This past week was the 35th anniversary of the resignation of President Nixon. Today as the muggy and oppressive weather forced us to be inside, I read a column that I very much agree with about the larger message RN gave by resigning in the fashion he did. Make no mistake about my feeling over Watergate, and related activities that are included under that term. I find the actions of those involved in Watergate to be appalling. But there was a better angel operating within RN over the need to resign due to Watergate. Others in his position, be it in the United States or elsewhere under similar circumstances, may not have acted upon the higher needs of the nation. I have made this argument many times, and am glad to read this well-written article below. I think this needs to be read by many as it is time for the Nixon bashing to end. And to be fair, I think most calm reflections allows us to see the whole story, both bad and good. And let us never forget there were good things about the Nixon presidency!!
Imagine for a moment how hard that would be to give up… Something you worked you whole career for. Something that possibly you valued more than anything else.
During the days of August, RNs political critics and adversaries feared the worse. His harshest opponents saw him as power mad, frightfully capable of anything. Would the President try to hold on to power by any means? Nixon’s personal strain of the times might cause a calamity unprecedented in American history. A member of RNs cabinet, James Schlesinger feared that the Armed Forces would be called to keep the President in power and sought to prevent it.
Of course, they did not know Richard Nixon. They could have seen how Richard Nixon would have handled these last days of his Presidency. After all, there was historical precedent for it in Nixon’s own career. In 1960 in the immediate aftermath of the closest election in American history, many Nixon supporters thought that the election was stolen. Many, including President Eisenhower favored contesting the election result. However, Richard Nixon could not contest the election. He felt that it would send the wrong message to young democracies that even American elections could not be legitimate. A contested election, without a President would harm America and its prestige around the world.
He loved his country, and respected the presidency too much to put it thru the political apocalypse that Nixon’s opponents feared. There would be no armed forces circling the White House. RN didn’t even insist that the process of impeachment continue. He thought that the country would be crippled by a part-time, politically damaged President. So, Richard Nixon sacrificed the very thing he valued most… The Presidency.
While there is much to criticize about Nixon’s handling of Watergate and related areas, future generations of Americans owe Richard Nixon a debt of gratitude. In other nations, other leaders in Richard Nixon’s position would have held tightly to power until a tragic end. History is filled with events like that. But Richard Nixon didn’t do that. He established a precedent for an orderly transfer of power, and in the final analysis the fact that no person is above the law.
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 