the candidate who had more prominence, 863 00:44:49,833 --> 00:44:53,966 who had been a member of the House, a member of the Senate, 864 00:44:53,966 --> 00:44:57,133 and the vice president of the United States. 865 00:44:57,133 --> 00:45:00,366 Kennedy-- he didn't have a particularly strong 866 00:45:00,366 --> 00:45:02,600 reputation in Congress. 867 00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:06,800 There was some feeling that he was, to some extent, a playboy, 868 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,366 that he wasn't too serious a senator. 869 00:45:09,366 --> 00:45:11,933 So I think people felt that Nixon had the edge, 870 00:45:11,933 --> 00:45:13,900 and I think Nixon felt that he had the edge. 871 00:45:13,900 --> 00:45:16,233 The candidates need no introduction. 872 00:45:16,233 --> 00:45:17,233 The Republican candidate, 873 00:45:17,233 --> 00:45:20,200 Vice President Richard M. Nixon, 874 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,533 and the Democratic candidate, Senator John F. Kennedy. 875 00:45:22,533 --> 00:45:26,200 According to rules set by the candidates themselves... 876 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,600 NARRATOR: The Nixon-Kennedy debates would forever change 877 00:45:29,600 --> 00:45:32,100 the way Americans chose their presidents. 878 00:45:32,100 --> 00:45:34,033 Political rallies and old-fashioned hand shaking 879 00:45:34,033 --> 00:45:35,566 became much less important 880 00:45:35,566 --> 00:45:38,166 than the image on the television screen. 881 00:45:38,166 --> 00:45:41,100 ROGERS: You must understand that Nixon himself had said, 882 00:45:41,100 --> 00:45:43,500 "I don't want any makeup on for these particular debates." 883 00:45:43,500 --> 00:45:45,666 What I tried to explain to Dick was 884 00:45:45,666 --> 00:45:47,833 he has certain characteristics of his skin 885 00:45:47,833 --> 00:45:49,333 where it's almost transparent. 886 00:45:49,333 --> 00:45:51,600 And it was a very nice thought to say, 887 00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:53,000 you know, "I don't want any makeup," 888 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:54,800 but that he really needed it in order to have 889 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:57,933 what we would call even an acceptable television picture. 890 00:45:57,933 --> 00:46:00,966 And of course JFK, he'd been riding in motorcades 891 00:46:00,966 --> 00:46:02,700 all over California with the top down. 892 00:46:02,700 --> 00:46:04,800 He looked like a bronze warrior when he came into Chicago, 893 00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:06,233 he really did. 894 00:46:06,233 --> 00:46:08,800 Mr. Nixon comes out of the Republican Party-- 895 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:10,900 he was nominated by it-- 896 00:46:10,900 --> 00:46:14,000 and it is a fact that through most of these last 25 years, 897 00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:16,566 the Republican leadership has opposed 898 00:46:16,566 --> 00:46:20,400 federal aid for education, medical care for the aged... 899 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:22,766 I know what it means to be poor. 900 00:46:22,766 --> 00:46:25,133 I know what it means to see people who are unemployed. 901 00:46:25,133 --> 00:46:27,733 I know Senator Kennedy feels as deeply about these problems 902 00:46:27,733 --> 00:46:29,233 as I do. 903 00:46:29,233 --> 00:46:32,966 But our disagreement is not about the goals for America, 904 00:46:32,966 --> 00:46:36,333 but only about the means to reach those goals. 905 00:46:36,333 --> 00:46:39,033 NARRATOR: The first debate was costly to Nixon. 906 00:46:39,033 --> 00:46:41,066 The radio audience thought he had won, 907 00:46:41,066 --> 00:46:43,300 but the largest television audience in history 908 00:46:43,300 --> 00:46:45,300 had seen the vice president haggard and drawn 909 00:46:45,300 --> 00:46:48,400 and had been given its first sustained look 910 00:46:48,400 --> 00:46:50,800 at the Kennedy style. 911 00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:52,766 HERB KLEIN: Kennedy had a great charm 912 00:46:52,766 --> 00:46:56,000 for not only the voters, but also for the press. 913 00:46:56,000 --> 00:47:00,000 The press corps had sort of a love affair with Jack Kennedy, 914 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:03,100 and no matter what things we might do to make things better-- 915 00:47:03,100 --> 00:47:06,300 we could serve a hot meal, they would serve a cold meal, 916 00:47:06,300 --> 00:47:09,200 and the press would like the cold better-- 917 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:11,366 and so that he felt he was running up 918 00:47:11,366 --> 00:47:13,800 against impossible odds. 919 00:47:13,800 --> 00:47:16,900 And I say we can't afford to have the White House 920 00:47:16,900 --> 00:47:20,100 as a training ground for an inexperienced man 921 00:47:20,100 --> 00:47:21,766 who is rash and impulsive. 922 00:47:21,766 --> 00:47:24,600 This administration has failed to recognize-- 923 00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:28,100 has failed to recognize-- that in these changing times, 924 00:47:28,100 --> 00:47:32,066 with a revolution of rising expectations sweeping the globe, 925 00:47:32,066 --> 00:47:34,433 the United States has lost its image 926 00:47:34,433 --> 00:47:37,600 as a new, strong, vital, revolutionary society. 927 00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:40,000 I have been to Russia and I've seen it. 928 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,300 I have been to the United States and I've seen it. 929 00:47:42,300 --> 00:47:45,400 And there is no need for a second-rate psychology 930 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:47,366 on the part of any American. 931 00:47:47,366 --> 00:47:54,133 (crowds cheering) 932 00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:02,700 REPORTER: Mr. Vice President, 933 00:48:02,700 --> 00:48:04,633 what did you think of your reception today? 934 00:48:04,633 --> 00:48:06,600 Well, of course it was the greatest of the campaign, 935 00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:08,266 and I think this means that 936 00:48:08,266 --> 00:48:10,033 we're on the way to victory in New York. 937 00:48:10,033 --> 00:48:11,033 How about you? 938 00:48:11,033 --> 00:48:12,033 Do you agree? 939 00:48:12,033 --> 00:48:13,633 Oh, it was wonderful. 940 00:48:14,833 --> 00:48:17,566 CROWD: ♪ We want Nixon, we want Nixon! ♪ 941 00:48:17,566 --> 00:48:23,333 ♪ We want Nixon to be our president. ♪ 942 00:48:23,333 --> 00:48:25,133 NARRATOR: Election night, Nixon remembered, 943 00:48:25,133 --> 00:48:27,233 was the longest night of his life. 944 00:48:27,233 --> 00:48:29,666 It appeared at first to be a Kennedy sweep, 945 00:48:29,666 --> 00:48:31,866 then became too close to call, 946 00:48:31,866 --> 00:48:34,233 then edged back toward Kennedy again. 947 00:48:34,233 --> 00:48:39,266 (crowd cheering) 948 00:48:47,766 --> 00:48:49,566 And I... 949 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,833 Please, please, just a minute. 950 00:48:54,833 --> 00:48:55,833 And I... 951 00:48:55,833 --> 00:48:58,300 As I look at the board here, 952 00:48:58,300 --> 00:49:01,166 while there are still some results 953 00:49:01,166 --> 00:49:02,533 still to come in, 954 00:49:02,533 --> 00:49:05,300 if the present trend continues, 955 00:49:05,300 --> 00:49:07,800 Mr. Kennedy, Senator Kennedy 956 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:10,633 will be the next president of the United States. 957 00:49:10,633 --> 00:49:15,066 CROWD: No! 958 00:49:15,066 --> 00:49:17,900 (crowd shouting angrily) 959 00:49:23,400 --> 00:49:26,600 I just... and I want... 960 00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:28,366 Excuse me... 961 00:49:28,366 --> 00:49:30,533 CROWD: We want Nixon! 962 00:49:30,533 --> 00:49:33,633 We want Nixon! We want Nixon! 963 00:49:33,633 --> 00:49:37,733 (chanting continues) 964 00:49:40,433 --> 00:49:42,833 NARRATOR: In the end, it proved to be 965 00:49:42,833 --> 00:49:45,000 one of the closest elections in history. 966 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:46,733 Kennedy won by only 100,000 votes, 967 00:49:46,733 --> 00:49:50,733 and charges of Democratic fraud were widespread. 968 00:49:50,733 --> 00:49:54,333 Much of the winning margin came from Lyndon Johnson's Texas 969 00:49:54,333 --> 00:49:56,400 and Richard J. Daley's Chicago. 970 00:49:56,400 --> 00:49:58,966 But Nixon refused to demand a recount. 971 00:49:58,966 --> 00:50:02,233 "If it failed to change the results," he wrote, 972 00:50:02,233 --> 00:50:05,933 "charges of sore loser would follow me through history 973 00:50:05,933 --> 00:50:10,433 and remove any possibility of a further political career." 974 00:50:10,433 --> 00:50:12,866 Richard Nixon is forever embittered by the experience, 975 00:50:12,866 --> 00:50:15,366 and taken with the example, 976 00:50:15,366 --> 00:50:18,166 I think feels that never again will he be caught short, 977 00:50:18,166 --> 00:50:20,866 never again will his opponents outdo him, 978 00:50:20,866 --> 00:50:22,500 and never again will he trust 979 00:50:22,500 --> 00:50:26,400 the ordinary, normal, and honest devices of American politics 980 00:50:26,400 --> 00:50:29,633 to function as they're supposed to. 981 00:50:29,633 --> 00:50:33,400 NARRATOR: In his last official act as vice president, 982 00:50:33,400 --> 00:50:36,866 Nixon presided over a joint session of Congress 983 00:50:36,866 --> 00:50:40,500 on January 6, 1961 and announced his own defeat. 984 00:50:40,500 --> 00:50:42,700 I now declare that John F. Kennedy 985 00:50:42,700 --> 00:50:45,533 has been elected president of the United States 986 00:50:45,533 --> 00:50:46,633 and Lyndon Johnson 987 00:50:46,633 --> 00:50:47,933 vice president of the United States. 988 00:50:47,933 --> 00:50:51,633 (applause) 989 00:50:51,633 --> 00:50:53,000 So long, Dick, I certainly enjoyed 990 00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:54,233 sitting back here with you. 991 00:50:56,066 --> 00:51:00,100 KENNEDY: I, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, do solemnly swear 992 00:51:00,100 --> 00:51:02,166 that I will faithfully execute the office 993 00:51:02,166 --> 00:51:04,400 of president of the United States 994 00:51:04,400 --> 00:51:07,066 and will, to the best of my ability, 995 00:51:07,066 --> 00:51:09,000 preserve, protect, and defend 996 00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:12,033 the Constitution of the United States, so help me, God. 997 00:51:21,966 --> 00:51:24,500 HILLINGS: Well, he handled it surprisingly well. 998 00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:28,200 In fact, he cheered us up a good deal of the time. 999 00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:29,900 He was still a very young man. 1000 00:51:29,900 --> 00:51:32,366 I'm sure he had thoughts of the future. 1001 00:51:32,366 --> 00:51:34,066 The biggest problem was that 1002 00:51:34,066 --> 00:51:36,333 the fellow who defeated him was a young man, 1003 00:51:36,333 --> 00:51:38,333 and all of us thought that meant 1004 00:51:38,333 --> 00:51:40,566 at least eight years for Jack Kennedy, 1005 00:51:40,566 --> 00:51:43,466 and what is Nixon going to do for eight years? 1006 00:51:43,466 --> 00:51:47,733 SINGER: ♪ California, here I come ♪ 1007 00:51:47,733 --> 00:51:51,233 ♪ Right back where I started from! ♪ 1008 00:51:52,500 --> 00:51:55,033 NIXON: I shall not be a candidate 1009 00:51:55,033 --> 00:52:00,300 for president of the United States in 1964. 1010 00:52:00,300 --> 00:52:04,133 I shall be a candidate for governor 1011 00:52:04,133 --> 00:52:08,166 of the state of California in 1962. 1012 00:52:08,166 --> 00:52:10,533 SINGER: ♪ That's why I can hardly wait... ♪ 1013 00:52:10,533 --> 00:52:12,700 NARRATOR: But Nixon had been out of touch 1014 00:52:12,700 --> 00:52:15,233 with his home state for too long. 1015 00:52:15,233 --> 00:52:17,933 The campaign against incumbent governor Pat Brown 1016 00:52:17,933 --> 00:52:19,700 was bitter and exhausting. 1017 00:52:19,700 --> 00:52:21,566 Nixon was soundly defeated. 1018 00:52:21,566 --> 00:52:23,833 Reporters in Los Angeles were told 1019 00:52:23,833 --> 00:52:28,000 the losing candidate had left and would not make a statement. 1020 00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:31,833 But Nixon, his anger toward the press building for years, 1021 00:52:31,833 --> 00:52:34,000 resolved to have the last word. 1022 00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:37,600 For 16 years, ever since the Hiss case, 1023 00:52:37,600 --> 00:52:42,300 you've had a lot of fun-- a lot of fun. 1024 00:52:42,300 --> 00:52:46,700 You've had an opportunity to attack me, 1025 00:52:46,700 --> 00:52:49,300 and I think I've given as good as I've taken. 1026 00:52:49,300 --> 00:52:54,400 I leave you gentlemen now, and you will now write it, 1027 00:52:54,400 --> 00:52:56,666 you will interpret it, that's your right. 1028 00:52:56,666 --> 00:52:59,700 But as I leave you, I want you to know, 1029 00:52:59,700 --> 00:53:03,833 just think how much you're going to be missing. 1030 00:53:03,833 --> 00:53:06,933 You don't have Nixon to kick around anymore. 1031 00:53:06,933 --> 00:53:10,866 Because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference. 1032 00:53:10,866 --> 00:53:15,000 And I hope that what I have said today 1033 00:53:15,000 --> 00:53:21,266 will at least make television, radio, the press recognize 1034 00:53:21,266 --> 00:53:23,933 that they have a right and a responsibility. 1035 00:53:23,933 --> 00:53:26,266 If they're against a candidate, give him the shaft, 1036 00:53:26,266 --> 00:53:29,533 but also recognize if they give him the shaft, 1037 00:53:29,533 --> 00:53:32,400 put one lonely reporter on the campaign 1038 00:53:32,400 --> 00:53:34,800 who will report what the candidate says now and then. 1039 00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:36,266 Thank you, gentlemen, and good day. 1040 00:53:36,266 --> 00:53:40,000 (applause) 1041 00:53:40,000 --> 00:53:47,000 ♪ ♪ 1042 00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:49,433 NARRATOR: An angry, resentful Richard Nixon 1043 00:53:49,433 --> 00:53:53,666 strode from the Beverly Hilton on November 7, 1962, 1044 00:53:53,666 --> 00:53:56,766 seemingly bound for political oblivion. 1045 00:53:56,766 --> 00:53:59,500 "Barring a miracle," said "Time" magazine, 1046 00:53:59,500 --> 00:54:03,766 Richard Nixon's political career was over. 1047 00:54:14,466 --> 00:54:17,366 (applause) 1048 00:54:21,166 --> 00:54:24,566 (orchestral music playing) 1049 00:54:26,366 --> 00:54:28,200 (florid piano music) 1050 00:54:35,433 --> 00:54:37,466 NARRATOR: Less than six months 1051 00:54:37,466 --> 00:54:39,966 after his humiliating defeat in California, 1052 00:54:39,966 --> 00:54:42,433 Nixon appeared on the "Jack Paar Show," 1053 00:54:42,433 --> 00:54:46,200 playing a tune he had written himself. 1054 00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:48,400 Although no one in the audience could have known it, 1055 00:54:48,400 --> 00:54:51,866 this was the beginning of one of the most remarkable comebacks 1056 00:54:51,866 --> 00:54:54,166 in American political history. 1057 00:54:54,166 --> 00:54:57,266 Can Kennedy be defeated in '64? 1058 00:54:58,633 --> 00:55:00,633 Well, which one? 1059 00:55:00,633 --> 00:55:02,200 (laughter) 1060 00:55:05,100 --> 00:55:07,466 Just to be very serious, 1061 00:55:07,466 --> 00:55:09,366 I know of course you're referring to President Kennedy, 1062 00:55:09,366 --> 00:55:11,966 and I, under no circumstances, would speak disrespectfully 1063 00:55:11,966 --> 00:55:14,000 even of him or of his office. 1064 00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:16,466 Weren't you kind of friends at one time? 1065 00:55:16,466 --> 00:55:18,666 Certainly, we came to the Congress together 1066 00:55:18,666 --> 00:55:20,433 and we were low men on the totem pole 1067 00:55:20,433 --> 00:55:22,500 on the Labor Committee together. 1068 00:55:22,500 --> 00:55:25,633 And we remained low men until he ran for president. 1069 00:55:25,633 --> 00:55:27,000 Now he's up and I'm down. 1070 00:55:27,000 --> 00:55:28,833 (laughter) 1071 00:55:28,833 --> 00:55:30,766 My little daughter said today that, 1072 00:55:30,766 --> 00:55:32,333 "Mr. Nixon will be on?" 1073 00:55:32,333 --> 00:55:33,533 I said, "Yes." 1074 00:55:33,533 --> 00:55:36,200 She said, "I do hope that man finds work." 1075 00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:38,333 (laughter) 1076 00:55:38,333 --> 00:55:42,966 ♪ ♪ 1077 00:55:42,966 --> 00:55:46,500 NARRATOR: Nixon found work as a Wall Street lawyer 1078 00:55:46,500 --> 00:55:50,600 determined to succeed at what he called "the fast track." 1079 00:55:50,600 --> 00:55:52,766 Pat Nixon had never been happy 1080 00:55:52,766 --> 00:55:55,466 with the constant demands of politics 1081 00:55:55,466 --> 00:55:59,233 and welcomed the prospect of a more normal existence. 1082 00:55:59,233 --> 00:56:02,900 "I hope we never move again," she told him 1083 00:56:02,900 --> 00:56:05,566 when they settled in New York. 1084 00:56:08,000 --> 00:56:10,700 But politics had been Nixon's whole life, 1085 00:56:10,700 --> 00:56:12,400 all he had ever known. 1086 00:56:16,066 --> 00:56:19,666 He soon told friends he would die of boredom 1087 00:56:19,666 --> 00:56:22,100 if he stayed in private life. 1088 00:56:22,100 --> 00:56:25,433 TV ANNOUNCER: Here is a bulletin from CBS news. 1089 00:56:25,433 --> 00:56:27,666 In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired 1090 00:56:27,666 --> 00:56:30,166 at President Kennedy's motorcade... 1091 00:56:30,166 --> 00:56:33,333 NARRATOR: To some, it seemed that Kennedy's assassination 1092 00:56:33,333 --> 00:56:36,433 might open the way for Nixon in the next election. 1093 00:56:36,433 --> 00:56:39,333 But sensing the mood of the country, 1094 00:56:39,333 --> 00:56:42,466 Nixon concluded that Lyndon Johnson, the new president, 1095 00:56:42,466 --> 00:56:46,400 would be unbeatable in 1964. 1096 00:56:46,400 --> 00:56:48,900 INTERVIEWER: Are you writing yourself off at this point 1097 00:56:48,900 --> 00:56:50,433 as a political candidate, 1098 00:56:50,433 --> 00:56:52,266 as a presidential candidate at any time? 1099 00:56:52,266 --> 00:56:53,800 Well, I've made it clear 1100 00:56:53,800 --> 00:56:56,533 that I am not a candidate for public office. 1101 00:56:56,533 --> 00:57:01,000 I shall not become a candidate in this year, 1964, 1102 00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:02,666 and I certainly have no plans 1103 00:57:02,666 --> 00:57:04,766 to become a candidate in the future. 1104 00:57:04,766 --> 00:57:06,900 I also want to make it clear at the same time, however, 1105 00:57:06,900 --> 00:57:08,666 I am not writing myself off 1106 00:57:08,666 --> 00:57:11,033 as a political leader in the United States. 1107 00:57:11,033 --> 00:57:12,066 (car door closes) 1108 00:57:13,300 --> 00:57:17,333 NARRATOR: As Nixon expected, President Johnson overwhelmed 1109 00:57:17,333 --> 00:57:20,166 Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964, 1110 00:57:20,166 --> 00:57:23,500 and the party lost disastrously in Congress. 1111 00:57:23,500 --> 00:57:27,666 But in the ruins of that defeat, Nixon saw his way back to power. 1112 00:57:29,866 --> 00:57:31,200 He worked the Republican 1113 00:57:31,200 --> 00:57:33,400 congressional circuit tirelessly, 1114 00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:38,100 traveled to 35 states, barnstormed for 105 candidates. 1115 00:57:38,100 --> 00:57:40,100 (cheers and applause) 1116 00:57:40,100 --> 00:57:44,866 And when the party made a dramatic comeback in 1966, 1117 00:57:44,866 --> 00:57:47,800 there was hardly a Republican who didn't owe Nixon a favor. 1118 00:57:47,800 --> 00:57:51,400 (cheers and applause) 1119 00:57:51,400 --> 00:57:53,433 LEONARD GARMENT: He was uncomfortable 1120 00:57:53,433 --> 00:57:57,600 with all of the obligatory activities of politics. 1121 00:57:57,600 --> 00:57:59,933 Those were the dues one paid 1122 00:57:59,933 --> 00:58:04,000 in order to gain admission to the arena, and he paid them. 1123 00:58:04,000 --> 00:58:06,233 He flinched on occasion, but he paid them. 1124 00:58:06,233 --> 00:58:08,666 He learned to do what he had to do. 1125 00:58:08,666 --> 00:58:10,300 NIXON: How are you doing, boys? 1126 00:58:10,300 --> 00:58:11,800 MAN: Good to see you! 1127 00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:13,333 Get this boy in! 1128 00:58:13,333 --> 00:58:14,500 We're going to! 1129 00:58:14,500 --> 00:58:15,500 You're all in! You get him in now! 1130 00:58:15,500 --> 00:58:17,066 We're gonna get him in! 1131 00:58:17,066 --> 00:58:21,900 NARRATOR: Nixon promised his family a moratorium on politics in 1967 1132 00:58:21,900 --> 00:58:23,800 but immediately took off 1133 00:58:23,800 --> 00:58:26,933 on a grueling tour of four continents. 1134 00:58:28,933 --> 00:58:31,033 Traveling as a private citizen, 1135 00:58:31,033 --> 00:58:34,500 the former vice president could still command a crowd 1136 00:58:34,500 --> 00:58:37,400 in the most remote reaches of the globe. 1137 00:58:37,400 --> 00:58:40,666 His trips kept him in the news 1138 00:58:40,666 --> 00:58:43,533 and strengthened his grasp of foreign policy. 1139 00:58:43,533 --> 00:58:48,133 Once again, Richard Nixon was aiming for the presidency. 1140 00:58:48,133 --> 00:58:52,800 He had this, this absolutely core fire 1141 00:58:52,800 --> 00:58:56,966 that he wanted to be president of the United States, 1142 00:58:56,966 --> 00:58:59,000 I think for several reasons-- 1143 00:58:59,000 --> 00:59:01,233 probably to prove a lot of things to himself, 1144 00:59:01,233 --> 00:59:03,533 but also because he sincerely wanted 1145 00:59:03,533 --> 00:59:06,133 to take the country in a direction 1146 00:59:06,133 --> 00:59:08,300 that he felt was the right direction. 1147 00:59:08,300 --> 00:59:10,966 MAN: Okay! 1148 00:59:10,966 --> 00:59:12,800 (cheers) 1149 00:59:12,800 --> 00:59:17,966 NARRATOR: As Nixon officially announced his candidacy in February 1968, 1150 00:59:17,966 --> 00:59:21,466 the events of that tumultuous year 1151 00:59:21,466 --> 00:59:24,900 moved him closer to the office he had sought for so long. 1152 00:59:24,900 --> 00:59:26,066 (gunfire) 1153 00:59:26,066 --> 00:59:28,600 In Vietnam, Communist guerrillas fought their way 1154 00:59:28,600 --> 00:59:32,500 to the very doorstep of the American Embassy in Saigon. 1155 00:59:32,500 --> 00:59:37,866 Never had the prospects for victory looked more bleak. 1156 00:59:37,866 --> 00:59:39,966 (indistinct shouting) 1157 00:59:39,966 --> 00:59:42,233 At home, anger over the war tore the country apart 1158 00:59:42,233 --> 00:59:45,033 and forced Lyndon Johnson to withdraw 1159 00:59:45,033 --> 00:59:48,033 from the presidential race. 1160 00:59:48,033 --> 00:59:51,266 Robert Kennedy was just beginning to emerge 1161 00:59:51,266 --> 00:59:53,633 as the Democratic front-runner 1162 00:59:53,633 --> 00:59:55,700 when he was killed by an assassin's bullet. 1163 00:59:55,700 --> 00:59:59,166 (screaming) 1164 00:59:59,166 --> 01:00:03,600 Race riots following the murder of Martin Luther King 1165 01:00:03,600 --> 01:00:06,366 turned many cities into battlegrounds. 1166 01:00:06,366 --> 01:00:08,100 (sirens wailing) 1167 01:00:08,100 --> 01:00:11,533 The country had not suffered such upheaval 1168 01:00:11,533 --> 01:00:13,500 since the Civil War. 1169 01:00:13,500 --> 01:00:16,100 Many Americans yearned for a leader 1170 01:00:16,100 --> 01:00:18,700 who promised safety and stability. 1171 01:00:18,700 --> 01:00:21,066 MAN: New Hampshire! 1172 01:00:21,066 --> 01:00:22,533 NARRATOR: In Miami Beach, 1173 01:00:22,533 --> 01:00:24,400 safe from the crises that engulfed the country, 1174 01:00:24,400 --> 01:00:26,466 the Nixon family watched 1175 01:00:26,466 --> 01:00:29,000 as Republicans chose their candidate. 1176 01:00:29,000 --> 01:00:31,533 DELEGATE: ...for Richard M. Nixon. 1177 01:00:31,533 --> 01:00:34,700 There-- we worked for those! (laughs) 1178 01:00:34,700 --> 01:00:36,400 (laughter) 1179 01:00:36,400 --> 01:00:40,266 DELEGATE: Wisconsin is proud to cast its 30 votes 1180 01:00:40,266 --> 01:00:43,133 for the nominee of this convention, 1181 01:00:43,133 --> 01:00:44,633 Richard M. Nixon. 1182 01:00:44,633 --> 01:00:48,200 (cheering) 1183 01:00:48,200 --> 01:00:50,266 NIXON: Sit down, get to work! 1184 01:00:52,366 --> 01:00:54,466 (cheers and applause) 1185 01:00:54,466 --> 01:00:58,133 NARRATOR: As he accepted the nomination of his party, 1186 01:00:58,133 --> 01:01:00,666 Nixon offered himself as the man who could bring order 1187 01:01:00,666 --> 01:01:04,100 out of the turmoil of 1968. 1188 01:01:04,100 --> 01:01:06,766 When the strongest nation in the world 1189 01:01:06,766 --> 01:01:09,400 can be tied down for four years in a war in Vietnam 1190 01:01:09,400 --> 01:01:10,900 with no end in sight, 1191 01:01:10,900 --> 01:01:13,766 when the nation with the greatest tradition 1192 01:01:13,766 --> 01:01:17,733 of the rule of law is plagued by unprecedented lawlessness, 1193 01:01:17,733 --> 01:01:20,733 when a nation that has been known for a century 1194 01:01:20,733 --> 01:01:23,266 for equality of opportunity 1195 01:01:23,266 --> 01:01:25,800 is torn by unprecedented racial violence, 1196 01:01:25,800 --> 01:01:27,966 then it's time for new leadership 1197 01:01:27,966 --> 01:01:30,233 for the United States of America! 1198 01:01:30,233 --> 01:01:32,266 (cheers and applause) 1199 01:01:32,266 --> 01:01:34,933 NARRATOR: Republicans once again pinned their presidential hopes 1200 01:01:34,933 --> 01:01:36,933 on Richard Nixon. 1201 01:01:36,933 --> 01:01:39,666 To them, and to many in the press, 1202 01:01:39,666 --> 01:01:41,366 he seemed a new Nixon, 1203 01:01:41,366 --> 01:01:44,466 better prepared than the man who had lost in 1960. 1204 01:01:44,466 --> 01:01:48,533 But the Democratic front-runner Hubert Humphrey 1205 01:01:48,533 --> 01:01:52,000 said he'd seen it all before. 1206 01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:55,400 He started that renewal job in 1952-- 1207 01:01:55,400 --> 01:01:57,533 brand new Nixon. 1208 01:01:57,533 --> 01:02:01,200 There was some reason for it, too. 1209 01:02:01,200 --> 01:02:04,400 Then they had another renewal job in 1956. 1210 01:02:05,766 --> 01:02:09,300 Then they had another renovation operation in 1960. 1211 01:02:11,366 --> 01:02:13,266 Then, when he went to run for governor 1212 01:02:13,266 --> 01:02:16,733 in California in 1962, they renewed him again. 1213 01:02:16,733 --> 01:02:18,400 (laughter) 1214 01:02:18,400 --> 01:02:22,100 And then in 1964, another touch-up. 1215 01:02:22,100 --> 01:02:26,000 And now, I read about the new Nixon of 1968. 1216 01:02:26,000 --> 01:02:27,533 Ladies and gentlemen, 1217 01:02:27,533 --> 01:02:30,533 anybody that's had his political face lifted so many times 1218 01:02:30,533 --> 01:02:31,766 can't be very new. 1219 01:02:31,766 --> 01:02:35,033 (laughter and applause) 1220 01:02:35,033 --> 01:02:38,800 (seagulls squawking) 1221 01:02:38,800 --> 01:02:41,800 NARRATOR: Boating in the Florida Keys, Nixon was relaxed and confident. 1222 01:02:41,800 --> 01:02:45,300 He was running far ahead of Humphrey in the polls, 1223 01:02:45,300 --> 01:02:49,166 and the Vietnam War was splintering the Democrats. 1224 01:02:49,166 --> 01:02:53,433 CROWD: We want peace now! We want peace now! 1225 01:02:53,433 --> 01:02:59,066 NARRATOR: At their convention in Chicago, the anti-war wing of the party 1226 01:02:59,066 --> 01:03:01,100 pressed for an end to the bombing 1227 01:03:01,100 --> 01:03:04,400 and a negotiated withdrawal of U.S. troops. 1228 01:03:04,400 --> 01:03:06,766 But Humphrey stuck by President Johnson's policy. 1229 01:03:06,766 --> 01:03:11,533 And I think that withdrawal would be totally unrealistic 1230 01:03:11,533 --> 01:03:13,900 and would be a catastrophe. 1231 01:03:13,900 --> 01:03:16,133 (chanting) 1232 01:03:16,133 --> 01:03:19,500 NARRATOR: As the Democrats fought over Vietnam, 1233 01:03:19,500 --> 01:03:21,300 Nixon avoided the issue, 1234 01:03:21,300 --> 01:03:23,566 promising only that he would find 1235 01:03:23,566 --> 01:03:25,533 an honorable end to the war. 1236 01:03:27,700 --> 01:03:30,166 Along with millions of Americans, 1237 01:03:30,166 --> 01:03:32,033 he watched on television 1238 01:03:32,033 --> 01:03:35,700 as anti-war protests outside the convention hall 1239 01:03:35,700 --> 01:03:37,533 exploded into violence. 1240 01:03:37,533 --> 01:03:43,766 (indistinct shouting) 1241 01:03:43,766 --> 01:03:48,333 In the chaos, Nixon saw an opportunity. 1242 01:03:50,500 --> 01:03:52,066 A few days later, 1243 01:03:52,066 --> 01:03:55,433 he moved through the same streets in a motorcade. 1244 01:03:55,433 --> 01:03:59,333 400,000 people turned out to cheer him. 1245 01:03:59,333 --> 01:04:02,666 He chose the city which had seen open war among the Democrats 1246 01:04:02,666 --> 01:04:05,133 to sound one of the central themes of his campaign. 1247 01:04:05,133 --> 01:04:09,533 This is a nation of laws, and as Abraham Lincoln has said, 1248 01:04:09,533 --> 01:04:13,333 "No one is above the law, no one is below the law," 1249 01:04:13,333 --> 01:04:15,433 and we're going to enforce the law, 1250 01:04:15,433 --> 01:04:16,866 and Americans should remember that 1251 01:04:16,866 --> 01:04:18,733 if we're going to have law and order. 1252 01:04:18,733 --> 01:04:20,566 NARRATOR: The emphasis on law and order 1253 01:04:20,566 --> 01:04:22,466 appealed to millions of Americans. 1254 01:04:22,466 --> 01:04:27,433 ♪ ♪ 1255 01:04:27,433 --> 01:04:32,266 Nixon's television commercials hammered it home. 1256 01:04:32,266 --> 01:04:35,833 NIXON: In recent years, crime in this country has grown 1257 01:04:35,833 --> 01:04:37,966 nine times as fast as population. 1258 01:04:37,966 --> 01:04:39,366 At the current rate, 1259 01:04:39,366 --> 01:04:42,133 the crimes of violence in America will double by 1972. 1260 01:04:42,133 --> 01:04:46,000 We cannot accept that kind of future for America. 1261 01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:49,266 We owe it to the decent and law-abiding citizens of America 1262 01:04:49,266 --> 01:04:52,000 to take the offensive against the criminal forces 1263 01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:54,766 that threaten their peace and their security 1264 01:04:54,766 --> 01:04:58,600 and to rebuild respect for law across this country. 1265 01:04:58,600 --> 01:05:00,833 I pledge to you... 1266 01:05:00,833 --> 01:05:03,333 NARRATOR: To the Democrats, Nixon's call for law and order 1267 01:05:03,333 --> 01:05:05,766 played to the worst in Americans. 1268 01:05:05,766 --> 01:05:10,300 But you can't vote your anger; you have to vote your hopes. 1269 01:05:10,300 --> 01:05:13,966 You can't vote your hates; you have to vote your hopes. 1270 01:05:13,966 --> 01:05:17,166 The preamble of the Constitution doesn't just say, 1271 01:05:17,166 --> 01:05:20,233 "Double the rate of convictions." 1272 01:05:20,233 --> 01:05:23,033 It doesn't just say, "Law and order." 1273 01:05:23,033 --> 01:05:25,966 It says, "To ensure justice," 1274 01:05:25,966 --> 01:05:31,166 and if Mr. Nixon hasn't read it, then I'll send him a copy. 1275 01:05:31,166 --> 01:05:33,166 NARRATOR: But Nixon had a feel for the issues 1276 01:05:33,166 --> 01:05:35,533 that moved the middle American voter. 1277 01:05:35,533 --> 01:05:40,133 They were the same issues that moved him. 1278 01:05:40,133 --> 01:05:44,100 Blaming liberal Democrats for the upheaval in the country, 1279 01:05:44,100 --> 01:05:47,333 he sought to rally a new Republican majority. 1280 01:05:47,333 --> 01:05:51,833 The new voice that is being heard across America today-- 1281 01:05:51,833 --> 01:05:55,000 it is not the voice of a single person. 1282 01:05:55,000 --> 01:05:58,566 It's the voice of a majority of Americans 1283 01:05:58,566 --> 01:06:01,300 who have not been the protestors, 1284 01:06:01,300 --> 01:06:03,966 who have not been the shouters. 1285 01:06:03,966 --> 01:06:07,233 The great majority finally have become angry-- 1286 01:06:07,233 --> 01:06:10,000 not angry with hate, 1287 01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:12,333 but angry, my friends, because they love America 1288 01:06:12,333 --> 01:06:14,600 and they don't like what has been happening to America 1289 01:06:14,600 --> 01:06:16,300 for the last four years. 1290 01:06:16,300 --> 01:06:18,300 REPORTER: You've just heard Richard Nixon refer to you 1291 01:06:18,300 --> 01:06:20,766 among all these other people as "the forgotten Americans." 1292 01:06:20,766 --> 01:06:22,800 What do you think he's referring to? 1293 01:06:22,800 --> 01:06:26,266 Well, I sort of think he's talking about the people 1294 01:06:26,266 --> 01:06:28,166 that are paying the taxes, 1295 01:06:28,166 --> 01:06:30,200 that are supporting the schools, the churches, 1296 01:06:30,200 --> 01:06:32,933 the people that are they are sort of forgotten 1297 01:06:32,933 --> 01:06:36,266 because everything's aimed at welfare and things like that. 1298 01:06:36,266 --> 01:06:39,466 (band playing "Stars and Stripes Forever") 1299 01:06:39,466 --> 01:06:42,766 NARRATOR: Nixon's call to the forgotten Americans 1300 01:06:42,766 --> 01:06:44,766 appealed to a broad band of voters-- 1301 01:06:44,766 --> 01:06:49,866 mostly white, middle class, hawkish, patriotic. 1302 01:06:49,866 --> 01:06:53,133 It was a group that felt ignored and excluded 1303 01:06:53,133 --> 01:06:55,233 in the upheavals of the '60s. 1304 01:06:55,233 --> 01:06:58,166 And the strategy seemed to be working. 1305 01:06:58,166 --> 01:07:04,733 (cheers and applause) 1306 01:07:04,733 --> 01:07:07,466 Nixon held his strong lead into the fall. 1307 01:07:07,466 --> 01:07:09,466 Then, just before the election, 1308 01:07:09,466 --> 01:07:11,800 President Johnson suddenly stopped 1309 01:07:11,800 --> 01:07:13,733 the bombing of North Vietnam. 1310 01:07:13,733 --> 01:07:15,733 Humphrey surged in the polls. 1311 01:07:15,733 --> 01:07:18,533 We're going to have the biggest election surprise 1312 01:07:18,533 --> 01:07:20,733 that America has known in 20 years. 1313 01:07:20,733 --> 01:07:22,633 We're going to win this election! 1314 01:07:22,633 --> 01:07:24,333 Thank you very much! 1315 01:07:24,333 --> 01:07:28,500 NARRATOR: By election night, Nixon and Humphrey were dead even. 1316 01:07:28,500 --> 01:07:30,866 Nixon prepared his family 1317 01:07:30,866 --> 01:07:35,133 for the possibility of still another defeat. 1318 01:07:35,133 --> 01:07:37,233 WALTER CRONKITE: Nixon has closed a little bit 1319 01:07:37,233 --> 01:07:39,733 in the last few tabulations there. 1320 01:07:39,733 --> 01:07:42,500 MAN: I think before the morning is out, 1321 01:07:42,500 --> 01:07:44,733 Hubert Humphrey will be the next president 1322 01:07:44,733 --> 01:07:46,233 of the United States. 1323 01:07:46,233 --> 01:07:47,533 (crowd cheering) 1324 01:07:47,533 --> 01:07:49,700 CRONKITE: And there have been no changes. 1325 01:07:49,700 --> 01:07:51,900 None of those big states have fallen yet, 1326 01:07:51,900 --> 01:07:54,033 the ones we are waiting for, and Nixon has 175... 1327 01:07:54,033 --> 01:07:57,900 NARRATOR: All night long, the lead shifted back and forth. 1328 01:07:57,900 --> 01:08:00,900 The results weren't announced until 8:00 the next morning. 1329 01:08:00,900 --> 01:08:03,900 CRONKITE: With the 26 electoral votes in Illinois, 1330 01:08:03,900 --> 01:08:08,766 Richard Nixon goes over the top with 287 electoral votes. 1331 01:08:08,766 --> 01:08:10,500 He needed 270 to win. 1332 01:08:10,500 --> 01:08:14,166 And that seems to be the 1968 election. 1333 01:08:14,166 --> 01:08:16,300 (applause) 1334 01:08:16,300 --> 01:08:18,633 ANNOUNCER: And he is beaming, Pat Nixon is beaming. 1335 01:08:18,633 --> 01:08:22,000 One can't help but think back to 1960 1336 01:08:22,000 --> 01:08:26,866 when a tearful Pat Nixon was choking back the emotions. 1337 01:08:26,866 --> 01:08:31,400 It was a totally different scene, of course, then. 1338 01:08:31,400 --> 01:08:35,333 Here is possibly one of the most fantastic political comebacks 1339 01:08:35,333 --> 01:08:36,833 in American history. 1340 01:08:38,866 --> 01:08:42,833 I saw many signs in this campaign. 1341 01:08:42,833 --> 01:08:47,200 Some of them were not friendly, some were very friendly, 1342 01:08:47,200 --> 01:08:50,133 but the one that touched me the most 1343 01:08:50,133 --> 01:08:52,933 was one that I saw in Dexter, Ohio, 1344 01:08:52,933 --> 01:08:54,633 at the end of a long day of whistle-stopping. 1345 01:08:54,633 --> 01:08:57,333 A teenager held up a sign: 1346 01:08:57,333 --> 01:08:59,366 "Bring us together." 1347 01:08:59,366 --> 01:09:05,033 And that will be the great objective 1348 01:09:05,033 --> 01:09:07,233 of this administration at the outset: 1349 01:09:07,233 --> 01:09:09,966 to bring the American people together. 1350 01:09:09,966 --> 01:09:13,366 NARRATOR: Nixon spoke of unity, 1351 01:09:13,366 --> 01:09:17,133 but his margin of victory had been extremely narrow. 1352 01:09:17,133 --> 01:09:20,433 He had not reached out to Blacks or the poor 1353 01:09:20,433 --> 01:09:23,033 or opponents of the war, 1354 01:09:23,033 --> 01:09:26,933 and a nation as badly divided as America in 1968 1355 01:09:26,933 --> 01:09:28,933 would not be easy to lead. 1356 01:09:34,100 --> 01:09:38,533 CHORUS: ♪ America ♪ 1357 01:09:38,533 --> 01:09:42,566 ♪ America... ♪ 1358 01:09:42,566 --> 01:09:47,833 NARRATOR: At age 56, after 22 years of political battle, 1359 01:09:47,833 --> 01:09:51,800 Richard Nixon had become the most powerful man in the world. 1360 01:09:51,800 --> 01:09:55,700 He envisioned nothing less than a new world order 1361 01:09:55,700 --> 01:09:58,233 with himself as its architect. 1362 01:10:00,666 --> 01:10:03,033 The greatest honor history can bestow 1363 01:10:03,033 --> 01:10:06,533 is the title of peacemaker. 1364 01:10:06,533 --> 01:10:09,466 This honor now beckons America. 1365 01:10:09,466 --> 01:10:13,300 If we succeed, generations to come 1366 01:10:13,300 --> 01:10:18,633 will say of us now living that we mastered our moment, 1367 01:10:18,633 --> 01:10:23,500 that we helped make the world safe for mankind. 1368 01:10:23,500 --> 01:10:26,933 This is our summons to greatness. 1369 01:10:26,933 --> 01:10:29,733 (marching band music) 1370 01:10:33,366 --> 01:10:37,733 RICHARDSON: There's no question at all that Nixon aspired to greatness. 1371 01:10:37,733 --> 01:10:40,433 He would talk constantly 1372 01:10:40,433 --> 01:10:45,266 about the generation of peace 1373 01:10:45,266 --> 01:10:47,900 that he hoped to contribute to building 1374 01:10:47,900 --> 01:10:51,533 that would indeed be his bequest 1375 01:10:51,533 --> 01:10:55,400 to the United States and the world. 1376 01:10:57,966 --> 01:11:01,433 NARRATOR: As Nixon took power, he assembled a staff 1377 01:11:01,433 --> 01:11:05,433 that would leave him free to carry out his ambitious plans 1378 01:11:05,433 --> 01:11:08,833 and whose loyalty had already been demonstrated. 1379 01:11:08,833 --> 01:11:11,200 The White House staff, as it evolves, I think you'll find 1380 01:11:11,200 --> 01:11:14,733 will be smaller than it's been in the past... 1381 01:11:14,733 --> 01:11:16,933 NARRATOR: H.R. Haldeman, a former advertising executive 1382 01:11:16,933 --> 01:11:19,333 who'd been at Nixon's side since 1956, 1383 01:11:19,333 --> 01:11:22,266 was made chief of staff. 1384 01:11:22,266 --> 01:11:24,266 "He was proud," he once said, 1385 01:11:24,266 --> 01:11:27,866 "to be Richard Nixon's son of a bitch." 1386 01:11:29,833 --> 01:11:33,766 John Ehrlichman, a lawyer and top aide during the campaign, 1387 01:11:33,766 --> 01:11:37,633 would handle much of domestic policy. 1388 01:11:37,633 --> 01:11:42,533 Together, he and Haldeman would tightly control access 1389 01:11:42,533 --> 01:11:44,133 to the president. 1390 01:11:44,133 --> 01:11:49,766 Those whom they excluded called them "The Berlin Wall." 1391 01:11:49,766 --> 01:11:51,966 Behind that wall, 1392 01:11:51,966 --> 01:11:54,233 Nixon could focus on his main interest, 1393 01:11:54,233 --> 01:11:57,266 foreign policy, bypassing the State Department 1394 01:11:57,266 --> 01:12:00,733 to work closely with his national security advisor 1395 01:12:00,733 --> 01:12:02,533 Henry Kissinger. 1396 01:12:02,533 --> 01:12:04,733 Dr. Kissinger is perhaps one of the major scholars 1397 01:12:04,733 --> 01:12:07,100 in America and the world today in this area. 1398 01:12:07,100 --> 01:12:10,166 He has never yet had a full-time government assignment, 1399 01:12:10,166 --> 01:12:13,600 and he will bring to this responsibility 1400 01:12:13,600 --> 01:12:15,900 a fresh approach... 1401 01:12:15,900 --> 01:12:19,433 MORRIS: They organized the government to concentrate power 1402 01:12:19,433 --> 01:12:22,600 in the hands of these two men in the White House, 1403 01:12:22,600 --> 01:12:25,600 and it's not accidental that he appoints an old friend 1404 01:12:25,600 --> 01:12:27,866 but a decidedly weak practitioner 1405 01:12:27,866 --> 01:12:30,633 in Bill Rogers in the Department of State, 1406 01:12:30,633 --> 01:12:35,233 or essentially a Wisconsin Dells politician, Melvin Laird, 1407 01:12:35,233 --> 01:12:36,800 as secretary of defense. 1408 01:12:36,800 --> 01:12:38,800 There are no strong figures in this cabinet 1409 01:12:38,800 --> 01:12:41,133 and there are no strong foreign policy figures 1410 01:12:41,133 --> 01:12:44,200 anywhere in the higher echelons of the government. 1411 01:12:44,200 --> 01:12:46,966 It is to be Richard Nixon's foreign policy, 1412 01:12:46,966 --> 01:12:48,800 and it is to be carried out 1413 01:12:48,800 --> 01:12:52,333 with sophistication and some subtlety by Henry Kissinger. 1414 01:12:52,333 --> 01:12:55,566 (rotor blades whirring) 1415 01:12:55,566 --> 01:12:58,500 NARRATOR: Looming over the new administration 1416 01:12:58,500 --> 01:13:00,133 was the war in Vietnam. 1417 01:13:00,133 --> 01:13:03,133 American troops had been fighting for four years 1418 01:13:03,133 --> 01:13:04,566 on behalf of South Vietnam 1419 01:13:04,566 --> 01:13:08,700 against the Soviet-backed Communist forces of the North. 1420 01:13:08,700 --> 01:13:13,900 The war had already taken the lives of 30,000 Americans 1421 01:13:13,900 --> 01:13:18,633 and over a million Vietnamese, and destroyed one president. 1422 01:13:18,633 --> 01:13:23,000 Nixon was determined not to let it destroy him. 1423 01:13:23,000 --> 01:13:25,133 ♪ ♪ 1424 01:13:25,133 --> 01:13:27,700 Even before his inauguration, 1425 01:13:27,700 --> 01:13:30,600 Nixon had Kissinger begin secret contacts 1426 01:13:30,600 --> 01:13:32,600 with the North Vietnamese in an attempt 1427 01:13:32,600 --> 01:13:35,933 to move the stalled Paris peace talks forward, 1428 01:13:35,933 --> 01:13:38,500 and soon, the two men developed a strategy 1429 01:13:38,500 --> 01:13:41,500 they hoped would get the U.S. out of the war 1430 01:13:41,500 --> 01:13:46,066 without abandoning America's ally, South Vietnam. 1431 01:13:46,066 --> 01:13:48,766 NIXON: We have adopted a plan 1432 01:13:48,766 --> 01:13:50,400 which we have worked out 1433 01:13:50,400 --> 01:13:53,133 in cooperation with the South Vietnamese 1434 01:13:53,133 --> 01:13:57,200 for the complete withdrawal of all U.S. combat ground forces 1435 01:13:57,200 --> 01:14:00,633 and their replacement by South Vietnamese forces 1436 01:14:00,633 --> 01:14:03,100 on an orderly, scheduled timetable. 1437 01:14:03,100 --> 01:14:06,133 This withdrawal will be made from strength... 1438 01:14:06,133 --> 01:14:08,833 NARRATOR: Confident that this policy would end America's involvement 1439 01:14:08,833 --> 01:14:10,866 in Southeast Asia by the end of 1970, 1440 01:14:10,866 --> 01:14:16,133 Nixon and Kissinger turned their attention to global strategy, 1441 01:14:16,133 --> 01:14:18,166 reshaping America's entire relationship 1442 01:14:18,166 --> 01:14:19,900 with the Communist world. 1443 01:14:19,900 --> 01:14:24,266 They both began in 1969, 1970 with a notion 1444 01:14:24,266 --> 01:14:27,666 that only lately has become fashionable in Washington, 1445 01:14:27,666 --> 01:14:29,800 and that is that the post-war is really over, 1446 01:14:29,800 --> 01:14:32,633 that the Cold War ought to be a thing of the past. 1447 01:14:32,633 --> 01:14:36,433 They are, in that sense, almost 20 years ahead of their time. 1448 01:14:39,700 --> 01:14:42,666 NARRATOR: Recognizing that the Soviet Union 1449 01:14:42,666 --> 01:14:45,266 had nearly caught up to the U.S. in nuclear strength, 1450 01:14:45,266 --> 01:14:48,766 Nixon and Kissinger dispatched a team of negotiators 1451 01:14:48,766 --> 01:14:51,600 to work out a treaty with the Soviets. 1452 01:14:51,600 --> 01:14:55,133 For the first time in the history of the nuclear age, 1453 01:14:55,133 --> 01:14:57,666 the two superpowers sat down to discuss setting limits 1454 01:14:57,666 --> 01:15:00,500 on nuclear weapons. 1455 01:15:00,500 --> 01:15:02,500 (cheers and applause) 1456 01:15:02,500 --> 01:15:04,966 At the same time, they began secret contacts 1457 01:15:04,966 --> 01:15:09,500 with the other great Communist power, China. 1458 01:15:09,500 --> 01:15:12,066 There were few more forbidding 1459 01:15:12,066 --> 01:15:15,566 and isolated places in the world in 1969, 1460 01:15:15,566 --> 01:15:19,366 but Nixon believed that China, with its vast population 1461 01:15:19,366 --> 01:15:20,766 and growing nuclear arsenal, 1462 01:15:20,766 --> 01:15:24,266 would soon be too powerful to ignore. 1463 01:15:24,266 --> 01:15:27,200 MORRIS: Here, for the first time in the 20th century, 1464 01:15:27,200 --> 01:15:29,366 we have two men at the very pinnacle 1465 01:15:29,366 --> 01:15:30,900 of the American government 1466 01:15:30,900 --> 01:15:32,666 who have some clear notion 1467 01:15:32,666 --> 01:15:35,166 not only of what the world is doing out there, 1468 01:15:35,166 --> 01:15:36,500 what's happening in the world, 1469 01:15:36,500 --> 01:15:39,000 but of where they want the United States to fit in. 1470 01:15:39,000 --> 01:15:42,000 We are not a nation that practices 1471 01:15:42,000 --> 01:15:44,466 its foreign policy by design, for the most part, 1472 01:15:44,466 --> 01:15:47,600 and Nixon and Kissinger are an exception to that rule. 1473 01:15:47,600 --> 01:15:51,466 (indistinct chatter) 1474 01:15:51,466 --> 01:15:55,566 NARRATOR: In the summer of 1969, Nixon announced 1475 01:15:55,566 --> 01:16:00,133 the first American troop withdrawals from Vietnam. 1476 01:16:01,800 --> 01:16:05,733 Arms control, China, Southeast Asia. 1477 01:16:08,100 --> 01:16:13,733 He seemed to be moving steadily toward becoming a peacemaker. 1478 01:16:22,466 --> 01:16:24,866 (indistinct chatter) 1479 01:16:24,866 --> 01:16:26,800 MAN: Ten, hut! (chatter stops) 1480 01:16:36,600 --> 01:16:40,533 NARRATOR: Richard Nixon loved the movie "Patton" 1481 01:16:40,533 --> 01:16:43,566 and watched it again and again in the White House. 1482 01:16:43,566 --> 01:16:46,166 (bugle salute) 1483 01:16:46,166 --> 01:16:49,466 General George Patton was a man of action, 1484 01:16:49,466 --> 01:16:53,600 contemptuous of his critics, uncompromising, 1485 01:16:53,600 --> 01:16:56,433 determined to win at all costs. 1486 01:16:58,766 --> 01:17:00,100 Be seated. 1487 01:17:00,100 --> 01:17:02,633 (shuffling) 1488 01:17:03,966 --> 01:17:06,533 I want you to remember 1489 01:17:06,533 --> 01:17:08,666 Americans love a winner 1490 01:17:08,666 --> 01:17:11,866 and will not tolerate a loser. 1491 01:17:11,866 --> 01:17:14,866 Americans play to win all the time. 1492 01:17:14,866 --> 01:17:20,800 I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. 1493 01:17:20,800 --> 01:17:24,266 That's why Americans have never lost 1494 01:17:24,266 --> 01:17:26,666 and will never lose a war 1495 01:17:26,666 --> 01:17:32,500 because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. 1496 01:17:32,500 --> 01:17:35,233 NARRATOR: Richard Nixon was determined 1497 01:17:35,233 --> 01:17:38,266 not to be the first American president to lose a war. 1498 01:17:40,533 --> 01:17:42,966 He might simply have brought the troops home 1499 01:17:42,966 --> 01:17:47,200 and blamed Vietnam on the Democrats, 1500 01:17:47,200 --> 01:17:51,100 but Nixon, like many of his contemporaries in both parties, 1501 01:17:51,100 --> 01:17:53,966 believed that abandoning South Vietnam to the Communists 1502 01:17:53,966 --> 01:17:57,000 would be a defeat that invited further aggression-- 1503 01:17:57,000 --> 01:17:59,600 a sign that America could no longer be counted on 1504 01:17:59,600 --> 01:18:02,133 by her allies. 1505 01:18:02,133 --> 01:18:05,566 Despite mounting pressure for immediate withdrawal, 1506 01:18:05,566 --> 01:18:07,633 he stuck to his gradual course 1507 01:18:07,633 --> 01:18:10,333 while trying to negotiate what he called 1508 01:18:10,333 --> 01:18:12,466 "an honorable end to the war." 1509 01:18:16,200 --> 01:18:18,466 But the months dragged on. 1510 01:18:18,466 --> 01:18:20,500 Casualties mounted, 1511 01:18:20,500 --> 01:18:27,200 and Nixon's policy seemed only to prolong America's agony. 1512 01:18:27,200 --> 01:18:29,466 I said, "With respect to Vietnam," 1513 01:18:29,466 --> 01:18:31,500 I said, "the war in Vietnam is lost, 1514 01:18:31,500 --> 01:18:37,100 and the sooner you get out, the better we will be." 1515 01:18:37,100 --> 01:18:43,133 It was lost, but he, for some reason, kept at it. 1516 01:18:43,133 --> 01:18:44,866 It wasn't his war, 1517 01:18:44,866 --> 01:18:48,866 and it seemed to me that just in handling a presidency, 1518 01:18:48,866 --> 01:18:51,533 you stick around with the war for two years 1519 01:18:51,533 --> 01:18:54,033 and it's your war, and it became his war. 1520 01:18:54,033 --> 01:18:55,533 And in the end, 1521 01:18:55,533 --> 01:18:57,333 half the country seemed to think he started it. 1522 01:18:57,333 --> 01:19:02,166 CROWD: ♪ All we are saying ♪ 1523 01:19:02,166 --> 01:19:04,866 ♪ Is give peace a chance... ♪ 1524 01:19:04,866 --> 01:19:06,966 NARRATOR: In October 1969, 1525 01:19:06,966 --> 01:19:09,500 the largest anti-war demonstrations 1526 01:19:09,500 --> 01:19:11,166 in the nation's history, 1527 01:19:11,166 --> 01:19:13,766 collectively known as "The Moratorium," 1528 01:19:13,766 --> 01:19:16,766 were held in cities all over the country. 1529 01:19:16,766 --> 01:19:19,466 Critics of the war had waited nine months 1530 01:19:19,466 --> 01:19:22,200 for Nixon to make good his pledge to end the conflict, 1531 01:19:22,200 --> 01:19:24,400 but now the honeymoon was over. 1532 01:19:24,400 --> 01:19:26,566 MAN: Are you listening, Nixon? 1533 01:19:26,566 --> 01:19:28,166 NIXON: I understand that there has been 1534 01:19:28,166 --> 01:19:32,333 and continues to be opposition to the war in Vietnam 1535 01:19:32,333 --> 01:19:35,500 on the campuses and also in the nation. 1536 01:19:35,500 --> 01:19:39,933 As far as this kind of activity is concerned, 1537 01:19:39,933 --> 01:19:41,666 we expect it. 1538 01:19:41,666 --> 01:19:44,000 However, under no circumstances 1539 01:19:44,000 --> 01:19:47,166 will I be affected whatever by it. 1540 01:19:47,166 --> 01:19:52,200 The moratorium itself was seen by Richard Nixon 1541 01:19:52,200 --> 01:19:56,333 as 200,000 people out there on the Mall 1542 01:19:56,333 --> 01:20:00,166 protesting his foreign policy 1543 01:20:00,166 --> 01:20:03,166 while at the same time, the polls were showing 1544 01:20:03,166 --> 01:20:06,933 that 58%, 59% of the American people supported him 1545 01:20:06,933 --> 01:20:09,133 in his foreign policy. 1546 01:20:09,133 --> 01:20:11,466 And he would look out the window and he would say, 1547 01:20:11,466 --> 01:20:14,366 "I simply cannot permit foreign policy to be made 1548 01:20:14,366 --> 01:20:16,166 in the streets of Washington." 1549 01:20:16,166 --> 01:20:19,633 GREGORY: The president of the United States said 1550 01:20:19,633 --> 01:20:23,200 nothing you young kids would do would have any effect on him. 1551 01:20:23,200 --> 01:20:27,400 Well, I suggest to the president of the United States 1552 01:20:27,400 --> 01:20:29,900 if he want to know how much effect 1553 01:20:29,900 --> 01:20:32,666 you youngsters can have on the president, 1554 01:20:32,666 --> 01:20:34,866 he should make one long-distance phone call 1555 01:20:34,866 --> 01:20:37,000 to the LBJ Ranch 1556 01:20:37,000 --> 01:20:40,033 and ask that boy how much effect you can have. 1557 01:20:40,033 --> 01:20:41,766 (cheering) 1558 01:20:41,766 --> 01:20:45,533 CROWD: One, two, three, four, Tricky Dick, stop the war! 1559 01:20:45,533 --> 01:20:49,233 NARRATOR: The fate of Lyndon Johnson did haunt Richard Nixon. 1560 01:20:49,233 --> 01:20:51,300 He felt he had to demonstrate 1561 01:20:51,300 --> 01:20:53,733 that most Americans still supported him 1562 01:20:53,733 --> 01:20:55,866 and that it would not benefit Hanoi 1563 01:20:55,866 --> 01:20:57,900 to stall peace negotiations. 1564 01:20:57,900 --> 01:21:02,766 "Don't get rattled, don't waver, don't react," 1565 01:21:02,766 --> 01:21:05,100 he told himself as he went to work on a speech 1566 01:21:05,100 --> 01:21:06,600 to respond to the protests. 1567 01:21:06,600 --> 01:21:09,266 Insisting on writing it himself, 1568 01:21:09,266 --> 01:21:13,700 he distinguished his supporters, the "forgotten Americans," 1569 01:21:13,700 --> 01:21:16,600 from the vocal minority in the streets 1570 01:21:16,600 --> 01:21:18,600 with a new catchphrase: 1571 01:21:18,600 --> 01:21:23,533 ...to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans, 1572 01:21:23,533 --> 01:21:25,966 I ask for your support. 1573 01:21:25,966 --> 01:21:29,100 For the more divided we are at home, 1574 01:21:29,100 --> 01:21:34,100 the less likely the enemy is to negotiate at Paris. 1575 01:21:34,100 --> 01:21:37,033 Let us be united for peace. 1576 01:21:37,033 --> 01:21:40,866 Let us also be united against defeat. 1577 01:21:40,866 --> 01:21:43,333 Because let us understand: 1578 01:21:43,333 --> 01:21:49,333 North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. 1579 01:21:49,333 --> 01:21:52,866 Only Americans can do that. 1580 01:21:52,866 --> 01:21:57,166 NARRATOR: It was the most effective speech of Nixon's presidency. 1581 01:21:57,166 --> 01:22:01,733 80,000 telegrams and letters arrived at the White House. 1582 01:22:01,733 --> 01:22:04,000 Nearly all supported him. 1583 01:22:04,000 --> 01:22:06,533 His approval rating soared. 1584 01:22:06,533 --> 01:22:10,433 But the war continued, and with it the protests. 1585 01:22:17,066 --> 01:22:19,933 MORRIS: I think Richard Nixon came to office expecting 1586 01:22:19,933 --> 01:22:21,866 if not a quick fix in Vietnam, 1587 01:22:21,866 --> 01:22:25,900 expecting a kind of responsiveness in the war. 1588 01:22:25,900 --> 01:22:29,433 He had made certain speeches, he had offered certain gestures, 1589 01:22:29,433 --> 01:22:33,100 he had proffered both secretly and publicly 1590 01:22:33,100 --> 01:22:35,033 what he thought were promising initiatives 1591 01:22:35,033 --> 01:22:36,700 in negotiations. 1592 01:22:36,700 --> 01:22:38,633 None of that had yielded anything. 1593 01:22:38,633 --> 01:22:41,066 There was a palpable sense of frustration 1594 01:22:41,066 --> 01:22:42,866 in the administration 1595 01:22:42,866 --> 01:22:45,733 about how long this war was going to drag on. 1596 01:22:48,366 --> 01:22:52,133 Out of the Oval Office began to flood memoranda 1597 01:22:52,133 --> 01:22:54,500 that were stream- of-consciousness renditions 1598 01:22:54,500 --> 01:22:58,800 of the president's fears and ambitions in Southeast Asia-- 1599 01:22:58,800 --> 01:23:00,500 his image of this whole contest 1600 01:23:00,500 --> 01:23:02,433 as a kind of challenge being issued 1601 01:23:02,433 --> 01:23:04,900 not only by the parties on the ground-- 1602 01:23:04,900 --> 01:23:07,166 by the Cambodian rebels, 1603 01:23:07,166 --> 01:23:08,966 the North Vietnamese, and the Vietcong-- 1604 01:23:08,966 --> 01:23:12,900 but ultimately by more formidable and distant forces: 1605 01:23:12,900 --> 01:23:17,000 the Soviet Union, by China, by his enemies testing him, 1606 01:23:17,000 --> 01:23:20,500 measuring his mettle as a man and as a leader. 1607 01:23:20,500 --> 01:23:23,466 EHRLICHMAN: He took me aside and he said, 1608 01:23:23,466 --> 01:23:26,233 "I'm going to be out of the play for ten days here. 1609 01:23:26,233 --> 01:23:29,466 "I won't be able to handle any domestic decisions for ten days, 1610 01:23:29,466 --> 01:23:32,133 "so come back this afternoon and tell me all the things 1611 01:23:32,133 --> 01:23:34,433 "that need to be decided for the next ten days, 1612 01:23:34,433 --> 01:23:36,200 "and then I won't be able to see you 1613 01:23:36,200 --> 01:23:39,733 "because I'm gonna be focusing on this business in Vietnam. 1614 01:23:39,733 --> 01:23:42,600 We're going to try and bring it to a head." 1615 01:23:42,600 --> 01:23:45,933 NARRATOR: At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Laird 1616 01:23:45,933 --> 01:23:47,833 waited for the president. 1617 01:23:47,833 --> 01:23:50,433 After days of tense deliberation, 1618 01:23:50,433 --> 01:23:54,666 Nixon was about to announce an attack on enemy sanctuaries 1619 01:23:54,666 --> 01:23:57,433 across the Vietnam border in Cambodia, 1620 01:23:57,433 --> 01:24:00,366 and he would do so over the objections 1621 01:24:00,366 --> 01:24:02,666 of many White House advisors. 1622 01:24:02,666 --> 01:24:06,000 MORRIS: We thought the invasion was a bad idea, 1623 01:24:06,000 --> 01:24:08,700 and that it was one more round of escalation 1624 01:24:08,700 --> 01:24:11,600 on the pattern, on an old pattern in Vietnam 1625 01:24:11,600 --> 01:24:15,333 which would cost lives and national treasure 1626 01:24:15,333 --> 01:24:17,400 and really only prolong the suffering 1627 01:24:17,400 --> 01:24:19,833 and do nothing to affect the larger outcome of the war. 1628 01:24:19,833 --> 01:24:23,366 NARRATOR: But the military and Kissinger recommended the action, 1629 01:24:23,366 --> 01:24:26,366 and Nixon wanted to go ahead. 1630 01:24:26,366 --> 01:24:28,200 He was convinced that destroying 1631 01:24:28,200 --> 01:24:30,866 the North Vietnamese hiding places in Cambodia 1632 01:24:30,866 --> 01:24:35,066 would relieve Communist pressure on the South, 1633 01:24:35,066 --> 01:24:37,900 and he wanted to take some dramatic action to demonstrate 1634 01:24:37,900 --> 01:24:41,133 that neither Hanoi nor the anti-war movement 1635 01:24:41,133 --> 01:24:44,966 could intimidate the United States or its president. 1636 01:24:44,966 --> 01:24:48,400 If, when the chips are down, 1637 01:24:48,400 --> 01:24:50,933 the world's most powerful nation, 1638 01:24:50,933 --> 01:24:53,266 the United States of America, 1639 01:24:53,266 --> 01:24:57,266 acts like a pitiful, helpless giant, 1640 01:24:57,266 --> 01:25:01,366 the forces of totalitarianism and anarchy 1641 01:25:01,366 --> 01:25:04,600 will threaten free nations and free institutions 1642 01:25:04,600 --> 01:25:07,166 throughout the world. 1643 01:25:07,166 --> 01:25:11,233 It is not our power, but our will and character 1644 01:25:11,233 --> 01:25:13,900 that is being tested tonight. 1645 01:25:15,833 --> 01:25:20,166 NARRATOR: As Nixon spoke, American troops moved into Cambodia. 1646 01:25:20,166 --> 01:25:22,100 His critics were outraged. 1647 01:25:22,100 --> 01:25:24,466 The president who had promised to end the war 1648 01:25:24,466 --> 01:25:26,000 seemed to be widening it, 1649 01:25:26,000 --> 01:25:29,833 moving into a country perceived as neutral. 1650 01:25:29,833 --> 01:25:31,933 Three members of Kissinger's staff, 1651 01:25:31,933 --> 01:25:35,500 including Roger Morris, resigned in protest. 1652 01:25:35,500 --> 01:25:37,166 Nixon was unmoved. 1653 01:25:37,166 --> 01:25:39,033 NIXON: I would rather be 1654 01:25:39,033 --> 01:25:45,400 a one-term president and do what I believe was right 1655 01:25:45,400 --> 01:25:47,666 than to be a two-term president 1656 01:25:47,666 --> 01:25:53,100 at the cost of seeing America become a second-rate power 1657 01:25:53,100 --> 01:25:56,600 and to see this nation accept the first defeat 1658 01:25:56,600 --> 01:26:00,800 in its proud 190-year history. 1659 01:26:00,800 --> 01:26:03,633 NARRATOR: Early the next morning, 1660 01:26:03,633 --> 01:26:06,466 Nixon went to the Pentagon for a firsthand briefing. 1661 01:26:06,466 --> 01:26:08,900 The military was reporting success. 1662 01:26:08,900 --> 01:26:12,200 Nixon was encouraged, and praised American soldiers 1663 01:26:12,200 --> 01:26:14,300 fighting in the jungles of Southeast Asia. 1664 01:26:14,300 --> 01:26:16,200 The wife of one of those soldiers 1665 01:26:16,200 --> 01:26:18,300 reached out to shake his hand. 1666 01:26:18,300 --> 01:26:22,533 Nixon drew a sharp contrast between the troops in Vietnam 1667 01:26:22,533 --> 01:26:25,500 and the student protesters at home. 1668 01:26:25,500 --> 01:26:27,533 NIXON: You know, you see these bums, you know, 1669 01:26:27,533 --> 01:26:29,033 blowing up the campuses. 1670 01:26:29,033 --> 01:26:33,066 Listen, the boys that are on the college campuses today 1671 01:26:33,066 --> 01:26:35,800 are the luckiest people in the world, 1672 01:26:35,800 --> 01:26:39,333 and here they are, burning up the books, 1673 01:26:39,333 --> 01:26:40,600 I mean, storming around about this issue-- 1674 01:26:40,600 --> 01:26:42,233 I mean, you name it. 1675 01:26:42,233 --> 01:26:44,800 Get rid of the war, there'll be another one. 1676 01:26:44,800 --> 01:26:47,733 (siren howling) 1677 01:26:47,733 --> 01:26:51,666 NARRATOR: Nixon's remarks further infuriated students 1678 01:26:51,666 --> 01:26:54,133 already protesting over Cambodia. 1679 01:26:54,133 --> 01:26:57,033 After three tense days of demonstrations 1680 01:26:57,033 --> 01:26:59,500 at Kent State University in Ohio, 1681 01:26:59,500 --> 01:27:01,466 nervous National Guardsmen opened fire. 1682 01:27:01,466 --> 01:27:04,000 (crackle of gunshots) 1683 01:27:04,000 --> 01:27:06,533 Four students were killed. 1684 01:27:06,533 --> 01:27:11,866 "My child was not a bum," said the father of one dead girl. 1685 01:27:15,900 --> 01:27:18,233 American campuses exploded. 1686 01:27:18,233 --> 01:27:22,033 Hundreds of colleges and universities closed down. 1687 01:27:22,033 --> 01:27:24,966 Governors in 16 states called out the police 1688 01:27:24,966 --> 01:27:29,100 and National Guard. 1689 01:27:29,100 --> 01:27:31,666 (crowd cheering) 1690 01:27:31,666 --> 01:27:35,000 Nixon's supporters took to the streets as well. 1691 01:27:35,000 --> 01:27:39,000 At New York's City Hall, construction workers struggled 1692 01:27:39,000 --> 01:27:41,333 to raise the flag which the mayor had lowered 1693 01:27:41,333 --> 01:27:44,366 to honor the dead at Kent State. 1694 01:27:44,366 --> 01:27:46,166 Nixon's move into Cambodia 1695 01:27:46,166 --> 01:27:49,866 and his dividing of Americans into "bums" and "heroes" 1696 01:27:49,866 --> 01:27:51,900 had set off a national firestorm. 1697 01:27:54,166 --> 01:27:56,433 CROWD: Strike! Strike! Strike! 1698 01:27:56,433 --> 01:28:00,166 NARRATOR: Angry protestors returned to Washington. 1699 01:28:00,166 --> 01:28:04,500 As tensions rose, the Secret Service ringed the White House 1700 01:28:04,500 --> 01:28:06,533 with a barricade of buses. 1701 01:28:09,733 --> 01:28:12,300 CHARLES COLSON: It was like living in a bunker in the White House. 1702 01:28:12,300 --> 01:28:13,866 I mean, you'd look out in the streets 1703 01:28:13,866 --> 01:28:15,766 and see thousands of people protesting. 1704 01:28:15,766 --> 01:28:18,100 You literally were afraid for your life. 1705 01:28:18,100 --> 01:28:19,766 There are times when I can remember saying, 1706 01:28:19,766 --> 01:28:21,433 "I can't believe this is the United States of America, 1707 01:28:21,433 --> 01:28:23,600 "a free country, and here we are in the White House 1708 01:28:23,600 --> 01:28:25,433 "with barricades up and buses around the White House 1709 01:28:25,433 --> 01:28:26,966 "and tear gas going off 1710 01:28:26,966 --> 01:28:28,466 "and thousands, hundreds of thousands 1711 01:28:28,466 --> 01:28:30,133 "of protestors out in the streets, 1712 01:28:30,133 --> 01:28:31,766 and troops sitting here." 1713 01:28:31,766 --> 01:28:34,600 NARRATOR: An embattled Nixon faced the press 1714 01:28:34,600 --> 01:28:36,666 as anti-war demonstrators 1715 01:28:36,666 --> 01:28:37,866 continued to flock to Washington. 1716 01:28:37,866 --> 01:28:38,866 JOURNALIST: Mr. President. 1717 01:28:38,866 --> 01:28:39,866 Mr. Kaplow. 1718 01:28:39,866 --> 01:28:41,433 What do you think the students 1719 01:28:41,433 --> 01:28:44,266 are trying to say with these demonstrations? 1720 01:28:44,266 --> 01:28:47,500 They're trying to say that they want peace. 1721 01:28:47,500 --> 01:28:51,833 They're trying to say that they want to stop the killing. 1722 01:28:51,833 --> 01:28:55,866 They're trying to say that they want to end the draft. 1723 01:28:55,866 --> 01:29:00,333 They're trying to say that we ought to get out of Vietnam. 1724 01:29:00,333 --> 01:29:04,800 I agree with everything that they're trying to accomplish. 1725 01:29:04,800 --> 01:29:09,700 I believe, however, that the decisions that I have made 1726 01:29:09,700 --> 01:29:11,933 will serve that purpose. 1727 01:29:11,933 --> 01:29:14,966 CROWD: ♪ All we are saying ♪ 1728 01:29:14,966 --> 01:29:18,400 ♪ Is give peace a chance. ♪ 1729 01:29:18,400 --> 01:29:20,966 NARRATOR: That night, protestors circled the White House 1730 01:29:20,966 --> 01:29:22,766 with chants and candles. 1731 01:29:22,766 --> 01:29:26,733 Inside, a sleepless Nixon made more than 40 phone calls 1732 01:29:26,733 --> 01:29:30,033 to friends and supporters around the country. 1733 01:29:30,033 --> 01:29:33,900 Near dawn, he called for a car and asked to be driven 1734 01:29:33,900 --> 01:29:37,866 to the Lincoln Memorial, where protestors had gathered. 1735 01:29:37,866 --> 01:29:40,900 White House aide Egil Krogh followed him. 1736 01:29:40,900 --> 01:29:44,133 It was... I guess it was almost a surreal atmosphere. 1737 01:29:44,133 --> 01:29:45,500 It was almost, like, dream-like. 1738 01:29:45,500 --> 01:29:47,000 "Is this really happening?" 1739 01:29:47,000 --> 01:29:49,533 Walking up the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial, 1740 01:29:49,533 --> 01:29:51,800 and there was the president 1741 01:29:51,800 --> 01:29:56,566 sort of standing in the middle of a group of young people 1742 01:29:56,566 --> 01:29:59,333 who were wearing combat fatigues 1743 01:29:59,333 --> 01:30:02,300 with peace symbols, and bandannas-- 1744 01:30:02,300 --> 01:30:06,766 all of the clothing of the '60s and the '70s-- 1745 01:30:06,766 --> 01:30:11,866 and trying very hard to... to communicate to them. 1746 01:30:11,866 --> 01:30:13,666 I think I said, 1747 01:30:13,666 --> 01:30:17,033 "Well, what are you going to do about the Kent State killings? 1748 01:30:17,033 --> 01:30:19,000 What are you going to do about the war?" 1749 01:30:19,000 --> 01:30:21,900 He said, "I'm really not here to talk about that right now. 1750 01:30:21,900 --> 01:30:24,133 We're trying to handle things." 1751 01:30:24,133 --> 01:30:27,833 So it was a one-way, you know, conversation or a one-way street 1752 01:30:27,833 --> 01:30:31,700 because he was there trying to be very conversational 1753 01:30:31,700 --> 01:30:33,100 and casual, 1754 01:30:33,100 --> 01:30:37,000 and we were there outraged and angry and scared. 1755 01:30:37,000 --> 01:30:40,666 KROGH: One student basically told him, 1756 01:30:40,666 --> 01:30:42,300 he said, "I hope that you realize 1757 01:30:42,300 --> 01:30:45,100 that we are willing to die for what we believe in." 1758 01:30:45,100 --> 01:30:48,066 And I think... as I recall, the president's response was, 1759 01:30:48,066 --> 01:30:51,766 "Well, I understand that, but we're trying to build a world 1760 01:30:51,766 --> 01:30:55,000 where people will not have to die for what they believe in." 1761 01:30:55,000 --> 01:31:04,266 CHOIR: ♪ Oh, how I love Jesus ♪ 1762 01:31:04,266 --> 01:31:11,300 ♪ Oh, how I love Jesus ♪ 1763 01:31:11,300 --> 01:31:13,266 WOMAN: If you love him, sing! 1764 01:31:13,266 --> 01:31:20,766 CHOIR: ♪ Oh, how I love Jesus ♪ 1765 01:31:20,766 --> 01:31:26,100 ♪ To know that Jesus... ♪ 1766 01:31:26,100 --> 01:31:32,433 Sweet, loving, merciful Jesus is ours. 1767 01:31:32,433 --> 01:31:37,500 He belongs to all of us who want to receive and accept him. 1768 01:31:37,500 --> 01:31:43,433 (loud applause) 1769 01:31:43,433 --> 01:31:46,766 NARRATOR: When he appeared as the guest of honor 1770 01:31:46,766 --> 01:31:49,433 at a Billy Graham Crusade in Tennessee, 1771 01:31:49,433 --> 01:31:51,966 Nixon had been in office 16 months. 1772 01:31:51,966 --> 01:31:56,000 A majority of Americans still backed his Vietnam policy, 1773 01:31:56,000 --> 01:31:59,966 but the furor over Cambodia had deepened the divisions 1774 01:31:59,966 --> 01:32:02,133 Nixon had promised to mend. 1775 01:32:02,133 --> 01:32:06,666 Even here, surrounded by thousands who supported him, 1776 01:32:06,666 --> 01:32:11,000 the president could not escape the ceaseless storm of protest. 1777 01:32:13,866 --> 01:32:20,300 (distorted shouting, chanting) 1778 01:32:20,300 --> 01:32:23,833 (shouting and booing) 1779 01:32:23,833 --> 01:32:26,433 And if we're going to bring people together 1780 01:32:26,433 --> 01:32:28,533 as we must bring them together, 1781 01:32:28,533 --> 01:32:31,300 if we're going to have peace in the world, 1782 01:32:31,300 --> 01:32:33,800 if our young people are going to have a fulfillment 1783 01:32:33,800 --> 01:32:37,166 beyond simply those material things, 1784 01:32:37,166 --> 01:32:40,633 they must turn to those great spiritual sources 1785 01:32:40,633 --> 01:32:44,500 that have made America the great country that it is. 1786 01:32:44,500 --> 01:32:46,033 I'm proud to be here 1787 01:32:46,033 --> 01:32:49,566 and I'm very proud to have your warm reception. 1788 01:32:49,566 --> 01:32:51,333 Thank you very much. 1789 01:32:51,333 --> 01:32:52,666 (applause) 1790 01:32:52,666 --> 01:32:54,633 MAN: Let us sing together. 1791 01:32:54,633 --> 01:32:57,700 "God bless America, my home, sweet home." 1792 01:32:57,700 --> 01:33:04,066 ALL: ♪ God bless America ♪ 1793 01:33:04,066 --> 01:33:08,666 ♪ Land that I love ♪ 1794 01:33:08,666 --> 01:33:12,666 ♪ Stand beside her, and guide... ♪ 1795 01:33:12,666 --> 01:33:14,666 NARRATOR: Throughout the next year, 1796 01:33:14,666 --> 01:33:17,000 Nixon continued to try to rally his supporters 1797 01:33:17,000 --> 01:33:19,000 while denouncing his opponents, 1798 01:33:19,000 --> 01:33:21,133 calling some among the protesters 1799 01:33:21,133 --> 01:33:23,733 "thugs" and "hoodlums," 1800 01:33:23,733 --> 01:33:26,433 blaming his critics in Congress and the press 1801 01:33:26,433 --> 01:33:29,033 for failing to support the war. 1802 01:33:29,033 --> 01:33:32,233 ALL: ♪ ...white with foam ♪ 1803 01:33:32,233 --> 01:33:37,033 ♪ God bless America... ♪ 1804 01:33:37,033 --> 01:33:40,833 NARRATOR: All U.S. troops left Cambodia by the end of June, 1805 01:33:40,833 --> 01:33:42,733 as Nixon had promised. 1806 01:33:42,733 --> 01:33:44,433 He insisted that the military action 1807 01:33:44,433 --> 01:33:46,133 which had caused such turmoil 1808 01:33:46,133 --> 01:33:48,300 had eased the pressure on the troops in Vietnam. 1809 01:33:48,300 --> 01:33:51,933 Withdrawals continued on schedule, 1810 01:33:51,933 --> 01:33:54,433 but more American lives had been lost. 1811 01:33:54,433 --> 01:33:57,033 There was no breakthrough in the peace talks. 1812 01:33:59,533 --> 01:34:01,600 And in the White House, 1813 01:34:01,600 --> 01:34:04,733 an increasingly frustrated and suspicious Nixon 1814 01:34:04,733 --> 01:34:07,666 urged intensified surveillance of the anti-war movement. 1815 01:34:07,666 --> 01:34:11,000 He grew distrustful even of his closest advisors 1816 01:34:11,000 --> 01:34:14,500 and installed hidden microphones in his own office 1817 01:34:14,500 --> 01:34:16,933 in part so that his aides could not later claim 1818 01:34:16,933 --> 01:34:19,066 to have disagreed with his decisions. 1819 01:34:19,066 --> 01:34:21,066 But the taping system 1820 01:34:21,066 --> 01:34:24,266 would eventually trap the president himself. 1821 01:34:24,266 --> 01:34:28,133 (singing ends) 1822 01:34:34,666 --> 01:34:37,700 ♪ ♪ 1823 01:34:46,166 --> 01:34:49,633 NARRATOR: On June 12, 1971, the White House staff 1824 01:34:49,633 --> 01:34:52,433 prepared for a wedding in the Rose Garden. 1825 01:34:52,433 --> 01:34:56,066 The president's elder daughter, Tricia, was to be married 1826 01:34:56,066 --> 01:34:58,400 to a young law student, Edward Cox. 1827 01:34:58,400 --> 01:35:01,500 Rain threatened the ceremony, 1828 01:35:01,500 --> 01:35:03,900 and Nixon spent much of the afternoon on the phone 1829 01:35:03,900 --> 01:35:05,700 to Air Force weathermen. 1830 01:35:05,700 --> 01:35:07,933 Finally, there was a prediction 1831 01:35:07,933 --> 01:35:10,033 of a 15-minute break in the weather. 1832 01:35:10,033 --> 01:35:11,533 I gotta get dressed! 1833 01:35:11,533 --> 01:35:14,833 I've gotta get all my things-- my hair done. 1834 01:35:14,833 --> 01:35:16,600 (laughter) 1835 01:35:16,600 --> 01:35:18,766 (processional music) 1836 01:35:21,166 --> 01:35:23,966 LINKLETTER: I saw the president more relaxed, 1837 01:35:23,966 --> 01:35:28,466 more happy, and more like a typical American father 1838 01:35:28,466 --> 01:35:30,533 than I've seen him in a long, long time. 1839 01:35:30,533 --> 01:35:31,733 INTERVIEWER: He looked like he was 1840 01:35:31,733 --> 01:35:33,066 doing a great job out on the dance floor, too. 1841 01:35:33,066 --> 01:35:34,266 Yes. 1842 01:35:34,266 --> 01:35:37,100 And he doesn't dance all that often, you know. 1843 01:35:37,100 --> 01:35:40,166 (music playing, light applause) 1844 01:35:40,166 --> 01:35:44,166 NARRATOR: "It was a day that all of us will remember," 1845 01:35:44,166 --> 01:35:45,833 Nixon later wrote, 1846 01:35:45,833 --> 01:35:49,866 "because we were beautifully and simply happy." 1847 01:35:52,533 --> 01:35:56,100 The next morning, Nixon picked up the "New York Times." 1848 01:35:56,100 --> 01:35:59,733 In the left corner was an account of Tricia's wedding. 1849 01:35:59,733 --> 01:36:02,300 Across the page was another headline: 1850 01:36:02,300 --> 01:36:05,133 the first installment of what came to be called 1851 01:36:05,133 --> 01:36:08,733 the Pentagon Papers, a secret Defense Department study 1852 01:36:08,733 --> 01:36:10,933 which revealed past government deception 1853 01:36:10,933 --> 01:36:12,666 about the war in Vietnam. 1854 01:36:12,666 --> 01:36:15,166 I felt that as an American citizen... 1855 01:36:15,166 --> 01:36:18,200 NARRATOR: Daniel Ellsberg, a former Defense Department employee 1856 01:36:18,200 --> 01:36:20,033 who had turned against the war, 1857 01:36:20,033 --> 01:36:23,600 had given the top secret documents to the press. 1858 01:36:23,600 --> 01:36:25,233 I can no longer cooperate 1859 01:36:25,233 --> 01:36:28,233 in concealing this information from the American public. 1860 01:36:28,233 --> 01:36:31,800 NARRATOR: Although the Pentagon Papers contained nothing 1861 01:36:31,800 --> 01:36:34,000 about the Nixon policy in Vietnam, 1862 01:36:34,000 --> 01:36:36,333 it was a leak of enormous magnitude. 1863 01:36:36,333 --> 01:36:39,000 The president and Henry Kissinger saw it 1864 01:36:39,000 --> 01:36:40,733 as a disturbing precedent 1865 01:36:40,733 --> 01:36:42,700 and a threat to their secret diplomacy. 1866 01:36:42,700 --> 01:36:44,700 COLSON: There was panic in the White House. 1867 01:36:44,700 --> 01:36:46,633 And I remember being in meetings with Henry Kissinger that day 1868 01:36:46,633 --> 01:36:48,700 in which he said, 1869 01:36:48,700 --> 01:36:51,200 "This could cause the collapse of American foreign policy. 1870 01:36:51,200 --> 01:36:53,533 "This could undermine our initiatives 1871 01:36:53,533 --> 01:36:55,400 with China and the Soviet Union." 1872 01:36:55,400 --> 01:36:56,966 And don't forget that at that time, 1873 01:36:56,966 --> 01:36:59,800 people did not know that we were negotiating secretly 1874 01:36:59,800 --> 01:37:01,133 with the Chinese. 1875 01:37:01,133 --> 01:37:02,633 They did not also know that we were conducting 1876 01:37:02,633 --> 01:37:04,700 secret negotiations with the North Vietnamese 1877 01:37:04,700 --> 01:37:06,500 to end the war in Vietnam. 1878 01:37:06,500 --> 01:37:09,000 And so a lot of things were going on that we knew 1879 01:37:09,000 --> 01:37:10,400 that the public didn't. 1880 01:37:10,400 --> 01:37:12,166 NARRATOR: Just five weeks later, 1881 01:37:12,166 --> 01:37:14,766 the "Times" published another leak, 1882 01:37:14,766 --> 01:37:18,633 this one potentially damaging to Nixon's foreign policy. 1883 01:37:18,633 --> 01:37:21,066 It revealed U.S. negotiating tactics 1884 01:37:21,066 --> 01:37:23,800 and upcoming arms talks with the Soviets, 1885 01:37:23,800 --> 01:37:28,000 and it seemed to confirm Nixon's worst fears about the press. 1886 01:37:28,000 --> 01:37:31,500 KROGH: I had seen him angry in meetings in the past, 1887 01:37:31,500 --> 01:37:34,766 but I had never experienced this kind of fury 1888 01:37:34,766 --> 01:37:39,900 where he was basically walking around the room 1889 01:37:39,900 --> 01:37:41,833 slamming his fist in his hand, 1890 01:37:41,833 --> 01:37:43,600 saying that this cannot be tolerated. 1891 01:37:43,600 --> 01:37:45,200 "We cannot let this go on!" 1892 01:37:45,200 --> 01:37:48,633 COLSON: Nixon became obsessive about the press coverage. 1893 01:37:48,633 --> 01:37:51,766 We had a daily news summary that was prepared 1894 01:37:51,766 --> 01:37:53,433 by a young man in the White House, 1895 01:37:53,433 --> 01:37:54,933 and by the time I got to the White House, 1896 01:37:54,933 --> 01:37:56,933 the president had already read it 1897 01:37:56,933 --> 01:37:59,166 and had marked on the columns, 1898 01:37:59,166 --> 01:38:03,166 "John Chancellor last night said this, respond today." 1899 01:38:03,166 --> 01:38:05,166 "Call up so-and-so." 1900 01:38:05,166 --> 01:38:08,000 "Look at this-- you can't trust these people." 1901 01:38:08,000 --> 01:38:10,200 "'Newsweek' has done it to us again." 1902 01:38:10,200 --> 01:38:11,700 I'd get Nixon's news summary 1903 01:38:11,700 --> 01:38:13,533 with all these comments down the side. 1904 01:38:13,533 --> 01:38:16,766 And so you had the idea when you went to work in the morning, 1905 01:38:16,766 --> 01:38:18,400 you were going to war with the press. 1906 01:38:18,400 --> 01:38:21,500 ♪ ♪ 1907 01:38:21,500 --> 01:38:25,600 NARRATOR: A sense of being under siege pervaded the White House 1908 01:38:25,600 --> 01:38:27,233 fueled by the leaks, 1909 01:38:27,233 --> 01:38:29,966 the constant anti-war demonstrations, 1910 01:38:29,966 --> 01:38:32,000 and intensifying criticism in the press. 1911 01:38:35,500 --> 01:38:38,333 In this atmosphere of "us versus them," 1912 01:38:38,333 --> 01:38:41,933 Colson's office began an ever-expanding list 1913 01:38:41,933 --> 01:38:45,166 of Nixon's critics-- "The Enemies List." 1914 01:38:45,166 --> 01:38:48,466 Its object was "to screw our political enemies." 1915 01:38:51,100 --> 01:38:55,066 Reporters and politicians, educators and entertainers 1916 01:38:55,066 --> 01:38:57,100 were barred from the White House. 1917 01:38:57,100 --> 01:38:59,833 Some were targeted for tax audits, 1918 01:38:59,833 --> 01:39:03,166 others were trailed by private detectives. 1919 01:39:05,033 --> 01:39:06,933 COLSON: And it was very shortly thereafter 1920 01:39:06,933 --> 01:39:08,933 that Nixon authorized the Plumbers-- 1921 01:39:08,933 --> 01:39:12,233 the creation of a special group to stop leaks-- 1922 01:39:12,233 --> 01:39:13,766 and they began 1923 01:39:13,766 --> 01:39:18,866 to take extralegal steps and put into motion the mechanism 1924 01:39:18,866 --> 01:39:22,033 which ultimately resulted in the downfall of the administration. 1925 01:39:22,033 --> 01:39:24,500 NARRATOR: In a White House memo 1926 01:39:24,500 --> 01:39:27,933 regarding the neutralization of Daniel Ellsberg, 1927 01:39:27,933 --> 01:39:30,666 the Plumbers discussed how they might 1928 01:39:30,666 --> 01:39:33,866 "Destroy his public image and credibility." 1929 01:39:33,866 --> 01:39:36,433 In search of damaging information 1930 01:39:36,433 --> 01:39:38,666 about Ellsberg's private life, 1931 01:39:38,666 --> 01:39:42,833 they arranged a break-in at the office of his psychiatrist. 1932 01:39:42,833 --> 01:39:45,700 KROGH: They apparently broke a window 1933 01:39:45,700 --> 01:39:47,700 on the way in, and realizing that 1934 01:39:47,700 --> 01:39:51,600 it could no longer be viewed as a covert operation, 1935 01:39:51,600 --> 01:39:54,700 changed courses and decided to make it look 1936 01:39:54,700 --> 01:39:57,533 as if it had been entered by a burglar 1937 01:39:57,533 --> 01:40:00,633 looking for drugs or some other substances. 1938 01:40:00,633 --> 01:40:02,633 Basically, they smashed up the office, 1939 01:40:02,633 --> 01:40:04,766 took pictures of the damage. 1940 01:40:04,766 --> 01:40:07,733 I was shocked at these pictures. 1941 01:40:07,733 --> 01:40:10,300 Went to see John Ehrlichman. 1942 01:40:10,300 --> 01:40:13,500 He was, if anything, more shocked than I was 1943 01:40:13,500 --> 01:40:16,100 and said, "Shut it down as of now." 1944 01:40:16,100 --> 01:40:19,100 NARRATOR: The Plumbers were eventually disbanded, 1945 01:40:19,100 --> 01:40:21,766 but some of the agents were reassigned 1946 01:40:21,766 --> 01:40:23,966 to work behind the scenes 1947 01:40:23,966 --> 01:40:28,933 for the newly-formed Committee to Reelect the President. 1948 01:40:28,933 --> 01:40:33,233 Reelection had become Nixon's consuming concern. 1949 01:40:33,233 --> 01:40:35,733 From the first day of his presidency, 1950 01:40:35,733 --> 01:40:38,333 he had fought to hold on to his "silent majority" 1951 01:40:38,333 --> 01:40:40,133 and had shaped his domestic policies 1952 01:40:40,133 --> 01:40:42,200 in part to win their votes. 1953 01:40:42,200 --> 01:40:44,900 But those voters were slipping away. 1954 01:40:44,900 --> 01:40:47,433 Unemployment and inflation were up. 1955 01:40:47,433 --> 01:40:50,133 Racial divisions had deepened, 1956 01:40:50,133 --> 01:40:54,733 and still, week after week, the dead came home from Vietnam. 1957 01:40:56,633 --> 01:41:00,333 Nixon's popularity had fallen so low that he had begun to fear 1958 01:41:00,333 --> 01:41:03,366 he would not even be renominated in 1972. 1959 01:41:15,433 --> 01:41:16,933 ANNOUNCER: Good evening. 1960 01:41:16,933 --> 01:41:19,433 The 37th president of the United States, 1961 01:41:19,433 --> 01:41:21,533 Richard M. Nixon, is in China-- 1962 01:41:21,533 --> 01:41:23,500 the first American chief executive 1963 01:41:23,500 --> 01:41:25,833 ever to visit the world's most populous country. 1964 01:41:25,833 --> 01:41:29,700 (band playing "The Star-Spangled Banner") 1965 01:41:29,700 --> 01:41:33,100 (crowd cheering) 1966 01:41:33,100 --> 01:41:35,433 NARRATOR: On February 18, 1972, 1967 01:41:35,433 --> 01:41:39,700 Richard Nixon began still another remarkable comeback 1968 01:41:39,700 --> 01:41:42,800 with a stunning foreign policy success. 1969 01:41:44,233 --> 01:41:46,633 REPORTER: President Nixon's motorcade 1970 01:41:46,633 --> 01:41:49,466 is now sweeping toward the city of Peking. 1971 01:41:49,466 --> 01:41:52,100 REPORTER: Here comes the motorcade now, as you see. 1972 01:41:52,100 --> 01:41:55,500 NARRATOR: The world watched as Richard Nixon drove through a city 1973 01:41:55,500 --> 01:41:59,933 that few outsiders had seen for nearly a quarter of a century. 1974 01:41:59,933 --> 01:42:01,633 "He knew," said the "New York Times," 1975 01:42:01,633 --> 01:42:03,300 "that for this journey, 1976 01:42:03,300 --> 01:42:07,000 no matter what else occurred, he would always be remembered." 1977 01:42:07,000 --> 01:42:11,300 That afternoon, Nixon was abruptly summoned 1978 01:42:11,300 --> 01:42:13,800 to see Mao Zedong. 1979 01:42:13,800 --> 01:42:17,033 American television was unaware of the meeting. 1980 01:42:17,033 --> 01:42:19,266 The only coverage was by Chinese cameramen 1981 01:42:19,266 --> 01:42:22,266 with black and white film. 1982 01:42:22,266 --> 01:42:27,333 This encounter between Nixon, the career anti-Communist, 1983 01:42:27,333 --> 01:42:29,566 and Chairman Mao, the leader of the largest 1984 01:42:29,566 --> 01:42:31,766 Communist revolutionary movement in history, 1985 01:42:31,766 --> 01:42:33,866 shocked Nixon's old conservative allies. 1986 01:42:33,866 --> 01:42:39,800 They accused him of surrendering to international Communism. 1987 01:42:39,800 --> 01:42:43,000 But for Nixon, it was all part of his global strategy. 1988 01:42:43,000 --> 01:42:46,133 By visiting China, he was beginning to exploit 1989 01:42:46,133 --> 01:42:48,533 the divisions in the Communist world. 1990 01:42:48,533 --> 01:42:50,366 MAN: One of Nixon's primary objectives 1991 01:42:50,366 --> 01:42:51,866 in opening up with China 1992 01:42:51,866 --> 01:42:56,333 was to give him more leverage with the Soviet Union. 1993 01:42:56,333 --> 01:42:58,566 These relations were essentially stalled, 1994 01:42:58,566 --> 01:43:01,033 but soon after the opening with China, 1995 01:43:01,033 --> 01:43:05,400 the Soviet Union became much more flexible on several fronts. 1996 01:43:05,400 --> 01:43:08,266 They agreed to a summit meeting with us in 1972 1997 01:43:08,266 --> 01:43:10,666 and they began to be more reasonable 1998 01:43:10,666 --> 01:43:12,766 on various arms control issues. 1999 01:43:12,766 --> 01:43:15,500 (dramatic opera singing) 2000 01:43:22,033 --> 01:43:26,600 (music ends, applause) 2001 01:43:26,600 --> 01:43:29,933 COLSON: Nixon enjoyed the power game 2002 01:43:29,933 --> 01:43:33,766 probably as much as any president in modern times. 2003 01:43:33,766 --> 01:43:36,466 He played it very hard and very cleverly 2004 01:43:36,466 --> 01:43:39,133 and very carefully in the world scene. 2005 01:43:39,133 --> 01:43:40,766 And he was always thinking strategically, 2006 01:43:40,766 --> 01:43:42,433 and that's one of the qualities 2007 01:43:42,433 --> 01:43:44,900 that someone has to have in foreign policy. 2008 01:43:44,900 --> 01:43:47,166 I mean, you cannot make decisions in foreign policy 2009 01:43:47,166 --> 01:43:50,366 based on today's circumstance. 2010 01:43:50,366 --> 01:43:52,166 You've got to think about its ramifications 2011 01:43:52,166 --> 01:43:54,500 for five, ten, 15, 20 years down the road, 2012 01:43:54,500 --> 01:43:56,066 and it's like a chess player; 2013 01:43:56,066 --> 01:43:57,866 you're anticipating six moves ahead 2014 01:43:57,866 --> 01:43:59,400 if you're a good chess player. 2015 01:43:59,400 --> 01:44:02,633 (applause) 2016 01:44:02,633 --> 01:44:05,700 GROUP: ♪ We love you, President ♪ 2017 01:44:05,700 --> 01:44:08,500 ♪ Oh, yes, we do ♪ 2018 01:44:08,500 --> 01:44:13,333 ♪ We love you, President, and we'll be true ♪ 2019 01:44:13,333 --> 01:44:18,500 ♪ When you're not near us, we're blue ♪ 2020 01:44:18,500 --> 01:44:25,833 ♪ Oh, President, we love you. ♪ 2021 01:44:25,833 --> 01:44:28,200 (helicopter engine humming) 2022 01:44:30,466 --> 01:44:33,533 NARRATOR: In the spring of 1972, 2023 01:44:33,533 --> 01:44:37,866 the North Vietnamese suddenly launched a massive offensive. 2024 01:44:37,866 --> 01:44:40,833 South Vietnam's forces were overwhelmed. 2025 01:44:40,833 --> 01:44:42,533 Thousands fled. 2026 01:44:47,833 --> 01:44:52,000 If the offensive were not stopped, the war would be lost, 2027 01:44:52,000 --> 01:44:55,133 and with it, Nixon feared, the presidency. 2028 01:44:58,100 --> 01:45:00,166 But if he ordered a U.S. counterattack, 2029 01:45:00,166 --> 01:45:01,833 the Soviets might cancel 2030 01:45:01,833 --> 01:45:05,133 the upcoming arms control summit in Moscow-- 2031 01:45:05,133 --> 01:45:07,966 a vital part of Nixon's grand design. 2032 01:45:07,966 --> 01:45:11,633 Most of his advisors urged Nixon not to take any action 2033 01:45:11,633 --> 01:45:14,000 that might jeopardize the summit. 2034 01:45:14,000 --> 01:45:17,733 Once again, Nixon overruled them. 2035 01:45:17,733 --> 01:45:20,166 His view was that it would be embarrassing 2036 01:45:20,166 --> 01:45:21,600 for him to go to Moscow 2037 01:45:21,600 --> 01:45:23,566 without responding to North Vietnamese aggression-- 2038 01:45:23,566 --> 01:45:25,100 that he would look weak. 2039 01:45:25,100 --> 01:45:27,033 He's talking to Soviet leaders 2040 01:45:27,033 --> 01:45:29,666 who are providing arms to the North Vietnamese troops 2041 01:45:29,666 --> 01:45:31,666 who are killing American troops. 2042 01:45:31,666 --> 01:45:34,033 So he didn't think the summit was worth it 2043 01:45:34,033 --> 01:45:36,366 unless he could also show that he was strong 2044 01:45:36,366 --> 01:45:37,933 within Vietnam itself. 2045 01:45:39,766 --> 01:45:42,266 NARRATOR: Nixon ordered the most drastic escalation 2046 01:45:42,266 --> 01:45:44,466 of the war since 1968-- 2047 01:45:44,466 --> 01:45:46,566 massive, sustained bombing of Hanoi 2048 01:45:46,566 --> 01:45:49,666 and the mining of Haiphong Harbor, 2049 01:45:49,666 --> 01:45:53,466 risking a full-scale confrontation with the Soviets 2050 01:45:53,466 --> 01:45:56,266 by putting their supply ships in peril. 2051 01:45:56,266 --> 01:46:00,233 After explaining his decision to the American people, 2052 01:46:00,233 --> 01:46:03,166 he made a direct appeal to the Kremlin. 2053 01:46:03,166 --> 01:46:05,100 Our two nations have made significant progress 2054 01:46:05,100 --> 01:46:07,200 in our negotiations in recent months. 2055 01:46:07,200 --> 01:46:10,700 We are near major agreements on nuclear arms limitation, 2056 01:46:10,700 --> 01:46:13,766 on trade, on a host of other issues. 2057 01:46:13,766 --> 01:46:17,700 Let us not slide back toward the dark shadows 2058 01:46:17,700 --> 01:46:20,233 of a previous age. 2059 01:46:20,233 --> 01:46:27,400 We do not ask you to sacrifice your principles or your friends, 2060 01:46:27,400 --> 01:46:31,366 but neither should you permit Hanoi's intransigence 2061 01:46:31,366 --> 01:46:33,100 to blot out the prospects 2062 01:46:33,100 --> 01:46:36,666 we together have so patiently prepared. 2063 01:46:36,666 --> 01:46:43,000 ("The Star-Spangled Banner" playing) 2064 01:46:48,500 --> 01:46:50,966 NARRATOR: Nixon's gamble paid off. 2065 01:46:50,966 --> 01:46:52,833 The Soviets did not cancel the summit. 2066 01:46:52,833 --> 01:46:56,433 On May 22, 1972, 2067 01:46:56,433 --> 01:46:59,100 Richard Nixon became the first American president 2068 01:46:59,100 --> 01:47:01,033 ever to set foot inside the Kremlin. 2069 01:47:08,466 --> 01:47:10,433 Nixon had done what none of his predecessors 2070 01:47:10,433 --> 01:47:11,833 had been able to do. 2071 01:47:11,833 --> 01:47:14,766 He had negotiated a treaty in which the two superpowers 2072 01:47:14,766 --> 01:47:19,300 agreed to slow an arms race that had been accelerating 2073 01:47:19,300 --> 01:47:22,166 for more than a quarter of a century. 2074 01:47:22,166 --> 01:47:25,166 It was his greatest achievement. 2075 01:47:25,166 --> 01:47:29,866 (cheers and applause) 2076 01:47:29,866 --> 01:47:32,366 Two days later, five burglars 2077 01:47:32,366 --> 01:47:34,933 working for the Committee to Reelect Richard Nixon 2078 01:47:34,933 --> 01:47:37,900 entered the Watergate complex in Washington. 2079 01:47:39,833 --> 01:47:41,333 They broke into the office 2080 01:47:41,333 --> 01:47:43,033 of the Democratic National Committee, 2081 01:47:43,033 --> 01:47:46,733 placed bugs on the telephones, and made their escape. 2082 01:47:46,733 --> 01:47:49,300 But the microphones failed to work. 2083 01:47:49,300 --> 01:47:51,333 They would have to go back. 2084 01:47:53,200 --> 01:47:56,233 The president of the United States. 2085 01:47:56,233 --> 01:48:01,566 (applause) 2086 01:48:06,833 --> 01:48:10,233 NARRATOR: Nixon returned from Moscow in triumph. 2087 01:48:10,233 --> 01:48:13,000 He had almost completed the withdrawal 2088 01:48:13,000 --> 01:48:17,233 of American forces from Vietnam, opened the door to China, 2089 01:48:17,233 --> 01:48:20,233 and signed the first nuclear arms limitation treaty 2090 01:48:20,233 --> 01:48:22,466 since the dawn of the atomic age. 2091 01:48:25,233 --> 01:48:28,433 He had often said that all he wanted was a life 2092 01:48:28,433 --> 01:48:31,466 with one more victory than defeat. 2093 01:48:31,466 --> 01:48:35,733 Now that victory-- a second term as president-- 2094 01:48:35,733 --> 01:48:38,166 seemed his for the asking. 2095 01:48:41,800 --> 01:48:44,566 REPORTER: Five men wearing white gloves and carrying cameras 2096 01:48:44,566 --> 01:48:46,466 were caught early today in the headquarters 2097 01:48:46,466 --> 01:48:48,633 of the Democratic National Committee in Washington. 2098 01:48:48,633 --> 01:48:50,300 They apparently were unarmed, 2099 01:48:50,300 --> 01:48:52,766 and nobody knows yet why they were there, 2100 01:48:52,766 --> 01:48:54,066 but I don't think that's the last 2101 01:48:54,066 --> 01:48:55,566 we're going to hear of this story. 2102 01:49:04,900 --> 01:49:08,000 Five men wearing white gloves and carrying cameras 2103 01:49:08,000 --> 01:49:10,000 were caught early today in the headquarters 2104 01:49:10,000 --> 01:49:11,833 of the Democratic National Committee in Washington. 2105 01:49:11,833 --> 01:49:13,466 They were caught by a night watchman 2106 01:49:13,466 --> 01:49:15,533 and they did not resist arrest when the police came. 2107 01:49:15,533 --> 01:49:17,400 They apparently were unarmed, 2108 01:49:17,400 --> 01:49:19,666 and nobody knows yet why they were there. 2109 01:49:19,666 --> 01:49:21,666 The film in the camera hadn't even been exposed. 2110 01:49:21,666 --> 01:49:23,666 In any case, they're being held. 2111 01:49:23,666 --> 01:49:28,700 ♪ ♪ 2112 01:49:32,333 --> 01:49:35,966 NARRATOR: "On Sunday morning, June 18," Richard Nixon later wrote, 2113 01:49:35,966 --> 01:49:37,700 "I left for Key Biscayne. 2114 01:49:37,700 --> 01:49:39,366 "When I got to my house, 2115 01:49:39,366 --> 01:49:42,666 "I could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen, 2116 01:49:42,666 --> 01:49:44,833 "and I went in to get a cup. 2117 01:49:44,833 --> 01:49:47,766 "There was a 'Miami Herald' on the counter, 2118 01:49:47,766 --> 01:49:50,400 "and I glanced over the front page. 2119 01:49:50,400 --> 01:49:54,066 "The main headline was about the Vietnam withdrawals. 2120 01:49:54,066 --> 01:49:56,200 "There was a small story in the middle of the page 2121 01:49:56,200 --> 01:49:58,200 on the left-hand side..." 2122 01:49:58,200 --> 01:50:00,600 ANNOUNCER: The Watergate apartment hotel office complex in Washington 2123 01:50:00,600 --> 01:50:02,400 has a fortress-like appearance, 2124 01:50:02,400 --> 01:50:04,666 but the burglars penetrated that security. 2125 01:50:04,666 --> 01:50:06,666 ANNOUNCER: Four of the men arrested 2126 01:50:06,666 --> 01:50:09,000 were Cuban nationals now living in Miami, 2127 01:50:09,000 --> 01:50:11,733 and the fifth, James McCord, 2128 01:50:11,733 --> 01:50:14,266 was a former FBI and C.I.A. agent 2129 01:50:14,266 --> 01:50:16,366 recently employed as a security aide 2130 01:50:16,366 --> 01:50:17,966 by the Republican National Committee 2131 01:50:17,966 --> 01:50:20,533 and the Committee to Reelect the President. 2132 01:50:20,533 --> 01:50:23,533 Presidential press secretary Ron Zeigler 2133 01:50:23,533 --> 01:50:26,033 today called the incident a "third-rate burglary 2134 01:50:26,033 --> 01:50:28,233 and nothing the president would be concerned with." 2135 01:50:31,033 --> 01:50:34,166 NARRATOR: But the president was concerned. 2136 01:50:34,166 --> 01:50:38,433 On June 23, he met with his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman. 2137 01:50:38,433 --> 01:50:39,466 (audio recording playing) 2138 01:50:39,466 --> 01:50:41,200 HALDEMAN: Now, on the investigation, 2139 01:50:41,200 --> 01:50:43,566 you know the Democratic break-in thing, we're back 2140 01:50:43,566 --> 01:50:48,533 in a problem area because the FBI is not under control. 2141 01:50:49,566 --> 01:50:52,500 NARRATOR: To thwart the FBI investigation, 2142 01:50:52,500 --> 01:50:55,566 Haldeman suggested that the break-in could be made 2143 01:50:55,566 --> 01:50:57,633 to look like a C.I.A. operation. 2144 01:50:59,366 --> 01:51:00,666 HALDEMAN: And that will fit rather well 2145 01:51:00,666 --> 01:51:03,066 because the FBI agents who are working the case, 2146 01:51:03,066 --> 01:51:06,133 at this point, feel that's what it is. 2147 01:51:06,133 --> 01:51:07,933 This is C.I.A. 2148 01:51:09,466 --> 01:51:12,966 NARRATOR: There is no evidence that Nixon had ordered the break-in, 2149 01:51:12,966 --> 01:51:14,966 but his aides had. 2150 01:51:14,966 --> 01:51:18,400 The president approved the plan to divert the FBI. 2151 01:51:19,966 --> 01:51:23,866 NIXON: Just say, "this is sort of a comedy of errors..." 2152 01:51:23,866 --> 01:51:27,466 and that they should call the FBI in and say that we wish 2153 01:51:27,466 --> 01:51:29,900 for the country, don't go any further into this case, period. 2154 01:51:32,466 --> 01:51:36,300 NARRATOR: "I saw Watergate as politics, pure and simple," 2155 01:51:36,300 --> 01:51:38,200 Nixon wrote in his memoirs. 2156 01:51:38,200 --> 01:51:40,633 "We were going to play it tough. 2157 01:51:40,633 --> 01:51:42,900 "I never doubted that was exactly 2158 01:51:42,900 --> 01:51:45,533 how the other side would have played it." 2159 01:51:45,533 --> 01:51:48,533 EHRLICHMAN: Richard Nixon pulled it into the White House. 2160 01:51:48,533 --> 01:51:50,300 He couldn't leave it alone. 2161 01:51:50,300 --> 01:51:52,533 And so within a week after the break-in, 2162 01:51:52,533 --> 01:51:54,033 or maybe two weeks, 2163 01:51:54,033 --> 01:51:55,833 he had personally involved himself 2164 01:51:55,833 --> 01:51:57,533 in the intrigue of the whole thing. 2165 01:51:57,533 --> 01:52:02,766 So Nixon sealed his fate six days after the break-in. 2166 01:52:02,766 --> 01:52:05,800 ♪ ♪ 2167 01:52:10,133 --> 01:52:13,166 CROWD (chanting): Four more years! Four more years! 2168 01:52:13,166 --> 01:52:15,233 Four more years! 2169 01:52:15,233 --> 01:52:17,600 Four more years! 2170 01:52:17,600 --> 01:52:19,533 Four more years! (marching band playing) 2171 01:52:19,533 --> 01:52:22,133 Four more years! 2172 01:52:22,133 --> 01:52:23,366 Four more years! 2173 01:52:25,066 --> 01:52:29,366 (marching band continues) 2174 01:52:29,366 --> 01:52:31,566 Four more years! Four more years! 2175 01:52:36,800 --> 01:52:41,466 (marching band continues) 2176 01:52:41,466 --> 01:52:45,233 NARRATOR: Miami Beach, August 1972. 2177 01:52:45,233 --> 01:52:47,700 Two months after the Watergate break-in, 2178 01:52:47,700 --> 01:52:50,200 a triumphant Richard Nixon took command 2179 01:52:50,200 --> 01:52:53,033 at the Republican National Convention. 2180 01:52:59,333 --> 01:53:01,666 Narrowly elected four years earlier, 2181 01:53:01,666 --> 01:53:04,666 Nixon now wanted to win the biggest landslide 2182 01:53:04,666 --> 01:53:07,433 in presidential history. 2183 01:53:09,233 --> 01:53:11,733 Tonight, I again proudly accept your nomination 2184 01:53:11,733 --> 01:53:14,366 for president of the United States. 2185 01:53:14,366 --> 01:53:16,366 (cheering) 2186 01:53:16,366 --> 01:53:18,533 And let us pledge ourselves 2187 01:53:18,533 --> 01:53:24,166 to win an even greater victory this November, in 1972. 2188 01:53:24,166 --> 01:53:25,766 (cheering) 2189 01:53:25,766 --> 01:53:27,766 SINGERS: ♪ Vote Nixon now ♪ 2190 01:53:27,766 --> 01:53:30,333 ♪ Nixon now ♪ 2191 01:53:30,333 --> 01:53:34,433 ♪ He's made the difference ♪ 2192 01:53:34,433 --> 01:53:36,033 ♪ He's shown us how... ♪ 2193 01:53:36,033 --> 01:53:39,300 NARRATOR: Nixon's campaign amassed huge sums of money. 2194 01:53:39,300 --> 01:53:42,633 Skillful television ads appealed to Democrats, 2195 01:53:42,633 --> 01:53:45,900 blue-collar workers, the South. 2196 01:53:45,900 --> 01:53:50,733 Nixon had always campaigned hard for other Republicans. 2197 01:53:50,733 --> 01:53:54,466 Now he abandoned them, even dropped the party label. 2198 01:53:54,466 --> 01:53:56,500 Richard Nixon campaigned as "the president." 2199 01:53:59,500 --> 01:54:00,566 You're great! 2200 01:54:00,566 --> 01:54:01,500 Thank you! 2201 01:54:01,500 --> 01:54:02,633 You're great. 2202 01:54:02,633 --> 01:54:06,566 NARRATOR: As the president pursued victory, 2203 01:54:06,566 --> 01:54:10,433 the White House continued to deny involvement in Watergate. 2204 01:54:10,433 --> 01:54:12,633 A few reporters followed the story, 2205 01:54:12,633 --> 01:54:15,300 but most voters dismissed the break-in 2206 01:54:15,300 --> 01:54:17,266 as a "campaign caper." 2207 01:54:17,266 --> 01:54:20,633 Watergate never threatened Nixon's big win. 2208 01:54:20,633 --> 01:54:26,233 (band playing, crowd cheering) 2209 01:54:30,966 --> 01:54:36,000 Nixon overwhelmed his Democratic rival, Senator George McGovern. 2210 01:54:36,000 --> 01:54:39,433 He carried every state but Massachusetts. 2211 01:54:41,600 --> 01:54:44,133 But his victory was not complete. 2212 01:54:44,133 --> 01:54:47,300 The Democratic opposition retained control 2213 01:54:47,300 --> 01:54:49,866 of both the House and the Senate. 2214 01:54:49,866 --> 01:54:53,200 DAVID BRODER: It turned out to be a lonely landslide. 2215 01:54:53,200 --> 01:54:56,533 He monopolized all of the resources, all of the money, 2216 01:54:56,533 --> 01:55:00,000 all of the political talent in the Republican Party 2217 01:55:00,000 --> 01:55:02,533 and anything else that he could annex 2218 01:55:02,533 --> 01:55:04,433 for his own personal victory 2219 01:55:04,433 --> 01:55:08,700 and didn't share the wealth and the opportunity with his party. 2220 01:55:08,700 --> 01:55:12,366 It was an extraordinarily selfish victory, in my view. 2221 01:55:12,366 --> 01:55:15,333 ANNOUNCER: We are showing President Nixon at this hour... 2222 01:55:15,333 --> 01:55:17,166 NARRATOR: On election night, 2223 01:55:17,166 --> 01:55:20,066 Nixon watched the returns with two of his closest aides: 2224 01:55:20,066 --> 01:55:23,133 chief of staff H.R. Haldeman 2225 01:55:23,133 --> 01:55:25,433 and special counsel Chuck Colson. 2226 01:55:25,433 --> 01:55:28,766 COLSON: And I couldn't feel any sense of jubilation. 2227 01:55:28,766 --> 01:55:31,900 It was just sort of a very depressed atmosphere 2228 01:55:31,900 --> 01:55:33,233 in the room. 2229 01:55:33,233 --> 01:55:34,700 And here we were supposedly winning, 2230 01:55:34,700 --> 01:55:36,433 and it was more like we'd lost. 2231 01:55:36,433 --> 01:55:38,800 And it was more... the attitude was kind of, 2232 01:55:38,800 --> 01:55:40,066 "Well, we showed them. 2233 01:55:40,066 --> 01:55:43,366 We got even with our enemies and we beat them," 2234 01:55:43,366 --> 01:55:45,733 instead of, "We've been given a wonderful mandate 2235 01:55:45,733 --> 01:55:48,166 to rule over the next four years." 2236 01:55:48,166 --> 01:55:51,566 We were reduced to our petty worst 2237 01:55:51,566 --> 01:55:53,966 on the night of what should have been our greatest triumph, 2238 01:55:53,966 --> 01:55:57,766 and that's indicative of kind of the paradox of the Nixon years. 2239 01:55:57,766 --> 01:55:59,766 ♪ ♪ 2240 01:55:59,766 --> 01:56:03,266 NARRATOR: "I'm at a loss to explain the melancholy 2241 01:56:03,266 --> 01:56:05,800 that settled over me on that victorious night," 2242 01:56:05,800 --> 01:56:07,400 Nixon later wrote. 2243 01:56:07,400 --> 01:56:10,733 "To some extent, the marring effects of Watergate 2244 01:56:10,733 --> 01:56:12,366 "may have played a part. 2245 01:56:12,366 --> 01:56:15,366 "To some extent our failure to win Congress, 2246 01:56:15,366 --> 01:56:17,100 "and to a greater extent 2247 01:56:17,100 --> 01:56:21,466 "the fact that we had not been able to end the war in Vietnam. 2248 01:56:21,466 --> 01:56:23,233 "Whatever the reasons, 2249 01:56:23,233 --> 01:56:26,300 "I allowed myself only a few minutes to reflect on the past. 2250 01:56:26,300 --> 01:56:29,333 I was confident that a new era was about to begin." 2251 01:56:32,666 --> 01:56:35,066 (birds twittering) 2252 01:56:35,066 --> 01:56:36,933 EHRLICHMAN: The next morning after the election, 2253 01:56:36,933 --> 01:56:38,566 Nixon came in the cabinet room. 2254 01:56:38,566 --> 01:56:40,433 The cabinet, some of the White House staff were there. 2255 01:56:40,433 --> 01:56:42,000 Everybody stood and applauded. 2256 01:56:42,000 --> 01:56:46,400 And he sat down and immediately wanted to get down to work. 2257 01:56:46,400 --> 01:56:47,933 And work was, "By golly, 2258 01:56:47,933 --> 01:56:50,166 "we're going to change this government, 2259 01:56:50,166 --> 01:56:53,033 "and everybody's going to give me his resignation. 2260 01:56:53,033 --> 01:56:55,466 "Bob Haldeman here will tell you what I have in mind 2261 01:56:55,466 --> 01:56:56,933 "where that's concerned. 2262 01:56:56,933 --> 01:56:58,633 "I thank you all for your support. 2263 01:56:58,633 --> 01:57:00,433 You did a wonderful job, I appreciate it," 2264 01:57:00,433 --> 01:57:02,033 and he got up and left. 2265 01:57:02,033 --> 01:57:03,900 And then Haldeman got up and said, 2266 01:57:03,900 --> 01:57:06,666 "The president wants everybody's resignation." 2267 01:57:06,666 --> 01:57:09,400 And this hit like a cold slap in the face. 2268 01:57:09,400 --> 01:57:12,000 It wasn't intended that way. 2269 01:57:12,000 --> 01:57:16,133 What he wanted to do was to give his second... 2270 01:57:16,133 --> 01:57:19,766 have his second administration start fresh-- 2271 01:57:19,766 --> 01:57:21,400 a fresh beginning. 2272 01:57:23,200 --> 01:57:25,366 NARRATOR: Nixon left Washington, 2273 01:57:25,366 --> 01:57:28,466 and for the next two months, remained in virtual isolation. 2274 01:57:31,066 --> 01:57:33,166 NIXON: One constantly has the problem 2275 01:57:33,166 --> 01:57:35,466 of either getting on top of the job 2276 01:57:35,466 --> 01:57:39,900 or having the job get on top of you. 2277 01:57:39,900 --> 01:57:43,766 I find that up here on top of a mountain, 2278 01:57:43,766 --> 01:57:47,433 it is easier for me to get on top of the job. 2279 01:57:47,433 --> 01:57:50,000 BRODER: This was a period that is so Nixonian. 2280 01:57:50,000 --> 01:57:52,433 I mean, you could just focus on that 2281 01:57:52,433 --> 01:57:55,266 and say, "This is the essence of the man." 2282 01:57:55,266 --> 01:57:58,433 Instead of savoring the victory, 2283 01:57:58,433 --> 01:58:02,566 instead of reaching out and embracing people, 2284 01:58:02,566 --> 01:58:07,266 he withdrew within himself. 2285 01:58:09,400 --> 01:58:10,900 NARRATOR: Alone on his mountaintop, 2286 01:58:10,900 --> 01:58:15,733 Nixon brooded over the issue that had haunted his first term 2287 01:58:15,733 --> 01:58:19,000 and now threatened his second: the war in Vietnam. 2288 01:58:19,000 --> 01:58:22,500 The Paris peace talks were again stalled. 2289 01:58:22,500 --> 01:58:25,600 Reelected by an overwhelming margin, 2290 01:58:25,600 --> 01:58:28,366 he now resolved to use overwhelming force 2291 01:58:28,366 --> 01:58:31,000 to break the deadlock once and for all. 2292 01:58:31,000 --> 01:58:34,600 In December, Nixon ordered the most intensive bombing 2293 01:58:34,600 --> 01:58:36,333 of the entire war. 2294 01:58:38,333 --> 01:58:41,466 It became known as "The Christmas Bombing." 2295 01:58:46,733 --> 01:58:48,600 The raids went on for 12 days. 2296 01:58:48,600 --> 01:58:53,066 Ignoring the pleas of his closest aides, 2297 01:58:53,066 --> 01:58:56,700 Nixon gave no public explanation for his action. 2298 01:58:56,700 --> 01:59:00,200 PRICE: He thought it was diplomatically vital 2299 01:59:00,200 --> 01:59:04,033 that he make this look as cold an operation as possible, 2300 01:59:04,033 --> 01:59:06,233 and so he would not explain it. 2301 01:59:06,233 --> 01:59:08,633 He held himself apart 2302 01:59:08,633 --> 01:59:10,766 up on the mountaintop in Camp David 2303 01:59:10,766 --> 01:59:14,533 knowing his silence would make it more effective. 2304 01:59:14,533 --> 01:59:17,466 NARRATOR: The "New York Times" denounced 2305 01:59:17,466 --> 01:59:20,233 what it called Nixon's "Stone-age barbarism." 2306 01:59:20,233 --> 01:59:23,733 The massive, unexplained destruction 2307 01:59:23,733 --> 01:59:26,366 alarmed even his loyal supporters. 2308 01:59:26,366 --> 01:59:29,066 INTERVIEWER: You were quoted recently as saying that 2309 01:59:29,066 --> 01:59:31,966 the president had taken leave of his senses. 2310 01:59:31,966 --> 01:59:34,833 I feel that he's done things here 2311 01:59:34,833 --> 01:59:38,400 that a reasonable man would not have done. 2312 01:59:38,400 --> 01:59:41,866 And I can't find an explanation for it. 2313 01:59:42,966 --> 01:59:45,000 NARRATOR: The bombing stopped. 2314 01:59:45,000 --> 01:59:46,733 The controversy subsided. 2315 01:59:46,733 --> 01:59:50,366 And shortly thereafter, all sides returned to Paris. 2316 01:59:50,366 --> 01:59:52,933 Nixon believed the Christmas bombing 2317 01:59:52,933 --> 01:59:56,233 had driven Hanoi back to the bargaining table. 2318 01:59:56,233 --> 01:59:59,333 Two weeks later, in a quiet ceremony, 2319 01:59:59,333 --> 02:00:00,666 they signed an agreement. 2320 02:00:00,666 --> 02:00:02,266 Nixon's critics charged 2321 02:00:02,266 --> 02:00:04,766 he could have had the same terms months before. 2322 02:00:06,466 --> 02:00:09,966 But after 20 years of American involvement, 2323 02:00:09,966 --> 02:00:13,133 the loss of over 50,000 American lives, 2324 02:00:13,133 --> 02:00:16,733 the conflict that had torn apart the nation 2325 02:00:16,733 --> 02:00:19,233 at long last came to a close. 2326 02:00:19,233 --> 02:00:21,733 NIXON: A cease-fire will begin 2327 02:00:21,733 --> 02:00:26,066 at 7:00 P.M. this Saturday, January 27, Washington time. 2328 02:00:26,066 --> 02:00:28,566 Within 60 days from this Saturday, 2329 02:00:28,566 --> 02:00:32,900 all Americans held prisoners of war throughout Indochina 2330 02:00:32,900 --> 02:00:34,866 will be released. 2331 02:00:34,866 --> 02:00:37,166 During the same 60-day period, 2332 02:00:37,166 --> 02:00:41,633 all American forces will be withdrawn from South Vietnam. 2333 02:00:41,633 --> 02:00:47,033 (cheers and applause) 2334 02:00:51,266 --> 02:00:54,733 NARRATOR: In Vietnam, the fighting later resumed, 2335 02:00:54,733 --> 02:00:57,833 but in America, the weary troops and the prisoners of war 2336 02:00:57,833 --> 02:01:01,000 were finally coming home. 2337 02:01:04,500 --> 02:01:07,400 (onlookers cheering) 2338 02:01:07,400 --> 02:01:11,433 MAN: I have three words for America: 2339 02:01:12,900 --> 02:01:14,466 God bless America. 2340 02:01:14,466 --> 02:01:17,566 (cheers and applause) 2341 02:01:17,566 --> 02:01:21,366 NARRATOR: H.R. Haldeman recalled that the day the war ended, 2342 02:01:21,366 --> 02:01:23,500 Richard Nixon had never looked so happy. 2343 02:01:23,500 --> 02:01:25,066 His popularity soared 2344 02:01:25,066 --> 02:01:27,433 to the highest point of his entire career. 2345 02:01:27,433 --> 02:01:32,333 Almost 70% of the American people supported the president. 2346 02:01:32,333 --> 02:01:35,333 It was not to last. 2347 02:01:44,666 --> 02:01:49,833 (police siren blaring) 2348 02:01:56,566 --> 02:02:00,433 NARRATOR: One month before the Watergate burglars went on trial, 2349 02:02:00,433 --> 02:02:02,633 a 737 crashed in Chicago. 2350 02:02:05,266 --> 02:02:08,366 Among the dead was Dorothy Hunt, 2351 02:02:08,366 --> 02:02:12,100 wife of Watergate burglar Howard Hunt. 2352 02:02:12,100 --> 02:02:14,866 Her purse, found in the wreckage, 2353 02:02:14,866 --> 02:02:17,400 contained $10,000 in cash. 2354 02:02:17,400 --> 02:02:22,600 Later, it would be revealed that Mrs. Hunt had acted as a courier 2355 02:02:22,600 --> 02:02:26,966 delivering money drawn from secret White House funds-- 2356 02:02:26,966 --> 02:02:30,666 hush money used to buy the burglars' silence. 2357 02:02:32,533 --> 02:02:34,966 From the moment they were caught, 2358 02:02:34,966 --> 02:02:39,366 the burglars lied to conceal their ties to the White House. 2359 02:02:39,366 --> 02:02:41,066 Questioned by the FBI, 2360 02:02:41,066 --> 02:02:43,700 G. Gordon Liddy, who'd planned the burglary, 2361 02:02:43,700 --> 02:02:46,100 and James McCord, former C.I.A. agent 2362 02:02:46,100 --> 02:02:47,733 who had helped to carry it out, 2363 02:02:47,733 --> 02:02:49,966 insisted they had acted on their own. 2364 02:02:49,966 --> 02:02:53,033 So did the president's men. 2365 02:02:53,033 --> 02:02:55,266 Nixon's campaign manager 2366 02:02:55,266 --> 02:02:57,933 and former attorney general John Mitchell, 2367 02:02:57,933 --> 02:03:02,400 who had approved the break-in, denied responsibility. 2368 02:03:02,400 --> 02:03:05,800 The president's chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, 2369 02:03:05,800 --> 02:03:10,433 authorized hush money payments totaling more than $350,000. 2370 02:03:10,433 --> 02:03:13,733 The president's domestic advisor, John Ehrlichman, 2371 02:03:13,733 --> 02:03:17,900 lied to the FBI and grand jury investigating the break-in. 2372 02:03:17,900 --> 02:03:21,466 The president's counsel, John Dean, withheld evidence, 2373 02:03:21,466 --> 02:03:25,600 coached witnesses, and monitored the FBI investigation. 2374 02:03:27,400 --> 02:03:29,600 The cover-up was holding, 2375 02:03:29,600 --> 02:03:33,000 but by early '73, it was consuming the time and attention 2376 02:03:33,000 --> 02:03:36,566 of Nixon's closest aides: Haldeman and Ehrlichman. 2377 02:03:39,566 --> 02:03:43,000 By February, John Dean had assumed more responsibility 2378 02:03:43,000 --> 02:03:44,733 for managing the cover-up. 2379 02:03:44,733 --> 02:03:48,366 He began to meet frequently with the president. 2380 02:03:48,366 --> 02:03:50,566 When I first started dealing with the president, 2381 02:03:50,566 --> 02:03:51,966 my first concern was 2382 02:03:51,966 --> 02:03:53,700 whether I should even be dealing with him on this, 2383 02:03:53,700 --> 02:03:56,600 because I felt that not only had I been compromised, 2384 02:03:56,600 --> 02:03:59,100 I thought Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, all of us had, 2385 02:03:59,100 --> 02:04:01,566 because by now, I didn't have to be a criminal lawyer-- 2386 02:04:01,566 --> 02:04:03,700 I knew we were in the midst of something bad. 2387 02:04:03,700 --> 02:04:06,700 I mean, this is a cover-up, there is no doubt in my mind. 2388 02:04:06,700 --> 02:04:09,066 NARRATOR: Nixon noted in his diary, 2389 02:04:09,066 --> 02:04:11,866 "I'm glad that I am talking to Dean now 2390 02:04:11,866 --> 02:04:15,400 "rather than going through Haldeman or Ehrlichman. 2391 02:04:15,400 --> 02:04:18,100 "I think I've made a mistake in going through others 2392 02:04:18,100 --> 02:04:20,433 "when there is a man with the capability of Dean 2393 02:04:20,433 --> 02:04:22,133 I can talk to directly." 2394 02:04:24,466 --> 02:04:26,800 Both Nixon and Dean sensed growing danger 2395 02:04:26,800 --> 02:04:28,466 from Capitol Hill. 2396 02:04:28,466 --> 02:04:30,666 The Senate, under Democratic leadership, 2397 02:04:30,666 --> 02:04:32,866 was forming a special Watergate committee 2398 02:04:32,866 --> 02:04:34,833 to investigate the break-in 2399 02:04:34,833 --> 02:04:38,933 and the conduct of Nixon's reelection campaign. 2400 02:04:38,933 --> 02:04:41,866 But the most immediate threat 2401 02:04:41,866 --> 02:04:44,800 came from Watergate burglar Howard Hunt. 2402 02:04:44,800 --> 02:04:47,933 Despairing over the death of his wife, 2403 02:04:47,933 --> 02:04:51,100 concerned over the fate of his children, 2404 02:04:51,100 --> 02:04:54,333 he now demanded $120,000, 2405 02:04:54,333 --> 02:04:55,866 or he would reveal, he said, 2406 02:04:55,866 --> 02:05:00,933 the "seamy things" he had done for the Nixon White House. 2407 02:05:00,933 --> 02:05:02,600 This was the first time one of these threats 2408 02:05:02,600 --> 02:05:04,000 had ever been brought directly to me, 2409 02:05:04,000 --> 02:05:06,200 and I didn't like being in that role 2410 02:05:06,200 --> 02:05:07,933 because I had never... 2411 02:05:07,933 --> 02:05:09,866 I knew about the money out there, 2412 02:05:09,866 --> 02:05:12,733 but I had never been a conveyor of messages back and forth, 2413 02:05:12,733 --> 02:05:14,566 and now suddenly I'm just right in the middle 2414 02:05:14,566 --> 02:05:16,333 of another ugly side of this. 2415 02:05:16,333 --> 02:05:21,533 NARRATOR: Hunt's demand was a turning point for John Dean. 2416 02:05:21,533 --> 02:05:25,200 The White House could no longer control the cover-up. 2417 02:05:25,200 --> 02:05:28,933 On March 21, a worried Dean tried to persuade Nixon 2418 02:05:28,933 --> 02:05:30,800 to end the conspiracy. 2419 02:05:30,800 --> 02:05:34,700 He described the cover-up as a cancer on the presidency 2420 02:05:34,700 --> 02:05:37,900 and warned that Haldeman, Ehrlichman, 2421 02:05:37,900 --> 02:05:41,133 and Dean himself had broken the law. 2422 02:05:41,133 --> 02:05:42,866 And he just... the president started knocking down 2423 02:05:42,866 --> 02:05:44,866 every one of these horribles I kept raising. 2424 02:05:44,866 --> 02:05:46,600 Finally, I got around to saying, "Well, you know, 2425 02:05:46,600 --> 02:05:51,500 "these guys want a lot more money to remain quiet, 2426 02:05:51,500 --> 02:05:54,366 and there's just, you know, no telling how much they want." 2427 02:05:54,366 --> 02:05:56,066 He said, "Well, how much could they want?" 2428 02:05:56,066 --> 02:05:57,566 And I pulled out of thin air 2429 02:05:57,566 --> 02:05:59,266 what I thought was a pretty astronomical number. 2430 02:05:59,266 --> 02:06:01,566 I said, "Well, it could cost a million dollars." 2431 02:06:01,566 --> 02:06:03,500 He looked at me and he said, 2432 02:06:03,500 --> 02:06:06,800 "John, I know where we can get a million dollars." 2433 02:06:08,066 --> 02:06:10,333 NARRATOR: Nixon approved more hush money. 2434 02:06:10,333 --> 02:06:12,733 He let the cover-up continue. 2435 02:06:12,733 --> 02:06:17,266 Two days later, the cover-up blew wide open. 2436 02:06:17,266 --> 02:06:18,633 Good evening. 2437 02:06:18,633 --> 02:06:20,000 There was a major break in the Watergate trial today 2438 02:06:20,000 --> 02:06:21,500 on this day of sentencing. 2439 02:06:21,500 --> 02:06:23,133 One of the defendants, James McCord, 2440 02:06:23,133 --> 02:06:26,300 promised to reveal hidden details 2441 02:06:26,300 --> 02:06:28,466 about the bugging of the Democratic headquarters. 2442 02:06:28,466 --> 02:06:31,666 NARRATOR: In a letter to the judge presiding at the trial, 2443 02:06:31,666 --> 02:06:34,700 James McCord admitted that the Watergate burglars 2444 02:06:34,700 --> 02:06:37,333 had not acted on their own. 2445 02:06:37,333 --> 02:06:40,500 His testimony implicated the White House 2446 02:06:40,500 --> 02:06:44,066 and galvanized the national press. 2447 02:06:46,866 --> 02:06:49,300 Even before McCord's letter, 2448 02:06:49,300 --> 02:06:52,333 Nixon had ordered John Dean to write a report 2449 02:06:52,333 --> 02:06:55,233 that would exonerate the White House of wrongdoing. 2450 02:06:55,233 --> 02:06:57,433 EHRLICHMAN: The president asked him 2451 02:06:57,433 --> 02:07:01,866 to reduce his understanding of the whole problem to writing. 2452 02:07:01,866 --> 02:07:06,566 He asked him to do that four or five times 2453 02:07:06,566 --> 02:07:08,066 and nothing happened. 2454 02:07:08,066 --> 02:07:11,033 And finally, the president sent John Dean to Camp David 2455 02:07:11,033 --> 02:07:15,100 in the middle of March to sit down, do nothing, 2456 02:07:15,100 --> 02:07:17,266 but write a report for the president 2457 02:07:17,266 --> 02:07:19,466 on what this Watergate business was all about-- 2458 02:07:19,466 --> 02:07:21,833 who was involved, who was at fault, all of that. 2459 02:07:21,833 --> 02:07:24,966 While Dean was up there, he had an epiphany, 2460 02:07:24,966 --> 02:07:28,866 which was that he was in deep trouble, or so he says. 2461 02:07:28,866 --> 02:07:31,633 Well, it was much clearer after the fact, 2462 02:07:31,633 --> 02:07:34,366 but I suspected at the time I was being set up, 2463 02:07:34,366 --> 02:07:38,233 and the whole plan was to give the president this report 2464 02:07:38,233 --> 02:07:42,500 so he could say, "This is all I've ever known 2465 02:07:42,500 --> 02:07:45,100 and my counsel lied to me, clearly." 2466 02:07:45,100 --> 02:07:48,166 And I just wasn't going to be part of that. 2467 02:07:48,166 --> 02:07:50,900 NARRATOR: The cover-up was disintegrating, 2468 02:07:50,900 --> 02:07:54,666 and Dean feared that he might become Nixon's scapegoat. 2469 02:07:54,666 --> 02:07:57,133 In early April, he telephoned Haldeman 2470 02:07:57,133 --> 02:07:59,933 to say that he was talking with the prosecutors. 2471 02:07:59,933 --> 02:08:04,300 Haldeman cautioned him, "I think you ought to think about it 2472 02:08:04,300 --> 02:08:07,633 "because once the toothpaste is out of the tube, 2473 02:08:07,633 --> 02:08:09,766 it's hard to get it back in." 2474 02:08:09,766 --> 02:08:14,300 "If Dean is totally out of control," Ehrlichman told Nixon, 2475 02:08:14,300 --> 02:08:18,066 "you could get an article of impeachment." 2476 02:08:18,066 --> 02:08:22,766 Haldeman later remembered that Nixon looked stunned. 2477 02:08:22,766 --> 02:08:25,433 In private, the president continued 2478 02:08:25,433 --> 02:08:27,366 to search for a scapegoat 2479 02:08:27,366 --> 02:08:30,300 and struggled to salvage the cover-up. 2480 02:08:30,300 --> 02:08:35,066 In public, he acted as if he were upholding the law. 2481 02:08:35,066 --> 02:08:36,733 I can report today 2482 02:08:36,733 --> 02:08:40,500 that there have been major developments in the case, 2483 02:08:40,500 --> 02:08:45,066 concerning which it would be improper to be more specific now 2484 02:08:45,066 --> 02:08:48,500 except to say that real progress has been made 2485 02:08:48,500 --> 02:08:50,466 in finding the truth. 2486 02:08:51,666 --> 02:08:55,933 I condemn any attempts to cover up in this case 2487 02:08:55,933 --> 02:08:59,233 no matter who is involved. 2488 02:08:59,233 --> 02:09:00,500 Thank you. 2489 02:09:03,233 --> 02:09:06,200 NARRATOR: Events were spinning out of Nixon's control. 2490 02:09:06,200 --> 02:09:09,333 John Dean, bargaining for immunity 2491 02:09:09,333 --> 02:09:11,966 with Watergate prosecutor Earl Silbert, 2492 02:09:11,966 --> 02:09:13,933 made a stunning revelation. 2493 02:09:13,933 --> 02:09:16,533 Dean's lawyer said, "Dean has one more thing to tell you 2494 02:09:16,533 --> 02:09:18,333 that you might want to know about." 2495 02:09:18,333 --> 02:09:20,566 And Dean at that point said-- 2496 02:09:20,566 --> 02:09:23,266 we're standing in the hallway and Dean is in the office-- 2497 02:09:23,266 --> 02:09:28,200 he said, in substance, that Liddy and Hunt 2498 02:09:28,200 --> 02:09:31,066 were involved in a break-in 2499 02:09:31,066 --> 02:09:34,633 into the office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist, 2500 02:09:34,633 --> 02:09:36,533 Dan Ellsberg's psychiatrist. 2501 02:09:36,533 --> 02:09:37,800 That was... 2502 02:09:37,800 --> 02:09:40,600 I know my jaw must have fallen down to the floor. 2503 02:09:40,600 --> 02:09:44,933 That was a bombshell of information. 2504 02:09:44,933 --> 02:09:49,733 NARRATOR: For two years, the burglary of Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office 2505 02:09:49,733 --> 02:09:52,366 had remained one of the most closely guarded secrets 2506 02:09:52,366 --> 02:09:54,366 of the Nixon White House. 2507 02:09:54,366 --> 02:09:57,833 Now Dean's revelation suggested that the Watergate break-in 2508 02:09:57,833 --> 02:10:00,400 was not an isolated event. 2509 02:10:00,400 --> 02:10:03,500 It was part of a web of illegal activities 2510 02:10:03,500 --> 02:10:05,533 ordered by the president's men. 2511 02:10:08,400 --> 02:10:10,433 Vacationing in Key Biscayne, 2512 02:10:10,433 --> 02:10:13,833 Nixon knew Dean had talked to the prosecutors. 2513 02:10:13,833 --> 02:10:17,233 But he still hoped to appeal to Dean's loyalty 2514 02:10:17,233 --> 02:10:19,566 not to reveal any more. 2515 02:10:19,566 --> 02:10:22,300 On Easter Sunday, Nixon called Dean. 2516 02:10:22,300 --> 02:10:24,500 CROWD: Happy Easter! 2517 02:10:24,500 --> 02:10:26,566 And he said he'd been out with the family 2518 02:10:26,566 --> 02:10:28,633 to Easter Sunday or what have you 2519 02:10:28,633 --> 02:10:30,300 and he said, "I want you to know, John, 2520 02:10:30,300 --> 02:10:31,966 you're still my counsel." 2521 02:10:31,966 --> 02:10:35,233 And I thought to myself, "BS," you know? 2522 02:10:35,233 --> 02:10:37,800 "I'm about as close to being his counsel now 2523 02:10:37,800 --> 02:10:39,866 as the man in the moon." 2524 02:10:39,866 --> 02:10:41,933 And it was just he just was keeping 2525 02:10:41,933 --> 02:10:44,500 little feelers out there. 2526 02:10:44,500 --> 02:10:49,000 And, but I made it pretty clear to all of the... 2527 02:10:49,000 --> 02:10:51,033 the word I was putting back to everybody: 2528 02:10:51,033 --> 02:10:52,933 I wasn't making any deals. 2529 02:10:52,933 --> 02:10:54,566 I wasn't interested in any deals. 2530 02:10:54,566 --> 02:10:58,700 I think Nixon hoped that he could make a bargain with Dean 2531 02:10:58,700 --> 02:11:02,800 and say, in effect, "You have to protect your president." 2532 02:11:02,800 --> 02:11:06,300 But the much stronger voice that Dean was hearing 2533 02:11:06,300 --> 02:11:08,100 was the prosecutor saying, 2534 02:11:08,100 --> 02:11:10,866 "Boy, I'm going to nail you to the wall 2535 02:11:10,866 --> 02:11:13,233 unless you give me all the dirt." 2536 02:11:13,233 --> 02:11:15,900 ♪ ♪ 2537 02:11:15,900 --> 02:11:19,633 NARRATOR: As Dean and other aides scrambled for immunity, 2538 02:11:19,633 --> 02:11:22,000 rumors swirled about the White House, 2539 02:11:22,000 --> 02:11:24,533 coming ever closer to the Oval Office. 2540 02:11:24,533 --> 02:11:28,566 In April, accusations against Haldeman and Ehrlichman 2541 02:11:28,566 --> 02:11:30,466 dominated the headlines. 2542 02:11:30,466 --> 02:11:33,800 The two men had protected the president, 2543 02:11:33,800 --> 02:11:37,200 guarded his privacy, shared his ambitions. 2544 02:11:37,200 --> 02:11:42,833 But now, Nixon would sacrifice his closest aides. 2545 02:11:42,833 --> 02:11:48,266 The last Sunday in April, he summoned them to Camp David. 2546 02:11:48,266 --> 02:11:50,700 The first thing he said to me was, 2547 02:11:50,700 --> 02:11:53,000 "When I went to sleep last night, 2548 02:11:53,000 --> 02:11:55,800 I prayed that I would not wake up this morning." 2549 02:11:57,833 --> 02:12:03,533 And he began to really cry. 2550 02:12:03,533 --> 02:12:06,533 He began to really cry, and I didn't know what to do. 2551 02:12:06,533 --> 02:12:11,333 I had just never seen him out of control this way. 2552 02:12:11,333 --> 02:12:14,833 He finally said, basically-- 2553 02:12:14,833 --> 02:12:18,066 the words have gone, I've forgotten. 2554 02:12:18,066 --> 02:12:20,366 I went back and made very careful notes 2555 02:12:20,366 --> 02:12:23,000 so that somewhere I have notes of this conversation, 2556 02:12:23,000 --> 02:12:27,933 but the gist of it was that the accusations were so serious 2557 02:12:27,933 --> 02:12:30,166 that he couldn't keep us on. 2558 02:12:30,166 --> 02:12:33,533 He thought maybe we could stay on, Bob and I, 2559 02:12:33,533 --> 02:12:36,600 on a leave of absence or some such form. 2560 02:12:36,600 --> 02:12:39,866 But he saw that he had to cut it off, 2561 02:12:39,866 --> 02:12:42,966 that he was going to fire Dean at the same time, 2562 02:12:42,966 --> 02:12:44,866 he was going to fire the attorney general 2563 02:12:44,866 --> 02:12:46,033 at the same time. 2564 02:12:46,033 --> 02:12:48,400 At some point, he asked me 2565 02:12:48,400 --> 02:12:51,766 if there was anything that he could do for me. 2566 02:12:51,766 --> 02:12:56,000 I said, "Yeah, I'd like you to explain this all to my kids 2567 02:12:56,000 --> 02:12:58,500 "because I'm having trouble explaining to them 2568 02:12:58,500 --> 02:13:01,433 why you would do this." 2569 02:13:01,433 --> 02:13:05,733 And... he didn't respond to that. 2570 02:13:05,733 --> 02:13:08,233 So we ended up in a hug. 2571 02:13:08,233 --> 02:13:10,233 We hugged each other, 2572 02:13:10,233 --> 02:13:14,066 and I could see that he had said everything that he could 2573 02:13:14,066 --> 02:13:16,433 and that was the end of it. 2574 02:13:19,933 --> 02:13:25,466 ♪ ♪ 2575 02:13:25,466 --> 02:13:28,700 (indistinct chatter) 2576 02:13:28,700 --> 02:13:31,900 NARRATOR: In May, the President and Mrs. Nixon 2577 02:13:31,900 --> 02:13:35,533 welcomed the returning P.O.W.s to the White House. 2578 02:13:35,533 --> 02:13:38,966 NIXON: It is always the custom at a dinner at the White House 2579 02:13:38,966 --> 02:13:41,600 to have a toast to the honored guest. 2580 02:13:41,600 --> 02:13:44,133 The difficulty tonight is that there are so many honored guests 2581 02:13:44,133 --> 02:13:47,333 that we would be drinking all night and into the day. 2582 02:13:47,333 --> 02:13:50,266 Somebody just said, "What's wrong with that?" 2583 02:13:50,266 --> 02:13:51,766 (laughter) 2584 02:13:51,766 --> 02:13:55,033 NARRATOR: New Watergate charges were erupting daily, 2585 02:13:55,033 --> 02:13:58,966 but the P.O.W.s remained loyal to their commander-in-chief. 2586 02:13:58,966 --> 02:14:02,433 And, sir, I would like to state for all of us 2587 02:14:02,433 --> 02:14:06,233 that we never lost faith in your integrity or your courage, 2588 02:14:06,233 --> 02:14:09,900 and we are proud to be citizens of the United States. 2589 02:14:09,900 --> 02:14:12,400 (applause) 2590 02:14:12,400 --> 02:14:14,566 NARRATOR: But the public's faith in the president 2591 02:14:14,566 --> 02:14:16,566 would soon be severely tested. 2592 02:14:16,566 --> 02:14:19,433 The Senate Watergate committee began hearings 2593 02:14:19,433 --> 02:14:20,800 that would keep the nation spellbound 2594 02:14:20,800 --> 02:14:22,433 throughout the summer. 2595 02:14:22,433 --> 02:14:27,366 ANNOUNCER: The historic caucus room was jammed today with cameras, 2596 02:14:27,366 --> 02:14:30,600 newsmen, 200 seated spectators and more standing. 2597 02:14:30,600 --> 02:14:32,700 This room has been the scene... 2598 02:14:32,700 --> 02:14:35,400 NARRATOR: One of the largest audiences in television history 2599 02:14:35,400 --> 02:14:36,566 watched on May 17 2600 02:14:36,566 --> 02:14:38,600 as Senator Sam Ervin opened the investigation 2601 02:14:38,600 --> 02:14:44,066 of Nixon's reelection campaign and the Watergate break-in. 2602 02:14:44,066 --> 02:14:48,033 The committee will come to order. 2603 02:14:48,033 --> 02:14:51,233 NARRATOR: Even the president's staff watched 2604 02:14:51,233 --> 02:14:55,333 as a parade of witnesses implicated Haldeman, Ehrlichman, 2605 02:14:55,333 --> 02:14:58,000 and others high in the administration 2606 02:14:58,000 --> 02:14:59,733 and the Nixon campaign. 2607 02:14:59,733 --> 02:15:02,200 But in the first month of testimony, 2608 02:15:02,200 --> 02:15:06,466 the president himself escaped direct charges of wrongdoing. 2609 02:15:06,466 --> 02:15:10,133 Then the committee summoned its star witness: 2610 02:15:10,133 --> 02:15:13,766 John Dean. 2611 02:15:13,766 --> 02:15:15,533 In a seven-hour opening statement, 2612 02:15:15,533 --> 02:15:18,700 Dean described the atmosphere of the Nixon White House. 2613 02:15:18,700 --> 02:15:20,700 DEAN: The Watergate matter 2614 02:15:20,700 --> 02:15:25,166 was an inevitable outgrowth of a climate of excessive concern 2615 02:15:25,166 --> 02:15:28,033 over the political impact of demonstrators, 2616 02:15:28,033 --> 02:15:31,033 excessive concern over leaks, 2617 02:15:31,033 --> 02:15:34,366 an insatiable appetite for political intelligence, 2618 02:15:34,366 --> 02:15:37,933 all coupled with a do-it- yourself White House staff 2619 02:15:37,933 --> 02:15:40,566 regardless of the law. 2620 02:15:40,566 --> 02:15:42,566 DASH: He spoke in almost a monotone 2621 02:15:42,566 --> 02:15:45,033 as he began to tell some of the most outrageous stories 2622 02:15:45,033 --> 02:15:46,333 about what had occurred. 2623 02:15:46,333 --> 02:15:48,066 And coming from a monotone, 2624 02:15:48,066 --> 02:15:50,233 it was the facts rather than his personality 2625 02:15:50,233 --> 02:15:52,266 that came out at the public. 2626 02:15:52,266 --> 02:15:55,900 NARRATOR: Dean described his meeting on March 21 2627 02:15:55,900 --> 02:15:59,466 when he warned Nixon about the burglars' escalating demands. 2628 02:15:59,466 --> 02:16:01,766 I told the president about the fact 2629 02:16:01,766 --> 02:16:03,666 there was no money to pay these individuals 2630 02:16:03,666 --> 02:16:05,366 to meet their demands. 2631 02:16:05,366 --> 02:16:07,733 He asked me how much it would cost. 2632 02:16:07,733 --> 02:16:09,933 I told him I could only make an estimate 2633 02:16:09,933 --> 02:16:12,866 that it might be as high as a million dollars or more. 2634 02:16:12,866 --> 02:16:15,300 He told me that that was no problem. 2635 02:16:15,300 --> 02:16:19,000 He also looked over at Haldeman and repeated the same statement. 2636 02:16:19,000 --> 02:16:20,700 That story came out, 2637 02:16:20,700 --> 02:16:22,533 it was the very first time in the hearing-- 2638 02:16:22,533 --> 02:16:25,200 it was the very first time-- any evidence came forward 2639 02:16:25,200 --> 02:16:29,033 that really put the president in on the obstruction of justice-- 2640 02:16:29,033 --> 02:16:30,933 the president who said he knew nothing about these things, 2641 02:16:30,933 --> 02:16:33,433 the president who said he had started an investigation 2642 02:16:33,433 --> 02:16:34,833 to find out who was involved. 2643 02:16:34,833 --> 02:16:38,066 And here was an eyewitness, a person who was involved, 2644 02:16:38,066 --> 02:16:40,533 who was testifying to the president's 2645 02:16:40,533 --> 02:16:43,500 very deep involvement in the obstruction of justice 2646 02:16:43,500 --> 02:16:45,166 and the cover-up. 2647 02:16:47,166 --> 02:16:50,200 NARRATOR: It was now the word of the president 2648 02:16:50,200 --> 02:16:52,633 against his 34-year-old former counsel. 2649 02:16:52,633 --> 02:16:54,566 The White House tried to undermine Dean's testimony 2650 02:16:54,566 --> 02:16:59,100 by spreading rumors about his credibility and character. 2651 02:16:59,100 --> 02:17:02,166 With no way to determine who was telling the truth, 2652 02:17:02,166 --> 02:17:04,700 Nixon believed he would prevail. 2653 02:17:04,700 --> 02:17:10,633 Then on July 16, everything changed for Richard Nixon. 2654 02:17:10,633 --> 02:17:14,200 BUTTERFIELD: My name is Alexander Porter Butterfield. 2655 02:17:14,200 --> 02:17:15,900 SAMUEL DASH: Mr. Butterfield, are you aware 2656 02:17:15,900 --> 02:17:17,600 of the installation of any listening devices 2657 02:17:17,600 --> 02:17:19,633 in the Oval Office of the president? 2658 02:17:22,266 --> 02:17:26,900 I was aware of listening devices, yes, sir. 2659 02:17:26,900 --> 02:17:31,933 And so that if either Mr. Dean, Mr. Haldeman, 2660 02:17:31,933 --> 02:17:33,933 Mr. Ehrlichman, Mr. Colson 2661 02:17:33,933 --> 02:17:36,266 had particular meetings in the Oval Office 2662 02:17:36,266 --> 02:17:38,233 with the president on the particular dates 2663 02:17:38,233 --> 02:17:40,100 that have been testified before this committee, 2664 02:17:40,100 --> 02:17:42,733 there would be a tape recording with the president 2665 02:17:42,733 --> 02:17:46,400 of that full conversation, would there not? 2666 02:17:46,400 --> 02:17:47,733 Yes, sir. 2667 02:17:47,733 --> 02:17:49,000 One last question. 2668 02:17:49,000 --> 02:17:52,366 If one were therefore to reconstruct the conversations 2669 02:17:52,366 --> 02:17:53,966 at any particular date, 2670 02:17:53,966 --> 02:17:55,533 what would be the best way to reconstruct 2671 02:17:55,533 --> 02:17:57,333 those conversations, Mr. Butterfield? 2672 02:18:00,866 --> 02:18:04,733 Well, in the obvious manner, Mr. Dash: 2673 02:18:04,733 --> 02:18:09,100 to obtain the tape and play it. 2674 02:18:09,100 --> 02:18:11,500 DASH: I have no further questions, Mr. Chairman. 2675 02:18:15,066 --> 02:18:18,066 NARRATOR: Nixon was in the hospital with viral pneumonia 2676 02:18:18,066 --> 02:18:20,933 when he learned about Butterfield's testimony. 2677 02:18:20,933 --> 02:18:23,433 He wrote on a bedside pad, 2678 02:18:23,433 --> 02:18:26,466 "Should have destroyed the tapes after April 30." 2679 02:18:30,966 --> 02:18:35,166 Nixon knew controlling the tapes was the key to his survival. 2680 02:18:35,166 --> 02:18:37,900 He would appeal to historical precedent 2681 02:18:37,900 --> 02:18:40,700 and argue that the tapes were like presidential papers-- 2682 02:18:40,700 --> 02:18:44,666 they belonged to the president, not to Congress or the courts. 2683 02:18:44,666 --> 02:18:47,366 The president had a right to keep them private. 2684 02:18:50,600 --> 02:18:52,433 The battle for the tapes began 2685 02:18:52,433 --> 02:18:54,400 with the president rallying the White House staff. 2686 02:18:56,000 --> 02:18:57,933 NIXON: I was rather amused 2687 02:18:57,933 --> 02:19:01,333 by some very well-intentioned people who thought that, 2688 02:19:01,333 --> 02:19:04,833 you know, some of the rather rough assaults 2689 02:19:04,833 --> 02:19:08,300 that any man in this office gets from time to time 2690 02:19:08,300 --> 02:19:09,966 brings on an illness, 2691 02:19:09,966 --> 02:19:12,966 and that after going through such an illness, 2692 02:19:12,966 --> 02:19:14,800 that I might get so tired 2693 02:19:14,800 --> 02:19:17,366 that I would consider either slowing down or... 2694 02:19:17,366 --> 02:19:18,533 (laughs incredulously) 2695 02:19:18,533 --> 02:19:21,333 Even some suggested resigning. 2696 02:19:21,333 --> 02:19:23,900 Well, now, just so we set that to rest, 2697 02:19:23,900 --> 02:19:28,500 I'm going to use a phrase that my Ohio father used to use. 2698 02:19:28,500 --> 02:19:30,533 "That's just plain poppycock." 2699 02:19:30,533 --> 02:19:33,166 We're going to stay on this job till we get the job done. 2700 02:19:33,166 --> 02:19:35,366 (applause) 2701 02:19:35,366 --> 02:19:37,033 And let others wallow in Watergate-- 2702 02:19:37,033 --> 02:19:38,600 we're going to do our job. 2703 02:19:38,600 --> 02:19:40,633 (applause) 2704 02:19:47,800 --> 02:19:50,166 NARRATOR: The continuing investigations 2705 02:19:50,166 --> 02:19:52,333 placed new pressures on the White House. 2706 02:19:52,333 --> 02:19:53,566 The Watergate committee 2707 02:19:53,566 --> 02:19:56,000 issued a subpoena for the president's tapes. 2708 02:19:56,000 --> 02:19:57,666 Nixon refused to comply 2709 02:19:57,666 --> 02:20:01,733 and risked being found in contempt of Congress. 2710 02:20:01,733 --> 02:20:04,866 But even that was not his biggest concern. 2711 02:20:04,866 --> 02:20:07,733 Pressured by Congress, 2712 02:20:07,733 --> 02:20:09,333 attorney general Elliot Richardson agreed 2713 02:20:09,333 --> 02:20:12,333 to appoint an independent special prosecutor. 2714 02:20:12,333 --> 02:20:15,800 He chose Archibald Cox, and gave him sweeping powers 2715 02:20:15,800 --> 02:20:18,866 to investigate the Nixon White House. 2716 02:20:18,866 --> 02:20:21,000 REPORTER: What if this trail leads 2717 02:20:21,000 --> 02:20:23,666 into the Oval Office of the White House? 2718 02:20:23,666 --> 02:20:25,033 As I replied then, 2719 02:20:25,033 --> 02:20:27,933 the trail should be followed wherever it leads. 2720 02:20:27,933 --> 02:20:30,133 NARRATOR: Nixon later described Cox 2721 02:20:30,133 --> 02:20:34,500 as "the partisan viper we had planted in our bosom." 2722 02:20:34,500 --> 02:20:39,133 PRICE: We saw Archie Cox in political rather than legal terms. 2723 02:20:39,133 --> 02:20:40,500 He was sort of the high guru 2724 02:20:40,500 --> 02:20:43,533 of the Kennedy government- in-waiting in Cambridge. 2725 02:20:43,533 --> 02:20:47,900 The idea that these Kennedy and McGovern political operatives 2726 02:20:47,900 --> 02:20:50,633 were going to be demanding to run barefoot 2727 02:20:50,633 --> 02:20:54,166 through all the most private files of the Nixon White House 2728 02:20:54,166 --> 02:20:57,666 was utterly appalling and absolutely outrageous. 2729 02:20:57,666 --> 02:21:02,100 NARRATOR: Cox and his staff requested sensitive White House files. 2730 02:21:02,100 --> 02:21:03,966 Nixon reluctantly complied. 2731 02:21:03,966 --> 02:21:07,266 Cox also demanded nine of the president's tapes. 2732 02:21:07,266 --> 02:21:08,500 Nixon refused. 2733 02:21:08,500 --> 02:21:11,266 Cox took his case to court. 2734 02:21:11,266 --> 02:21:13,400 As I've said before, I am sure that 2735 02:21:13,400 --> 02:21:17,233 the president's legal position is presented in good faith. 2736 02:21:17,233 --> 02:21:18,633 I think it's quite wrong. 2737 02:21:18,633 --> 02:21:21,133 ♪ ♪ 2738 02:21:21,133 --> 02:21:23,066 NARRATOR: By the end of summer, 2739 02:21:23,066 --> 02:21:25,633 Nixon's refusal to turn over the tapes 2740 02:21:25,633 --> 02:21:27,300 and John Dean's testimony 2741 02:21:27,300 --> 02:21:31,100 had badly eroded the public's support for the president. 2742 02:21:31,100 --> 02:21:34,300 But after months of unrelenting press coverage, 2743 02:21:34,300 --> 02:21:37,400 Nixon sensed that Americans were growing weary of Watergate. 2744 02:21:37,400 --> 02:21:40,566 He moved to take the offensive. 2745 02:21:40,566 --> 02:21:42,533 REPORTERS: Mr. President! 2746 02:21:42,533 --> 02:21:45,333 NARRATOR: For the first time in 14 months, 2747 02:21:45,333 --> 02:21:47,766 Nixon held a televised news conference 2748 02:21:47,766 --> 02:21:50,800 and tried to turn the persistent questioning to his advantage. 2749 02:21:50,800 --> 02:21:52,966 REPORTER: At any time during the Watergate crisis, 2750 02:21:52,966 --> 02:21:55,333 did you ever consider resigning, 2751 02:21:55,333 --> 02:21:57,066 and would you consider resigning 2752 02:21:57,066 --> 02:21:58,800 if you felt that your capacity to govern 2753 02:21:58,800 --> 02:22:00,600 had been seriously weakened, 2754 02:22:00,600 --> 02:22:02,333 and in that connection, how much do you think 2755 02:22:02,333 --> 02:22:04,266 your capacity to govern has been weakened? 2756 02:22:04,266 --> 02:22:06,633 The answer to the first two questions is no. 2757 02:22:06,633 --> 02:22:10,500 The answer to the third question is that it is true 2758 02:22:10,500 --> 02:22:15,466 that as far as the capacity to govern is concerned, 2759 02:22:15,466 --> 02:22:20,900 that to be under a constant barrage 12 to 15 minutes a night 2760 02:22:20,900 --> 02:22:25,033 on each of the three major networks for four months 2761 02:22:25,033 --> 02:22:28,900 tends to raise some questions in the people's mind 2762 02:22:28,900 --> 02:22:31,766 with regard to the president, and it may raise some questions 2763 02:22:31,766 --> 02:22:34,100 with regard to the capacity to govern. 2764 02:22:34,100 --> 02:22:36,233 The point that I make now is 2765 02:22:36,233 --> 02:22:38,966 that we are proceeding as best we know how 2766 02:22:38,966 --> 02:22:42,933 to get all those guilty brought to justice in Watergate. 2767 02:22:42,933 --> 02:22:45,333 But now we must move on from Watergate 2768 02:22:45,333 --> 02:22:47,400 to the business of the people, 2769 02:22:47,400 --> 02:22:49,433 and the business of the people is continuing 2770 02:22:49,433 --> 02:22:51,100 with the initiatives we began in the first administration. 2771 02:22:51,100 --> 02:22:52,266 Mr. President... 2772 02:22:52,266 --> 02:22:53,566 Just a moment. 2773 02:22:53,566 --> 02:22:55,700 We've had 30 minutes of this press conference. 2774 02:22:55,700 --> 02:22:57,266 I have yet to have, for example, 2775 02:22:57,266 --> 02:22:59,233 one question on the business of the people, 2776 02:22:59,233 --> 02:23:01,633 which shows you how we're consumed by this. 2777 02:23:01,633 --> 02:23:05,633 NARRATOR: But events overwhelmed the president's counteroffensive. 2778 02:23:05,633 --> 02:23:08,100 In a scandal unrelated to Watergate, 2779 02:23:08,100 --> 02:23:12,400 Nixon's vice president, Spiro Agnew, was under investigation 2780 02:23:12,400 --> 02:23:15,166 for bribery, tax evasion, and extortion. 2781 02:23:15,166 --> 02:23:18,633 Gentlemen, I believe you've all received copies 2782 02:23:18,633 --> 02:23:22,533 of the prepared statement that I read to the court. 2783 02:23:22,533 --> 02:23:26,433 NARRATOR: On October 10, Agnew pled "no contest" to tax evasion 2784 02:23:26,433 --> 02:23:27,700 and resigned. 2785 02:23:27,700 --> 02:23:31,366 Agnew's departure made Nixon more vulnerable. 2786 02:23:31,366 --> 02:23:34,366 Unlike Agnew, his new vice president 2787 02:23:34,366 --> 02:23:36,266 and potential successor 2788 02:23:36,266 --> 02:23:40,300 was popular with Republicans and Democrats alike. 2789 02:23:40,300 --> 02:23:44,233 Our distinguished guests and my fellow Americans, 2790 02:23:44,233 --> 02:23:48,966 I proudly present to you the man whose name I will submit 2791 02:23:48,966 --> 02:23:53,600 to the Congress of the United States for confirmation 2792 02:23:53,600 --> 02:23:57,066 as the vice president of the United States: 2793 02:23:57,066 --> 02:24:00,100 Congressman Gerald Ford of Michigan. 2794 02:24:00,100 --> 02:24:03,233 (cheers and applause) 2795 02:24:03,233 --> 02:24:07,033 NARRATOR: On Capitol Hill, Gerald Ford was already seen 2796 02:24:07,033 --> 02:24:10,566 as a viable alternative to the president himself. 2797 02:24:12,333 --> 02:24:14,333 That same day, the Court of Appeals ruled 2798 02:24:14,333 --> 02:24:16,833 that Nixon must yield the tapes 2799 02:24:16,833 --> 02:24:20,066 to special prosecutor Archibald Cox. 2800 02:24:20,066 --> 02:24:21,966 But Nixon saw the ruling 2801 02:24:21,966 --> 02:24:25,266 as an opportunity for a showdown with Cox. 2802 02:24:25,266 --> 02:24:26,566 He made an offer 2803 02:24:26,566 --> 02:24:29,000 he thought would sound reasonable to the public, 2804 02:24:29,000 --> 02:24:31,666 but that he was certain Cox would reject. 2805 02:24:31,666 --> 02:24:34,666 Nixon would turn over summaries of the tapes, 2806 02:24:34,666 --> 02:24:37,000 but not the tapes themselves, 2807 02:24:37,000 --> 02:24:40,833 and he ordered Cox not to ask for any more material. 2808 02:24:40,833 --> 02:24:45,033 As Nixon expected, Cox refused. 2809 02:24:45,033 --> 02:24:47,300 This is Jim Doyle from Archibald Cox's office. 2810 02:24:47,300 --> 02:24:48,566 I have a long statement. 2811 02:24:48,566 --> 02:24:50,233 Are you ready? 2812 02:24:50,233 --> 02:24:55,166 "In my judgment, the president is refusing... 2813 02:24:55,166 --> 02:25:00,766 to comply... with the court decrees." 2814 02:25:00,766 --> 02:25:03,033 COX: I think it is my duty 2815 02:25:03,033 --> 02:25:06,066 to bring to the court's attention 2816 02:25:06,066 --> 02:25:08,266 what seems to me 2817 02:25:08,266 --> 02:25:11,566 to be noncompliance with the court's order. 2818 02:25:11,566 --> 02:25:15,066 NARRATOR: Within hours, Nixon ordered Elliot Richardson 2819 02:25:15,066 --> 02:25:17,566 to fire Archibald Cox. 2820 02:25:17,566 --> 02:25:20,833 But Nixon had miscalculated. 2821 02:25:20,833 --> 02:25:23,100 Richardson refused. 2822 02:25:24,600 --> 02:25:27,500 RICHARDSON: And he said, "Do you realize, Elliot, 2823 02:25:27,500 --> 02:25:30,400 "that Brezhnev may conclude 2824 02:25:30,400 --> 02:25:33,733 that I'm losing control of my own administration?" 2825 02:25:33,733 --> 02:25:37,300 But I said, "Mr. President, I am committed 2826 02:25:37,300 --> 02:25:41,900 "to the independence of the special prosecutor. 2827 02:25:41,900 --> 02:25:46,633 "For me to have acquiesced in his being fired 2828 02:25:46,633 --> 02:25:50,666 would be a total betrayal of that commitment." 2829 02:25:50,666 --> 02:25:55,066 He said, "I'm sorry that you choose 2830 02:25:55,066 --> 02:25:58,233 "to prefer your purely personal commitments 2831 02:25:58,233 --> 02:26:00,900 to the national interest." 2832 02:26:00,900 --> 02:26:05,000 Mustering all my self-control, 2833 02:26:05,000 --> 02:26:09,500 I said in as level a voice as I could, 2834 02:26:09,500 --> 02:26:14,633 "Mr. President, it would appear 2835 02:26:14,633 --> 02:26:17,600 "that we have a different assessment 2836 02:26:17,600 --> 02:26:21,333 of the national interest." 2837 02:26:21,333 --> 02:26:22,833 NARRATOR: The events that followed 2838 02:26:22,833 --> 02:26:25,633 became known as "The Saturday Night Massacre." 2839 02:26:25,633 --> 02:26:26,966 Good evening. 2840 02:26:26,966 --> 02:26:30,033 The country tonight is in the midst of what may be 2841 02:26:30,033 --> 02:26:33,400 the most serious constitutional crisis in its history. 2842 02:26:33,400 --> 02:26:35,066 The president has fired 2843 02:26:35,066 --> 02:26:38,233 special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox. 2844 02:26:38,233 --> 02:26:40,233 Because of the president's action, 2845 02:26:40,233 --> 02:26:42,333 the attorney general has resigned. 2846 02:26:42,333 --> 02:26:44,066 Elliot Richardson has quit, 2847 02:26:44,066 --> 02:26:47,266 saying he cannot carry out Mr. Nixon's instructions. 2848 02:26:47,266 --> 02:26:51,300 Richardson's deputy, William Ruckelshaus, has been fired. 2849 02:26:51,300 --> 02:26:55,266 Ruckelshaus refused, in a moment of constitutional drama, 2850 02:26:55,266 --> 02:26:57,300 to obey a presidential order 2851 02:26:57,300 --> 02:27:00,133 to fire the special Watergate prosecutor. 2852 02:27:00,133 --> 02:27:03,200 And half an hour after the special Watergate prosecutor 2853 02:27:03,200 --> 02:27:06,266 had been fired, agents of the FBI, 2854 02:27:06,266 --> 02:27:08,700 acting at the direction of the White House, 2855 02:27:08,700 --> 02:27:12,166 sealed off the offices of the special prosecutor, 2856 02:27:12,166 --> 02:27:13,533 the offices of the attorney general, 2857 02:27:13,533 --> 02:27:16,000 and the offices of the deputy attorney general. 2858 02:27:16,000 --> 02:27:18,000 Six FBI agents present 2859 02:27:18,000 --> 02:27:20,200 impeding our operations right now. 2860 02:27:20,200 --> 02:27:24,466 NEWSCASTER: All of this adds up to a totally unprecedented situation, 2861 02:27:24,466 --> 02:27:26,266 a grave and profound crisis 2862 02:27:26,266 --> 02:27:28,600 in which the president has set himself 2863 02:27:28,600 --> 02:27:32,533 against his own attorney general and the Department of Justice. 2864 02:27:32,533 --> 02:27:35,233 Nothing like this has ever happened before. 2865 02:27:35,233 --> 02:27:40,600 ANNOUNCER: More than 50,000 telegrams poured in on Capitol Hill today, 2866 02:27:40,600 --> 02:27:42,466 so many, Western Union was swamped. 2867 02:27:42,466 --> 02:27:44,666 Most of them demanded impeaching Mr. Nixon. 2868 02:27:44,666 --> 02:27:48,300 UDALL: These come from Republicans and businessmen and people, 2869 02:27:48,300 --> 02:27:51,200 most of whom begin their statement by saying, 2870 02:27:51,200 --> 02:27:53,200 "I've supported the president, 2871 02:27:53,200 --> 02:27:55,066 "I've never believed in impeachment, 2872 02:27:55,066 --> 02:27:57,400 "but he's now gone too far and we're going to have to... 2873 02:27:57,400 --> 02:27:59,166 and we want the Congress to take strong action." 2874 02:27:59,166 --> 02:28:03,066 In my three district offices in one Republican area, 2875 02:28:03,066 --> 02:28:05,566 my phone calls were 100 to one 2876 02:28:05,566 --> 02:28:08,466 in favor of pursuing the path of impeachment, 2877 02:28:08,466 --> 02:28:10,333 which was rather shocking to me. 2878 02:28:10,333 --> 02:28:13,800 I was terribly surprised, 2879 02:28:13,800 --> 02:28:20,733 which says something about that very weird thing that happens 2880 02:28:20,733 --> 02:28:24,533 when you're in the middle of a cocoon, of a crisis 2881 02:28:24,533 --> 02:28:27,166 within a protected environment, 2882 02:28:27,166 --> 02:28:31,766 and you have a great desire for things to happen 2883 02:28:31,766 --> 02:28:34,000 as you want them to happen. 2884 02:28:35,966 --> 02:28:38,333 NARRATOR: On Tuesday, Nixon learned 2885 02:28:38,333 --> 02:28:41,666 that 21 resolutions calling for his impeachment 2886 02:28:41,666 --> 02:28:44,333 had been introduced on Capitol Hill. 2887 02:28:45,800 --> 02:28:48,300 Stunned by the ferocity of the public reaction, 2888 02:28:48,300 --> 02:28:50,300 Nixon retreated. 2889 02:28:50,300 --> 02:28:54,233 He appointed a new special prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, 2890 02:28:54,233 --> 02:28:56,766 and agreed to release the nine subpoenaed tapes. 2891 02:29:00,166 --> 02:29:03,066 But two tapes turned out to be missing. 2892 02:29:03,066 --> 02:29:06,066 The White House said they never existed. 2893 02:29:06,066 --> 02:29:09,133 A third tape contained an 18-and-a-half minute gap. 2894 02:29:09,133 --> 02:29:11,900 The erased section was a conversation 2895 02:29:11,900 --> 02:29:14,833 between the president and H.R. Haldeman 2896 02:29:14,833 --> 02:29:17,100 three days after the break-in. 2897 02:29:17,100 --> 02:29:20,300 The president's counsel, Fred Buzhardt, 2898 02:29:20,300 --> 02:29:23,633 explained the gap to a skeptical press. 2899 02:29:23,633 --> 02:29:24,633 You now believe it could be accidental? 2900 02:29:24,633 --> 02:29:26,400 Yes. How? 2901 02:29:26,400 --> 02:29:28,233 NARRATOR: The White House claimed 2902 02:29:28,233 --> 02:29:31,066 that the president's secretary, Rosemary Woods, 2903 02:29:31,066 --> 02:29:34,066 had accidentally erased the tape while transcribing it. 2904 02:29:34,066 --> 02:29:35,500 Is that logical 2905 02:29:35,500 --> 02:29:37,433 for that to happen accidentally? 2906 02:29:37,433 --> 02:29:39,033 Uh... 2907 02:29:39,033 --> 02:29:40,866 I mean, is that believable? 2908 02:29:40,866 --> 02:29:42,133 Well, yes. 2909 02:29:42,133 --> 02:29:44,266 NARRATOR: Questions now arose 2910 02:29:44,266 --> 02:29:47,300 about every aspect of the president's life. 2911 02:29:47,300 --> 02:29:51,666 Campaign contributions, taxes, friendships, vacation homes-- 2912 02:29:51,666 --> 02:29:53,733 everything seemed fair game. 2913 02:29:53,733 --> 02:29:56,700 The president struggled to defend himself 2914 02:29:56,700 --> 02:29:59,733 against assaults that came from all sides. 2915 02:29:59,733 --> 02:30:01,966 And I want to say this to the television audience. 2916 02:30:01,966 --> 02:30:03,500 I've made my mistakes, 2917 02:30:03,500 --> 02:30:06,500 but in all of my years of public life, 2918 02:30:06,500 --> 02:30:09,766 I have never profited-- never profited-- 2919 02:30:09,766 --> 02:30:11,300 from public service. 2920 02:30:11,300 --> 02:30:13,000 I have earned every cent. 2921 02:30:13,000 --> 02:30:15,200 And in all of my years of public life, 2922 02:30:15,200 --> 02:30:18,433 I have never obstructed justice. 2923 02:30:18,433 --> 02:30:22,866 And I think, too, that I can say that in my years of public life 2924 02:30:22,866 --> 02:30:25,766 that I welcome this kind of examination, 2925 02:30:25,766 --> 02:30:27,533 because people have got to know 2926 02:30:27,533 --> 02:30:29,366 whether or not their president is a crook. 2927 02:30:29,366 --> 02:30:30,966 Well, I am not a crook. 2928 02:30:30,966 --> 02:30:33,900 I've earned everything I've got. 2929 02:30:33,900 --> 02:30:38,933 ♪ ♪ 2930 02:30:42,966 --> 02:30:48,000 (applause, band playing) 2931 02:30:51,500 --> 02:30:55,433 NARRATOR: In March 1974, Nixon went to the Grand Ole Opry-- 2932 02:30:55,433 --> 02:30:59,066 to the South, where his support remained the strongest. 2933 02:30:59,066 --> 02:31:00,733 (music ends) 2934 02:31:00,733 --> 02:31:02,866 "In the end," he later wrote, 2935 02:31:02,866 --> 02:31:05,433 "it would come down to a campaign, 2936 02:31:05,433 --> 02:31:07,933 "but this time, I would be campaigning 2937 02:31:07,933 --> 02:31:09,966 for my political life." 2938 02:31:09,966 --> 02:31:12,633 If you'll join us in this song, 2939 02:31:12,633 --> 02:31:15,333 I think you'll recognize it when I start it. 2940 02:31:19,200 --> 02:31:21,200 Just let me get a chord. 2941 02:31:21,200 --> 02:31:24,233 (plays introductory chords) 2942 02:31:24,233 --> 02:31:26,633 (plays "My Wild Irish Rose") 2943 02:31:26,633 --> 02:31:29,533 ♪ Irish rose... ♪ 2944 02:31:29,533 --> 02:31:31,700 NARRATOR: But seven of Nixon's closest aides 2945 02:31:31,700 --> 02:31:34,166 had been indicted by the Watergate grand jury. 2946 02:31:40,233 --> 02:31:43,600 And the aftershocks of the Saturday Night Massacre 2947 02:31:43,600 --> 02:31:47,166 continued to reverberate in the courts and in Congress. 2948 02:31:47,166 --> 02:31:49,900 ("My Wild Irish Rose" ends) 2949 02:31:51,366 --> 02:31:52,866 NARRATOR: On Capitol Hill, 2950 02:31:52,866 --> 02:31:54,866 the House Judiciary Committee was debating 2951 02:31:54,866 --> 02:31:56,933 Nixon's impeachment, investigating charges 2952 02:31:56,933 --> 02:32:00,166 ranging from illegal wiretaps and break-ins 2953 02:32:00,166 --> 02:32:03,966 to abuse of power and obstruction of justice. 2954 02:32:03,966 --> 02:32:08,200 Pursuing their investigations, they demanded more tapes 2955 02:32:08,200 --> 02:32:10,666 and set a deadline of April 30. 2956 02:32:10,666 --> 02:32:15,200 On April 29, with less than 24 hours to go, 2957 02:32:15,200 --> 02:32:18,400 facing a citation for contempt of Congress, 2958 02:32:18,400 --> 02:32:20,333 Nixon tried to do again 2959 02:32:20,333 --> 02:32:23,200 what had worked so well for him in the past-- 2960 02:32:23,200 --> 02:32:27,733 bypass his opponents and appeal directly to the public. 2961 02:32:29,200 --> 02:32:30,366 Good evening. 2962 02:32:30,366 --> 02:32:32,566 I have asked for this time tonight 2963 02:32:32,566 --> 02:32:34,600 in order to announce my answer 2964 02:32:34,600 --> 02:32:37,300 to the House Judiciary Committee subpoena 2965 02:32:37,300 --> 02:32:39,400 for additional Watergate tapes. 2966 02:32:39,400 --> 02:32:43,266 In these folders that you see over here on my left 2967 02:32:43,266 --> 02:32:46,333 are more than 1,200 pages of transcripts 2968 02:32:46,333 --> 02:32:48,433 of private conversations... 2969 02:32:48,433 --> 02:32:53,266 NARRATOR: Nixon announced he was releasing edited transcripts of the tapes 2970 02:32:53,266 --> 02:32:56,433 to the committee and the public simultaneously. 2971 02:32:56,433 --> 02:32:59,633 The president himself had supervised the editing. 2972 02:32:59,633 --> 02:33:03,900 In giving you these records, blemishes and all, 2973 02:33:03,900 --> 02:33:06,533 I am placing my trust 2974 02:33:06,533 --> 02:33:10,800 in the basic fairness of the American people. 2975 02:33:13,000 --> 02:33:16,633 NARRATOR: Nixon had gambled and lost. 2976 02:33:16,633 --> 02:33:19,466 He badly misjudged the public reaction. 2977 02:33:19,466 --> 02:33:22,066 "The transcripts," said "Time" magazine, 2978 02:33:22,066 --> 02:33:24,533 "showed a president creating an environment 2979 02:33:24,533 --> 02:33:28,366 of deceit and dishonesty, of evasion and cover-up." 2980 02:33:28,366 --> 02:33:31,066 Even Republican leaders denounced them 2981 02:33:31,066 --> 02:33:33,766 as "shabby," "disgusting," "immoral." 2982 02:33:33,766 --> 02:33:36,366 A majority of Americans now thought 2983 02:33:36,366 --> 02:33:39,833 the president should resign or face impeachment. 2984 02:33:39,833 --> 02:33:44,133 Soon after the transcripts were delivered to Capitol Hill, 2985 02:33:44,133 --> 02:33:46,333 the Judiciary Committee voted 2986 02:33:46,333 --> 02:33:50,133 that the president had failed to comply with their subpoena. 2987 02:33:50,133 --> 02:33:51,766 They continued to demand the tapes. 2988 02:33:53,933 --> 02:33:57,566 (tapes of conversations playing faintly) 2989 02:33:57,566 --> 02:34:01,066 In the White House, Nixon secluded himself, 2990 02:34:01,066 --> 02:34:03,733 listening to the recordings over and over. 2991 02:34:03,733 --> 02:34:07,600 (tapes of conversations playing faintly) 2992 02:34:07,600 --> 02:34:10,166 Not only was Congress demanding the tapes, 2993 02:34:10,166 --> 02:34:12,833 so was the new special prosecutor. 2994 02:34:12,833 --> 02:34:16,466 Nixon had exhausted all his legal appeals but one. 2995 02:34:16,466 --> 02:34:19,866 He took his case to the Supreme Court. 2996 02:34:19,866 --> 02:34:21,800 It would become known 2997 02:34:21,800 --> 02:34:25,533 as "The United States v. Richard Nixon." 2998 02:34:28,266 --> 02:34:31,133 As his lawyers prepared to argue his case, 2999 02:34:31,133 --> 02:34:33,766 the president took his campaign abroad, 3000 02:34:33,766 --> 02:34:38,266 hoping to build on the diplomatic triumphs of the past. 3001 02:34:38,266 --> 02:34:39,900 (crowd chanting) 3002 02:34:42,333 --> 02:34:45,700 First to the Middle East, where just months before, 3003 02:34:45,700 --> 02:34:48,966 his persistent diplomacy had helped bring about 3004 02:34:48,966 --> 02:34:52,866 a fragile peace between Arabs and Israelis. 3005 02:34:52,866 --> 02:34:56,133 Then to the Soviet Union, 3006 02:34:56,133 --> 02:34:58,366 where the glittering ceremonies mirrored 3007 02:34:58,366 --> 02:35:00,633 the president's past success. 3008 02:35:00,633 --> 02:35:03,333 But the summit achieved little. 3009 02:35:03,333 --> 02:35:08,533 Leonid Brezhnev sensed that Nixon's power was eroding fast. 3010 02:35:08,533 --> 02:35:14,600 ("Stars and Stripes Forever" playing) 3011 02:35:14,600 --> 02:35:16,766 Returning home, Nixon landed 3012 02:35:16,766 --> 02:35:19,033 at a small Air Force base in Maine, 3013 02:35:19,033 --> 02:35:21,600 where the military crowd gave him a warm welcome. 3014 02:35:23,633 --> 02:35:27,466 But the extraordinary journey that had taken Richard Nixon 3015 02:35:27,466 --> 02:35:30,500 all the way from Yorba Linda to the White House, 3016 02:35:30,500 --> 02:35:31,933 to Peking and Moscow, 3017 02:35:31,933 --> 02:35:36,600 from humiliating defeats to the pinnacle of world power 3018 02:35:36,600 --> 02:35:40,233 seemed to be coming to an end. 3019 02:35:40,233 --> 02:35:43,700 Most Americans had lost faith in the president. 3020 02:35:43,700 --> 02:35:46,366 They saw a man who had repeatedly lied 3021 02:35:46,366 --> 02:35:48,000 to cover up his crimes, 3022 02:35:48,000 --> 02:35:51,200 had subverted the political process 3023 02:35:51,200 --> 02:35:54,466 and undermined the Constitution. 3024 02:35:54,466 --> 02:35:56,800 MAN: There are frightening implications 3025 02:35:56,800 --> 02:35:58,733 for the future of our country 3026 02:35:58,733 --> 02:36:02,466 if we do not impeach the president of the United States. 3027 02:36:02,466 --> 02:36:04,100 If we fail to impeach, 3028 02:36:04,100 --> 02:36:06,433 we have condoned and left unpunished 3029 02:36:06,433 --> 02:36:08,766 a course of conduct totally inconsistent 3030 02:36:08,766 --> 02:36:11,200 with the reasonable expectations of the American people. 3031 02:36:11,200 --> 02:36:15,966 NARRATOR: On Capitol Hill, the Judiciary Committee prepared 3032 02:36:15,966 --> 02:36:18,766 to vote on three articles of impeachment: 3033 02:36:18,766 --> 02:36:21,466 they charged the president with obstruction of justice, 3034 02:36:21,466 --> 02:36:25,466 abuse of power, and contempt of Congress. 3035 02:36:25,466 --> 02:36:27,866 MAN: The thing that's so appalling to me 3036 02:36:27,866 --> 02:36:29,766 is that the president, 3037 02:36:29,766 --> 02:36:33,166 when this whole idea was suggested to him, 3038 02:36:33,166 --> 02:36:34,500 didn't, in righteous indignation, 3039 02:36:34,500 --> 02:36:36,566 rise up and say, "Get out of here. 3040 02:36:36,566 --> 02:36:38,000 "You're in the office 3041 02:36:38,000 --> 02:36:39,666 "of the president of the United States. 3042 02:36:39,666 --> 02:36:41,600 "How can you talk about blackmail and bribery 3043 02:36:41,600 --> 02:36:43,433 "and keeping witnesses silent? 3044 02:36:43,433 --> 02:36:45,600 This is the presidency of the United States!" 3045 02:36:47,766 --> 02:36:49,700 But my president didn't do that. 3046 02:36:49,700 --> 02:36:51,100 He sat there, 3047 02:36:51,100 --> 02:36:53,133 and he worked and worked to try to cover this thing up 3048 02:36:53,133 --> 02:36:55,133 so it wouldn't come to light. 3049 02:36:55,133 --> 02:36:59,633 NARRATOR: The committee took its first vote July 27. 3050 02:36:59,633 --> 02:37:01,700 Nixon was swimming at San Clemente 3051 02:37:01,700 --> 02:37:03,666 as they rendered their verdict. 3052 02:37:03,666 --> 02:37:05,666 CLERK: ...signify by saying aye. 3053 02:37:05,666 --> 02:37:07,200 All those opposed, no. 3054 02:37:07,200 --> 02:37:08,433 CLERK: Mr. Flowers. 3055 02:37:08,433 --> 02:37:09,433 Aye. 3056 02:37:09,433 --> 02:37:10,566 Mr. Mann. 3057 02:37:10,566 --> 02:37:11,566 Aye. 3058 02:37:11,566 --> 02:37:12,733 Mr. Drinan. 3059 02:37:12,733 --> 02:37:13,800 Aye. 3060 02:37:13,800 --> 02:37:15,433 NARRATOR: Nixon later wrote, 3061 02:37:15,433 --> 02:37:18,066 "I was getting dressed in the beach trailer 3062 02:37:18,066 --> 02:37:21,166 "when the phone rang and Zeigler gave me the news. 3063 02:37:21,166 --> 02:37:23,933 "That was how I learned that I was the first president 3064 02:37:23,933 --> 02:37:28,566 "in 106 years to be recommended for impeachment-- 3065 02:37:28,566 --> 02:37:31,400 "standing in the beach trailer, barefoot, 3066 02:37:31,400 --> 02:37:34,033 "wearing old trousers, a Banlon shirt, 3067 02:37:34,033 --> 02:37:35,800 "and a blue windbreaker 3068 02:37:35,800 --> 02:37:38,666 emblazoned with the presidential seal." 3069 02:37:38,666 --> 02:37:40,833 CLERK: Mr. Rodino. 3070 02:37:40,833 --> 02:37:41,866 Aye. 3071 02:37:44,966 --> 02:37:46,700 27 members have voted aye. 3072 02:37:46,700 --> 02:37:49,266 11 members have voted no. 3073 02:37:49,266 --> 02:37:52,466 And pursuant to the resolution article one, 3074 02:37:52,466 --> 02:37:57,200 that resolution is adopted and will be reported to the House. 3075 02:37:57,200 --> 02:38:00,966 ♪ ♪ 3076 02:38:00,966 --> 02:38:03,300 NARRATOR: Just days before, 3077 02:38:03,300 --> 02:38:05,233 the Supreme Court had ruled 3078 02:38:05,233 --> 02:38:08,233 in the case of "the United States v. Richard Nixon"-- 3079 02:38:08,233 --> 02:38:10,600 the president must turn over the tapes 3080 02:38:10,600 --> 02:38:12,433 to the special prosecutor. 3081 02:38:12,433 --> 02:38:14,900 "Not even a president," said the court, 3082 02:38:14,900 --> 02:38:17,466 "could withhold evidence in a criminal trial." 3083 02:38:21,133 --> 02:38:24,700 Nixon returned to Washington still calculating the odds. 3084 02:38:24,700 --> 02:38:26,966 He knew the House of Representatives 3085 02:38:26,966 --> 02:38:28,866 would vote to indict him. 3086 02:38:28,866 --> 02:38:32,766 There was a chance he might survive a trial in the Senate 3087 02:38:32,766 --> 02:38:35,766 as long as there was no irrefutable evidence 3088 02:38:35,766 --> 02:38:38,633 that he had personally committed a crime. 3089 02:38:40,833 --> 02:38:44,133 TAPE: ...under investigation of the Democratic break-in... 3090 02:38:44,133 --> 02:38:45,666 (recording inaudible) 3091 02:38:45,666 --> 02:38:49,166 NARRATOR: But Nixon himself possessed that evidence, 3092 02:38:49,166 --> 02:38:53,600 a tape that plainly showed he'd obstructed justice: 3093 02:38:53,600 --> 02:38:58,200 his conversation with H.R. Haldeman on June 23, 1972, 3094 02:38:58,200 --> 02:39:01,866 when Nixon ordered his aides to divert the FBI. 3095 02:39:04,000 --> 02:39:05,600 NIXON: They should call the FBI in 3096 02:39:05,600 --> 02:39:07,300 and say that we wish for the country, 3097 02:39:07,300 --> 02:39:10,366 don't go any further into this case, period. 3098 02:39:12,333 --> 02:39:14,233 NARRATOR: Nixon would soon have to release this tape, 3099 02:39:14,233 --> 02:39:17,800 along with others covered by the Supreme Court ruling. 3100 02:39:17,800 --> 02:39:20,133 With nothing left to lose, 3101 02:39:20,133 --> 02:39:24,600 he decided to release a transcript of the tape. 3102 02:39:24,600 --> 02:39:28,033 It became known as "the smoking gun." 3103 02:39:33,600 --> 02:39:36,833 The night following the release of the transcript, 3104 02:39:36,833 --> 02:39:39,933 Nixon sat alone in the Lincoln sitting room, 3105 02:39:39,933 --> 02:39:42,900 then retired to bed. 3106 02:39:42,900 --> 02:39:46,100 His daughter Julie had left a note on his pillow: 3107 02:39:46,100 --> 02:39:48,066 "The White House, August 6. 3108 02:39:48,066 --> 02:39:52,433 "Dear Daddy, I love you. 3109 02:39:52,433 --> 02:39:55,733 "Whatever you do, I will support. 3110 02:39:55,733 --> 02:39:58,133 "I'm very proud of you. 3111 02:39:58,133 --> 02:40:02,066 "Go through the fire just a little bit longer. 3112 02:40:02,066 --> 02:40:04,233 "You're so strong. 3113 02:40:04,233 --> 02:40:05,833 "I love you. 3114 02:40:05,833 --> 02:40:09,300 "Millions support you. 3115 02:40:09,300 --> 02:40:11,166 Julie." 3116 02:40:11,166 --> 02:40:16,200 ♪ ♪ 3117 02:40:19,566 --> 02:40:23,766 On August 8, Nixon announced he would address the nation. 3118 02:40:23,766 --> 02:40:28,700 Outside the White House, crowds gathered, watching, waiting. 3119 02:40:34,500 --> 02:40:37,400 I have never been a quitter. 3120 02:40:37,400 --> 02:40:41,766 To leave office before my term is completed 3121 02:40:41,766 --> 02:40:45,966 is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. 3122 02:40:45,966 --> 02:40:51,800 But as president, I must put the interests of America first. 3123 02:40:58,966 --> 02:41:02,966 Therefore, I shall resign the presidency 3124 02:41:02,966 --> 02:41:05,666 effective at noon tomorrow. 3125 02:41:05,666 --> 02:41:10,733 Vice President Ford will be sworn in as president 3126 02:41:10,733 --> 02:41:12,700 at that hour in this office. 3127 02:41:16,166 --> 02:41:21,200 (applause) 3128 02:41:21,200 --> 02:41:24,933 NARRATOR: On August 9, the president bid farewell 3129 02:41:24,933 --> 02:41:26,066 to the White House staff. 3130 02:41:26,066 --> 02:41:28,400 (applause) 3131 02:41:28,400 --> 02:41:29,433 (applause ends) 3132 02:41:30,966 --> 02:41:35,600 You are here to say goodbye to us, 3133 02:41:35,600 --> 02:41:42,166 and we don't have a good word for it in English. 3134 02:41:42,166 --> 02:41:48,000 The best is "au revoir"-- we'll see you again. 3135 02:41:48,000 --> 02:41:52,600 (thunderous applause) 3136 02:41:55,466 --> 02:42:00,200 Had a little quote in the speech last night from T.R. 3137 02:42:00,200 --> 02:42:04,000 As you know, I kind of like to read books-- 3138 02:42:04,000 --> 02:42:07,366 I'm not educated, but I do read books. 3139 02:42:10,233 --> 02:42:14,933 And here's another one that I found as I was reading... 3140 02:42:14,933 --> 02:42:17,933 my last night in the White House. 3141 02:42:21,633 --> 02:42:24,933 And this quote is about a young man. 3142 02:42:24,933 --> 02:42:28,266 He was a young lawyer in New York. 3143 02:42:29,733 --> 02:42:36,000 He'd married a beautiful girl, and they had a lovely daughter. 3144 02:42:36,000 --> 02:42:37,600 And then suddenly... 3145 02:42:39,366 --> 02:42:40,733 ...she died. 3146 02:42:42,366 --> 02:42:43,733 And this is what he wrote. 3147 02:42:53,266 --> 02:42:56,266 This was in his diary. 3148 02:42:56,266 --> 02:43:01,900 He said, "She was beautiful in face and form 3149 02:43:01,900 --> 02:43:05,800 "and lovelier still in spirit. 3150 02:43:05,800 --> 02:43:09,066 "As a flower, she grew, 3151 02:43:09,066 --> 02:43:13,466 "and as a fair young flower, she died. 3152 02:43:13,466 --> 02:43:17,566 "And when my heart's dearest died... 3153 02:43:17,566 --> 02:43:19,266 (clears his throat) 3154 02:43:21,800 --> 02:43:27,333 ...the light went from my life forever." 3155 02:43:27,333 --> 02:43:28,666 (paper rustling) 3156 02:43:28,666 --> 02:43:32,000 (clearing throat): That was T.R. in his 20s. 3157 02:43:34,366 --> 02:43:37,766 He thought the light had gone from his life forever. 3158 02:43:37,766 --> 02:43:39,366 But he went on. 3159 02:43:41,800 --> 02:43:45,300 And he not only became president, 3160 02:43:45,300 --> 02:43:50,200 but as an ex-president, he served his country 3161 02:43:50,200 --> 02:43:54,733 always in the arena, tempestuous, strong, 3162 02:43:54,733 --> 02:43:58,133 sometimes wrong, sometimes right. 3163 02:43:58,133 --> 02:44:00,700 But he was a man. 3164 02:44:00,700 --> 02:44:04,533 It's only a beginning, always. 3165 02:44:04,533 --> 02:44:08,066 The young must know it, the old must know it, 3166 02:44:08,066 --> 02:44:10,066 because the greatness comes 3167 02:44:10,066 --> 02:44:13,833 not when things go always good for you, 3168 02:44:13,833 --> 02:44:17,200 but the greatness comes when you're really tested, 3169 02:44:17,200 --> 02:44:19,800 when you take... 3170 02:44:19,800 --> 02:44:21,933 some knocks, 3171 02:44:21,933 --> 02:44:24,166 some disappointments, 3172 02:44:24,166 --> 02:44:26,866 when sadness comes. 3173 02:44:26,866 --> 02:44:31,100 Because only if you've been in the deepest valley 3174 02:44:31,100 --> 02:44:35,233 can you ever know how magnificent it is 3175 02:44:35,233 --> 02:44:39,266 to be on the highest mountain. 3176 02:44:41,100 --> 02:44:43,466 Always give your best. 3177 02:44:43,466 --> 02:44:46,033 Never get discouraged. 3178 02:44:46,033 --> 02:44:47,833 Never be petty. 3179 02:44:47,833 --> 02:44:51,366 Always remember: 3180 02:44:51,366 --> 02:44:54,866 others may hate you. 3181 02:44:54,866 --> 02:44:58,800 Those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. 3182 02:45:01,033 --> 02:45:04,100 And then, you destroy yourself. 3183 02:45:06,400 --> 02:45:09,500 (rotor blades whirring) 3184 02:45:16,066 --> 02:45:18,600 NARRATOR: On September 8, 1974, 3185 02:45:18,600 --> 02:45:22,266 president Gerald Ford granted Richard Nixon 3186 02:45:22,266 --> 02:45:24,633 a full and absolute pardon. 3187 02:45:24,633 --> 02:45:28,533 Over 70 others were found guilty of criminal acts, and punished. 3188 02:45:30,166 --> 02:45:33,200 The contradictions of Nixon's career, 3189 02:45:33,200 --> 02:45:35,333 his triumphs and defeats, 3190 02:45:35,333 --> 02:45:38,133 grand vision and petty grievances 3191 02:45:38,133 --> 02:45:41,000 have left their imprint on America, 3192 02:45:41,000 --> 02:45:43,800 but his legacy remains ambiguous. 3193 02:45:43,800 --> 02:45:47,266 "The judgment of history," Nixon has said, 3194 02:45:47,266 --> 02:45:49,966 "depends on who writes it." 3195 02:46:06,266 --> 02:46:10,333 ♪ ♪ 3196 02:46:25,666 --> 02:46:28,633 ♪ ♪ 3197 02:46:28,633 --> 02:46:30,900 ANNOUNCER: "American Experience: Nixon" 3198 02:46:30,900 --> 02:46:35,833 is available with PBS Passport and on Amazon Prime Video. 3199 02:46:35,833 --> 02:46:38,733 ♪ ♪ 3200 02:46:53,733 --> 02:46:58,066 ♪ ♪