American Experience (1988) s03e03 Episode Script
Richard Nixon: Part II
1
( applause)
( florid piano music)
Narrator:
LESS THAN SIX MONTHS
AFTER HIS HUMILIATING DEFEA
IN CALIFORNIA
NIXON APPEARED
ON THE JACK PARR SHOW
PLAYING A TUNE
HE HAD WRITTEN HIMSELF.
ALTHOUGH NO ONE IN THE AUDIENCE
COULD HAVE KNOWN I
THIS WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THE MOST REMARKABLE COMEBACKS
IN AMERICAN POLITICAL HISTORY.
CAN KENNEDY
BE DEFEATED IN '64?
WELL, WHICH ONE?
( laughter)
JUST TO BE VERY SERIOUS
I KNOW, OF COURSE
YOU'RE REFERRING TO
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
AND I, UNDER
NO CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD SPEAK
DISRESPECTFULLY
EVEN OF HIM
OR OF HIS OFFICE.
WEREN'T YOU KIND OF
FRIENDS ONCE?
OH, CERTAINLY.
WE CAME TO THE
CONGRESS TOGETHER
AND WE WERE LOW MEN
ON THE TOTEM POLE
IN THE LABOR
COMMITTEE TOGETHER.
AND WE REMAINED LOW MEN
UNTIL HE RAN
FOR PRESIDENT.
NOW HE'S UP AND I'M DOWN.
( laughter)
MY LITTLE DAUGHTER
SAID TODAY
"MR. NIXON WILL BE ON?"
I SAID, "YES."
SHE SAID, "I DO HOPE
THAT MAN FINDS WORK."
( laughter)
Narrator:
NIXON FOUND WORK
AS A WALL STREET LAWYER
DETERMINED TO SUCCEED AT WHA
HE CALLED "THE FAST TRACK."
PAT NIXON HAD NEVER BEEN HAPPY
WITH THE CONSTAN
DEMANDS OF POLITICS
AND WELCOMED THE PROSPEC
OF A MORE NORMAL EXISTENCE.
"I HOPE WE NEVER MOVE
AGAIN," SHE TOLD HIM
WHEN THEY SETTLED IN NEW YORK.
BUT POLITICS HAD BEEN
NIXON'S WHOLE LIFE
ALL HE HAD EVER KNOWN.
HE SOON TOLD FRIENDS
HE WOULD DIE OF BOREDOM
IF HE STAYED IN PRIVATE LIFE.
TV Announcer:
HERE IS A BULLETIN
FROM CBS NEWS.
IN DALLAS, TEXAS,
THREE SHOTS WERE FIRED
AT PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S
MOTORCADE
Narrator:
TO SOME, IT SEEMED
THAT KENNEDY'S ASSASSINATION
MIGHT OPEN THE WAY FOR NIXON
IN THE NEXT ELECTION.
BUT SENSING THE MOOD
OF THE COUNTRY
NIXON CONCLUDED THAT LYNDON
JOHNSON, THE NEW PRESIDEN
WOULD BE UNBEATABLE IN 1964.
Interviewer:
ARE YOU WRITING
YOURSELF OFF
AT THIS POINT,
AS A POLITICAL
CANDIDATE
AS A PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE
AT ANY TIME?
WELL, I'VE MADE IT CLEAR
THAT I AM NOT A CANDIDATE
FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.
I SHALL NOT BECOME A CANDIDATE
IN THIS YEAR, 1964
AND I CERTAINLY HAVE NO PLANS
TO BECOME A CANDIDATE
IN THE FUTURE.
I ALSO WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR
AT THE SAME TIME, HOWEVER
I AM NOT WRITING MYSELF OFF
AS A POLITICAL LEADER
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
AS NIXON EXPECTED,
PRESIDENT JOHNSON OVERWHELMED
REPUBLICAN BARRY GOLDWATER
IN 1964
AND THE PARTY LOS
DISASTROUSLY IN CONGRESS.
BUT IN THE RUINS OF THAT DEFEA
NIXON SAW HIS WAY BACK TO POWER.
HE WORKED THE REPUBLICAN
CONGRESSIONAL CIRCUIT TIRELESSLY
TRAVELED TO 35 STATES,
BARNSTORMED FOR 105 CANDIDATES.
AND WHEN THE PARTY MADE
A DRAMATIC COMEBACK IN 1966
THERE WAS HARDLY A REPUBLICAN
WHO DIDN'T OWE NIXON A FAVOR.
Man:
HE WAS UNCOMFORTABLE
WITH ALL OF THE OBLIGATORY
ACTIVITIES OF POLITICS.
THOSE WERE THE DUES ONE PAID
IN ORDER TO GAIN ADMISSION
TO THE ARENA, AND HE PAID THEM.
HE FLINCHED, ON OCCASION,
BUT HE PAID THEM.
HE LEARNED TO DO
WHAT HE HAD TO DO.
Nixon:
HOW ARE YOU DOING?
Man:
GOOD TO SEE YOU!
GET THIS BOY IN!
WE'RE GOING TO!
YOU GET HIM IN NOW!
Narrator:
NIXON PROMISED HIS FAMILY
A MORATORIUM ON POLITICS IN 1967
BUT IMMEDIATELY TOOK OFF
ON A GRUELING TOUR
OF FOUR CONTINENTS.
TRAVELING AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN
THE FORMER VICE-PRESIDEN
COULD STILL COMMAND A CROWD
IN THE MOST REMOTE REACHES
OF THE GLOBE.
HIS TRIPS KEPT HIM IN THE NEWS
AND STRENGTHENED HIS GRASP
OF FOREIGN POLICY.
ONCE AGAIN, RICHARD NIXON
WAS AIMING FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
HE HAD THIS ABSOLUTELY CORE FIRE
THAT HE WANTED TO BE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
I THINK FOR SEVERAL REASONS
PROBABLY TO PROVE A LO
OF THINGS TO HIMSELF
BUT ALSO BECAUSE
HE SINCERELY WANTED
TO TAKE THE COUNTRY
IN A DIRECTION
THAT HE FELT WAS
THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Man:
OKAY!
( cheers)
Narrator:
AS NIXON OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED
HIS CANDIDACY IN FEBRUARY, 1968
THE EVENTS OF
THAT TUMULTUOUS YEAR
MOVED HIM CLOSER TO THE OFFICE
HE HAD SOUGHT FOR SO LONG.
IN VIETNAM, COMMUNIST GUERRILLAS
FOUGHT THEIR WAY
TO THE VERY DOORSTEP OF
THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN SAIGON.
NEVER HAD THE PROSPECTS
FOR VICTORY LOOKED MORE BLEAK.
AT HOME, ANGER OVER THE WAR
TORE THE COUNTRY APAR
AND FORCED LYNDON JOHNSON
TO WITHDRAW
FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE.
ROBERT KENNEDY WAS
JUST BEGINNING TO EMERGE
AS THE DEMOCRATIC FRONT-RUNNER
WHEN HE WAS KILLED
BY AN ASSASSIN'S BULLET.
( screaming)
RACE RIOTS FOLLOWING THE MURDER
OF MARTIN LUTHER KING
TURNED MANY CITIES
INTO BATTLEGROUNDS.
( sirens)
THE COUNTRY HAD NOT SUFFERED
SUCH UPHEAVAL
SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.
MANY AMERICANS
YEARNED FOR A LEADER
WHO PROMISED SAFETY
AND STABILITY.
IN MIAMI BEACH
SAFE FROM THE CRISES
THAT ENGULFED THE COUNTRY
THE NIXON FAMILY WATCHED
AS REPUBLICANS CHOSE
THEIR CANDIDATE.
Delegate:
for Richard M. Nixon.
THERE WE WORKED FOR THOSE!
Delegate:
Wisconsin is proud
to cast its 30 votes
for the nominee
of this convention
Richard M. Nixon
Nixon:
SIT DOWN,
GET TO WORK!
Narrator:
AS HE ACCEPTED
THE NOMINATION OF HIS PARTY
NIXON OFFERED HIMSELF
AS THE MAN WHO COULD BRING ORDER
OUT OF THE TURMOIL OF 1968.
WHEN THE STRONGEST NATION
IN THE WORLD
CAN BE TIED DOWN FOR FOUR YEARS
IN A WAR IN VIETNAM
WITH NO END IN SIGH
WHEN THE NATION WITH
THE GREATEST TRADITION
OF THE RULE OF LAW IS PLAGUED
BY UNPRECEDENTED LAWLESSNESS
WHEN A NATION THAT HAS
BEEN KNOWN FOR A CENTURY
FOR EQUALITY OF
OPPORTUNITY IS TORN
BY UNPRECEDENTED RACIAL VIOLENCE
THEN IT'S TIME
FOR NEW LEADERSHIP
FOR THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA!
Narrator:
REPUBLICANS ONCE AGAIN PINNED
THEIR PRESIDENTIAL HOPES
ON RICHARD NIXON.
TO THEM, AND TO MANY
IN THE PRESS
HE SEEMED A NEW NIXON
BETTER PREPARED THAN
THE MAN WHO HAD LOST IN 1960.
BUT THE DEMOCRATIC
FRONT-RUNNER HUBERT HUMPHREY
SAID HE'D SEEN IT ALL BEFORE.
HE STARTED
THAT RENEWAL JOB IN 1952
BRAND NEW NIXON.
THERE WAS SOME REASON
FOR IT, TOO.
THEN THEY HAD ANOTHER
RENEWAL JOB IN 1956.
THEN THEY HAD ANOTHER RENOVATION
OPERATION IN 1960.
THEN, WHEN HE WEN
TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR
IN CALIFORNIA IN 1962,
THEY RENEWED HIM AGAIN.
AND THEN IN 1964,
ANOTHER TOUCH-UP.
AND NOW, I READ ABOU
THE NEW NIXON OF 1968.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
ANYBODY THAT'S HAD HIS POLITICAL
FACE LIFTED SO MANY TIMES
CAN'T BE VERY NEW.
( laughter, applause)
Narrator:
BOATING IN THE FLORIDA KEYS,
NIXON WAS RELAXED AND CONFIDENT.
HE WAS RUNNING FAR AHEAD
OF HUMPHREY IN THE POLLS
AND THE VIETNAM WAR WAS
SPLINTERING THE DEMOCRATS.
Crowd:
WE WANT PEACE NOW!
WE WANT PEACE NOW!
Narrator:
AT THEIR CONVENTION IN CHICAGO,
THE ANTI-WAR WING OF THE PARTY
PRESSED FOR AN END
TO THE BOMBING
AND A NEGOTIATED WITHDRAWAL
OF U.S. TROOPS.
BUT HUMPHREY STUCK BY
PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S POLICY.
AND I THINK THAT WITHDRAWAL
WOULD BE TOTALLY UNREALISTIC
AND WOULD BE A CATASTROPHE.
( chanting)
Narrator:
AS THE DEMOCRATS
FOUGHT OVER VIETNAM
NIXON AVOIDED THE ISSUE
PROMISING ONLY
THAT HE WOULD FIND
AN HONORABLE END TO THE WAR.
ALONG WITH MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
HE WATCHED ON TELEVISION
AS ANTI-WAR PROTESTS
OUTSIDE THE CONVENTION HALL
EXPLODED INTO VIOLENCE.
IN THE CHAOS,
NIXON SAW AN OPPORTUNITY.
A FEW DAYS LATER
HE MOVED THROUGH
THE SAME STREETS IN A MOTORCADE.
400,000 PEOPLE
TURNED OUT TO CHEER HIM.
HE CHOSE THE CITY WHICH HAD SEEN
OPEN WAR AMONG THE DEMOCRATS
TO SOUND ONE OF THE CENTRAL
THEMES OF HIS CAMPAIGN.
THIS IS A NATION OF LAWS,
AND AS ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAS SAID
NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW,
NO ONE IS BELOW THE LAW
AND WE'RE GOING
TO ENFORCE THE LAW
AND AMERICANS
SHOULD REMEMBER THA
IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
LAW AND ORDER.
Narrator:
THE EMPHASIS ON LAW AND ORDER
APPEALED TO MILLIONS
OF AMERICANS.
NIXON'S TELEVISION COMMERCIALS
HAMMERED IT HOME.
Nixon:
IN RECENT YEARS, CRIME
IN THIS COUNTRY HAS GROWN
NINE TIMES AS FAS
AS POPULATION.
AT THE CURRENT RATE
THE CRIMES OF VIOLENCE
IN AMERICA WILL DOUBLE BY 1972.
WE CANNOT ACCEPT THAT KIND
OF FUTURE FOR AMERICA.
WE OWE IT TO THE DECENT AND
LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS OF AMERICA
TO TAKE THE OFFENSIVE
AGAINST THE CRIMINAL FORCES
THAT THREATEN
THEIR PEACE AND THEIR SECURITY
AND TO REBUILD RESPEC
FOR LAW ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
Narrator:
TO THE DEMOCRATS,
NIXON'S CALL FOR LAW AND ORDER
PLAYED TO THE WORS
IN AMERICANS.
BUT YOU CAN'T VOTE YOUR ANGER,
YOU HAVE TO VOTE YOUR HOPES.
YOU CAN'T VOTE YOUR HATES,
YOU HAVE TO VOTE YOUR HOPES.
THE PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTION
DOESN'T JUST SAY
"DOUBLE THE RATE
OF CONVICTIONS."
IT DOESN'T JUST SAY,
"LAW AND ORDER."
IT SAYS, "TO ENSURE JUSTICE."
AND IF MR. NIXON HASN'T READ IT,
THEN I'LL SEND HIM A COPY.
Narrator:
BUT NIXON HAD A FEEL
FOR THE ISSUES
THAT MOVED THE MIDDLE
AMERICAN VOTER.
THEY WERE THE SAME ISSUES
THAT MOVED HIM.
BLAMING LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
FOR THE UPHEAVAL IN THE COUNTRY
HE SOUGHT TO RALLY
A NEW REPUBLICAN MAJORITY.
THE NEW VOICE THAT IS BEING
HEARD ACROSS AMERICA TODAY
IT IS NOT THE VOICE
OF A SINGLE PERSON.
IT'S THE VOICE OF
A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS
WHO HAVE NOT BEEN THE PROTESTORS
WHO HAVE NOT BEEN THE SHOUTERS.
THE GREAT MAJORITY
FINALLY HAVE BECOME ANGRY
NOT ANGRY WITH HATE,
BUT ANGRY, MY FRIENDS
BECAUSE THEY LOVE AMERICA
AND THEY DON'T LIKE
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING
TO AMERICA
FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
YOU'VE JUST HEARD
RICHARD NIXON
REFER TO YOU
AMONG ALL THESE
OTHER PEOPLE
AS "THE FORGOTTEN
AMERICANS."
WHAT DO YOU THINK
HE'S REFERRING TO?
WELL, I SORT OF THINK
HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE
THAT ARE PAYING THE TAXES
THAT ARE SUPPORTING
THE SCHOOLS, THE CHURCHES
THE PEOPLE THAT ARE
THEY ARE SORT OF FORGOTTEN
BECAUSE EVERYTHING'S AIMED
AT WELFARE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
( band playing
"Stars and Stripes forever")
Narrator:
NIXON'S CALL TO
THE FORGOTTEN AMERICANS
APPEALED TO A BROAD
BAND OF VOTERS
MOSTLY WHITE, MIDDLE CLASS,
HAWKISH, PATRIOTIC.
IT WAS A GROUP THAT FEL
IGNORED AND EXCLUDED
IN THE UPHEAVALS OF THE '60s
AND THE STRATEGY
SEEMED TO BE WORKING.
NIXON HELD HIS STRONG LEAD
INTO THE FALL.
THEN, JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
SUDDENLY STOPPED
THE BOMBING OF NORTH VIETNAM.
HUMPHREY SURGED IN THE POLLS.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
THE BIGGEST ELECTION SURPRISE
THAT AMERICA HAS KNOWN
IN 20 YEARS.
WE'RE GOING TO WIN
THIS ELECTION!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Narrator:
BY ELECTION NIGHT, NIXON
AND HUMPHREY WERE DEAD EVEN.
NIXON PREPARED HIS FAMILY
FOR THE POSSIBILITY
OF STILL ANOTHER DEFEAT.
Nixon has closed a little bit
in the last few
tabulations there.
Man:
I THINK BEFORE
THE MORNING IS OU
HUBERT HUMPHREY WILL BE
THE NEXT PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
( cheering)
And there have been no changes.
None of those big states
have fallen yet
the ones we are waiting for
and Nixon has 175
Narrator:
ALL NIGHT LONG, THE LEAD
SHIFTED BACK AND FORTH.
THE RESULTS WEREN'T ANNOUNCED
UNTIL 8:00 THE NEXT MORNING.
With 26 electoral votes
in Illinois
Richard Nixon goes over the top
with 287 electoral votes.
He needed 270 to win
and that seems to be
the 1968 election.
Announcer:
AND HE IS BEAMING,
PAT NIXON IS BEAMING.
ONE CAN'T HELP
BUT THINK BACK TO 1960
WHEN A TEARFUL PAT NIXON
WAS CHOKING BACK THE EMOTIONS.
IT WAS A TOTALLY DIFFEREN
SCENE, OF COURSE, THEN.
HERE IS POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOS
FANTASTIC POLITICAL COMEBACKS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
I SAW MANY SIGNS
IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
SOME OF THEM WERE NOT FRIENDLY,
SOME WERE VERY FRIENDLY
BUT THE ONE THA
TOUCHED ME THE MOS
WAS ONE THAT I SAW
IN DEXTER, OHIO
AT THE END OF A LONG DAY
OF WHISTLE-STOPPING.
A TEENAGER HELD UP A SIGN
"BRING US TOGETHER"
AND THAT WILL BE
THE GREAT OBJECTIVE
OF THIS ADMINISTRATION
AT THE OUTSE
TO BRING THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE TOGETHER.
Narrator:
NIXON SPOKE OF UNITY
BUT HIS MARGIN OF VICTORY
HAD BEEN EXTREMELY NARROW.
HE HAD NOT REACHED OUT TO BLACKS
OR THE POOR,
OR OPPONENTS OF THE WAR
AND A NATION AS BADLY DIVIDED
AS AMERICA IN 1968
WOULD NOT BE EASY TO LEAD.
Chorus:
AMERICA ♪
AMERICA ♪
Narrator:
AT AGE 56, AFTER 22 YEARS
OF POLITICAL BATTLE
RICHARD NIXON HAD BECOME THE
MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD.
HE ENVISIONED NOTHING LESS
THAN A NEW WORLD ORDER
WITH HIMSELF AS ITS ARCHITECT.
THE GREATEST HONOR
HISTORY CAN BESTOW
IS THE TITLE OF PEACEMAKER.
THIS HONOR NOW BECKONS AMERICA.
IF WE SUCCEED
GENERATIONS TO COME
WILL SAY OF US NOW LIVING
THAT WE MASTERED OUR MOMEN
THAT WE HELPED MAKE
THE WORLD SAFE FOR MANKIND.
THIS IS OUR SUMMONS
TO GREATNESS.
( marching band music)
Man:
THERE'S NO QUESTION AT ALL THA
NIXON ASPIRED TO GREATNESS.
HE WOULD TALK CONSTANTLY
ABOUT THE GENERATION OF PEACE
THAT HE HOPED TO CONTRIBUTE
TO BUILDING
THAT WOULD INDEED BE
HIS BEQUES
TO THE UNITED STATES
AND THE WORLD.
Narrator:
AS NIXON TOOK POWER,
HE ASSEMBLED A STAFF
THAT WOULD LEAVE HIM FREE
TO CARRY OUT HIS AMBITIOUS PLANS
AND WHOSE LOYALTY
HAD ALREADY BEEN DEMONSTRATED.
THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF,
AS IT EVOLVES,
I THINK YOU'LL FIND
WILL BE SMALLER THAN
IT'S BEEN IN THE PAST
Narrator:
H.R. HALDEMAN, A FORMER
ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE
WHO HAD BEEN AT NIXON'S SIDE
SINCE 1956
WAS MADE CHIEF OF STAFF.
"HE WAS PROUD," HE ONCE SAID
"TO BE RICHARD NIXON'S
SON OF A BITCH."
JOHN EHRLICHMAN, A LAWYER AND
TOP AIDE DURING THE CAMPAIGN
WOULD HANDLE MUCH
OF DOMESTIC POLICY.
TOGETHER, HE AND HALDEMAN
WOULD TIGHTLY CONTROL ACCESS
TO THE PRESIDENT.
THOSE WHOM THEY EXCLUDED
CALLED THEM "THE BERLIN WALL."
BEHIND THAT WALL
NIXON COULD FOCUS
ON HIS MAIN INTEREST
FOREIGN POLICY,
BYPASSING THE STATE DEPARTMEN
TO WORK CLOSELY WITH HIS
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
HENRY KISSINGER.
DR. KISSINGER IS PERHAPS
ONE OF THE MAJOR SCHOLARS
IN AMERICA AND
THE WORLD TODAY
IN THIS AREA.
HE HAS NEVER YET HAD A FULL-TIME
GOVERNMENT ASSIGNMEN
AND HE WILL BRING
TO THIS RESPONSIBILITY
A FRESH APPROACH
Man:
THEY ORGANIZED THE GOVERNMEN
TO CONCENTRATE POWER
IN THE HANDS OF THESE TWO MEN
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND IT'S NOT ACCIDENTAL
THAT HE APPOINTS AN OLD FRIEND
BUT A DECIDEDLY WEAK
PRACTITIONER IN BILL ROGERS
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OR ESSENTIALLY A WISCONSIN DELLS
POLITICIAN, MELVIN LAIRD
AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THERE ARE NO STRONG FIGURES
IN THIS CABINE
AND THERE ARE NO STRONG
FOREIGN POLICY FIGURES
ANYWHERE IN THE HIGHER
ECHELONS OF THE GOVERNMENT.
IT IS TO BE RICHARD NIXON'S
FOREIGN POLICY
AND IT IS TO BE CARRIED OU
WITH SOPHISTICATION AND SOME
SUBTLETY BY HENRY KISSINGER.
Narrator:
LOOMING OVER
THE NEW ADMINISTRATION
WAS THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
AMERICAN TROOPS HAD BEEN
FIGHTING FOR FOUR YEARS
ON BEHALF OF SOUTH VIETNAM
AGAINST THE SOVIET-BACKED
COMMUNIST FORCES OF THE NORTH.
THE WAR HAD ALREADY TAKEN
THE LIVES OF 30,000 AMERICANS
AND OVER A MILLION VIETNAMESE,
AND DESTROYED ONE PRESIDENT.
NIXON WAS DETERMINED
NOT TO LET IT DESTROY HIM.
EVEN BEFORE HIS INAUGURATION
NIXON HAD KISSINGER
BEGIN SECRET CONTACTS
WITH THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
IN AN ATTEMP
TO MOVE THE STALLED
PARIS PEACE TALKS FORWARD
AND SOON, THE TWO MEN
DEVELOPED A STRATEGY
THEY HOPED WOULD GE
THE U.S. OUT OF THE WAR
WITHOUT ABANDONING
AMERICA'S ALLY, SOUTH VIETNAM.
Nixon:
WE HAVE ADOPTED A PLAN
WHICH WE HAVE WORKED OU
IN COOPERATION
WITH THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE
FOR THE COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL
OF ALL U.S. COMBAT GROUND FORCES
AND THEIR REPLACEMEN
BY SOUTH VIETNAMESE FORCES
ON AN ORDERLY,
SCHEDULED TIMETABLE.
THIS WITHDRAWAL
WILL BE MADE FROM STRENGTH
Narrator:
CONFIDENT THAT THIS POLICY
WOULD END AMERICA'S INVOLVEMEN
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
BY THE END OF 1970
NIXON AND KISSINGER TURNED THEIR
ATTENTION TO GLOBAL STRATEGY
RESHAPING AMERICA'S
ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE COMMUNIST WORLD.
THEY BOTH BEGAN IN 1969-1970
WITH A NOTION
THAT ONLY LATELY HAS BECOME
FASHIONABLE IN WASHINGTON
AND THAT IS THA
THE POST-WAR IS REALLY OVER
THAT THE COLD WAR OUGHT TO BE
A THING OF THE PAST.
THEY ARE, IN THAT SENSE, ALMOS
20 YEARS AHEAD OF THEIR TIME.
Narrator:
RECOGNIZING THA
THE SOVIET UNION
HAD NEARLY CAUGHT UP TO THE U.S.
IN NUCLEAR STRENGTH
NIXON AND KISSINGER DISPATCHED
A TEAM OF NEGOTIATORS
TO WORK OUT A TREATY
WITH THE SOVIETS.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
THE HISTORY OF THE NUCLEAR AGE
THE TWO SUPERPOWERS SAT DOWN
TO DISCUSS SETTING LIMITS
ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
AT THE SAME TIME,
THEY BEGAN SECRET CONTACTS
WITH THE OTHER GREA
COMMUNIST POWER, CHINA.
THERE WERE FEW MORE FORBIDDING
AND ISOLATED PLACES
IN THE WORLD IN 1969
BUT NIXON BELIEVED THAT CHINA,
WITH ITS VAST POPULATION
AND GROWING NUCLEAR ARSENAL
WOULD SOON BE
TOO POWERFUL TO IGNORE.
Morris:
HERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THE 20th CENTURY
WE HAVE TWO MEN AT THE VERY
PINNACLE OF AMERICAN GOVERNMEN
WHO HAVE SOME CLEAR NOTION
NOT ONLY OF WHAT THE WORLD
IS DOING OUT THERE
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD
BUT OF WHERE THEY WAN
THE UNITED STATES TO FIT IN.
WE ARE NOT A NATION
THAT PRACTICES
ITS FOREIGN POLICY BY DESIGN,
FOR THE MOST PAR
AND NIXON AND KISSINGER ARE
AN EXCEPTION TO THAT RULE.
Narrator:
IN THE SUMMER OF 1969,
NIXON ANNOUNCED
THE FIRST AMERICAN TROOP
WITHDRAWALS FROM VIETNAM.
ARMS CONTROL, CHINA,
SOUTHEAST ASIA
HE SEEMED TO BE MOVING STEADILY
TOWARD BECOMING A PEACEMAKER.
Man:
TEN, HUT!
Narrator:
RICHARD NIXON LOVED
THE MOVIE PATTON
AND WATCHED IT AGAIN AND AGAIN
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
( bugle salute)
GENERAL GEORGE PATTON
WAS A MAN OF ACTION
CONTEMPTUOUS OF HIS CRITICS,
UNCOMPROMISING
DETERMINED TO WIN AT ALL COSTS.
BE SEATED.
I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER
AMERICANS LOVE A WINNER
AND WILL NOT TOLERATE A LOSER.
AMERICANS PLAY TO WIN
ALL THE TIME.
I WOULDN'T GIVE A HOOT IN HELL
FOR A MAN WHO LOST AND LAUGHED.
THAT'S WHY AMERICANS
HAVE NEVER LOS
AND WILL NEVER LOSE A WAR
BECAUSE THE VERY THOUGHT OF
LOSING IS HATEFUL TO AMERICANS.
Narrator:
RICHARD NIXON WAS DETERMINED
NOT TO BE THE FIRST AMERICAN
PRESIDENT TO LOSE A WAR.
HE MIGHT SIMPLY HAVE BROUGH
THE TROOPS HOME
AND BLAMED VIETNAM
ON THE DEMOCRATS
BUT NIXON, LIKE MANY OF HIS
CONTEMPORARIES IN BOTH PARTIES
BELIEVED THAT ABANDONING
SOUTH VIETNAM TO THE COMMUNISTS
WOULD BE A DEFEAT THA
INVITED FURTHER AGGRESSION
A SIGN THAT AMERICA
COULD NO LONGER BE COUNTED ON
BY HER ALLIES.
DESPITE MOUNTING PRESSURE
FOR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL
HE STUCK TO HIS GRADUAL COURSE
WHILE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE
WHAT HE CALLED
"AN HONORABLE END TO THE WAR."
BUT THE MONTHS DRAGGED ON.
CASUALTIES MOUNTED
AND NIXON'S POLICY SEEMED
ONLY TO PROLONG AMERICA'S AGONY.
I SAID, "WITH RESPEC
TO VIETNAM
I SAID,
"THE WAR IN VIETNAM IS LOS
AND THE SOONER YOU GET OUT,
THE BETTER WE WILL BE."
IT WAS LOST, BUT HE,
FOR SOME REASON, KEPT AT IT.
IT WASN'T HIS WAR
AND IT SEEMED TO ME THA
JUST IN HANDLING A PRESIDENCY
YOU STICK AROUND WITH
THE WAR FOR TWO YEARS
AND IT'S YOUR WAR,
AND IT BECAME HIS WAR.
AND IN THE END
HALF THE COUNTRY SEEMED
TO THINK HE STARTED IT.
Crowd:
ALL WE ARE SAYING ♪
IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE ♪
Narrator:
IN OCTOBER 1969
THE LARGEST ANTI-WAR
DEMONSTRATIONS
IN THE NATION'S HISTORY
COLLECTIVELY KNOWN
AS "THE MORATORIUM"
WERE HELD IN CITIES
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
CRITICS OF THE WAR
HAD WAITED NINE MONTHS
FOR NIXON TO MAKE GOOD
HIS PLEDGE TO END THE CONFLIC
BUT NOW THE HONEYMOON WAS OVER.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE HAS BEEN
AND CONTINUES TO BE
OPPOSITION TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM
ON THE CAMPUSES
AND ALSO IN THE NATION.
AS FAR AS THIS KIND
OF ACTIVITY IS CONCERNED
WE EXPECT IT, HOWEVER,
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
WILL I BE AFFECTED
WHATEVER BY IT.
THE MORATORIUM ITSELF
WAS SEEN BY RICHARD NIXON
AS 200,000 PEOPLE
OUT THERE ON THE MALL
PROTESTING HIS FOREIGN POLICY
WHILE AT THE SAME TIME
THE POLLS WERE SHOWING
THAT 58%-59% OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE SUPPORTED HIM
IN HIS FOREIGN POLICY.
AND HE WOULD LOOK OU
THE WINDOW AND HE WOULD SAY
"I SIMPLY CANNOT PERMI
FOREIGN POLICY TO BE MADE
IN THE STREETS OF WASHINGTON."
Man:
THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES SAID
NOTHING YOU YOUNG KIDS WOULD DO
WOULD HAVE ANY EFFECT ON HIM.
WELL, I SUGGEST TO THE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
IF HE WANT TO KNOW
HOW MUCH EFFEC
YOU YOUNGSTERS CAN HAVE
ON THE PRESIDEN
HE SHOULD MAKE ONE
LONG-DISTANCE PHONE CALL
TO THE L.B.J. RANCH
AND ASK THAT BOY
HOW MUCH EFFECT YOU CAN HAVE.
( cheering)
Crowd:
1-2-3-4, TRICKY DICK
STOP THE WAR.
Narrator:
THE FATE OF LYNDON JOHNSON
DID HAUNT RICHARD NIXON.
HE FELT HE HAD TO DEMONSTRATE
THAT MOST AMERICANS
STILL SUPPORTED HIM
AND THAT IT WOULD
NOT BENEFIT HANOI
TO STALL PEACE NEGOTIATIONS.
"DON'T GET RATTLED,
DON'T WAVER, DON'T REACT"
HE TOLD HIMSELF
AS HE WENT TO WORK ON A SPEECH
TO RESPOND TO THE PROTESTS.
INSISTING ON WRITING IT HIMSELF
HE DISTINGUISHED HIS SUPPORTERS,
THE "FORGOTTEN AMERICANS"
FROM THE VOCAL MINORITY
IN THE STREETS
WITH A NEW CATCHPHRASE:
TO YOU, THE GREAT SILEN
MAJORITY OF MY FELLOW AMERICANS
I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
FOR THE MORE DIVIDED
WE ARE AT HOME
THE LESS LIKELY THE ENEMY
IS TO NEGOTIATE AT PARIS.
LET US BE UNITED FOR PEACE.
LET US ALSO BE UNITED
AGAINST DEFEAT.
BECAUSE LET US UNDERSTAND:
NORTH VIETNAM CANNOT DEFEA
OR HUMILIATE THE UNITED STATES.
ONLY AMERICANS CAN DO THAT.
Narrator:
IT WAS THE MOST EFFECTIVE SPEECH
OF NIXON'S PRESIDENCY.
80,000 TELEGRAMS AND LETTERS
ARRIVED AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
NEARLY ALL SUPPORTED HIM.
HIS APPROVAL RATING SOARED.
BUT THE WAR CONTINUED,
AND WITH IT THE PROTESTS.
Morris:
RICHARD NIXON CAME
TO OFFICE EXPECTING
IF NOT A QUICK FIX IN VIETNAM
EXPECTING A KIND OF
RESPONSIVENESS IN THE WAR.
HE HAD MADE CERTAIN SPEECHES.
HE HAD OFFERED CERTAIN GESTURES.
HE HAD PROFFERED
BOTH SECRETLY AND PUBLICLY
WHAT HE THOUGHT WERE PROMISING
INITIATIVES IN NEGOTIATIONS.
NONE OF THA
HAD YIELDED ANYTHING.
THERE WAS A PALPABLE
SENSE OF FRUSTRATION
IN THE ADMINISTRATION
ABOUT HOW LONG THIS WAR
WAS GOING TO DRAG ON.
OUT OF THE OVAL OFFICE
BEGAN TO FLOOD MEMORANDA
THAT WERE STREAM-
OF-CONSCIOUSNESS
RENDITIONS OF THE PRESIDENT'S
FEARS AND AMBITIONS
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
HIS IMAGE OF THIS WHOLE CONTES
AS A KIND OF CHALLENGE
BEING ISSUED
NOT ONLY BY THE PARTIES
ON THE GROUND
BY THE CAMBODIAN REBELS,
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE,
AND THE VIET CONG
BUT ULTIMATELY BY MORE
FORMIDABLE AND DISTANT FORCES
THE SOVIET UNION, BY CHINA,
BY HIS ENEMIES TESTING HIM
MEASURING HIS METTLE
AS A MAN AND AS A LEADER.
Ehrlichman:
HE TOOK ME ASIDE AND HE SAID
"I'M GOING TO BE
OUT OF THE PLAY FOR TEN DAYS.
"I WON'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE
"ANY DOMESTIC DECISIONS
FOR TEN DAYS
"SO COME BACK THIS AFTERNOON
AND TELL ME ALL THE THINGS
"THAT NEED TO BE DECIDED
FOR THE NEXT TEN DAYS
"AND THEN I WON'T BE ABLE
TO SEE YOU
"BECAUSE I'LL BE FOCUSING
ON THIS BUSINESS IN VIETNAM.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY
AND BRING IT TO A HEAD."
Narrator:
AT THE PENTAGON,
DEFENSE SECRETARY LAIRD
WAITED FOR THE PRESIDENT.
AFTER DAYS OF TENSE DELIBERATION
NIXON WAS ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE
AN ATTACK ON ENEMY SANCTUARIES
ACROSS THE VIETNAM
BORDER IN CAMBODIA
AND THE WOULD DO SO
OVER THE OBJECTIONS
OF MANY WHITE HOUSE ADVISORS.
Morris:
WE THOUGHT THE INVASION
WAS A BAD IDEA
AND THAT IT WAS ONE MORE
ROUND OF ESCALATION
ON THE PATTERN
ON AN OLD PATTERN IN VIETNAM
WHICH WOULD COST LIVES
AND NATIONAL TREASURE
AND REALLY ONLY PROLONG
THE SUFFERING
AND DO NOTHING TO AFFEC
THE LARGER OUTCOME OF THE WAR.
Narrator:
BUT THE MILITARY AND KISSINGER
RECOMMENDED THE ACTION
AND NIXON WANTED TO GO AHEAD.
HE WAS CONVINCED THAT DESTROYING
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
HIDING PLACES IN CAMBODIA
WOULD RELIEVE COMMUNIS
PRESSURE ON THE SOUTH
AND HE WANTED TO TAKE SOME
DRAMATIC ACTION TO DEMONSTRATE
THAT NEITHER HANOI
NOR THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMEN
COULD INTIMIDATE THE UNITED
STATES OR ITS PRESIDENT.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ACTS LIKE A PITIFUL,
HELPLESS GIAN
THE FORCES OF TOTALITARIANISM
AND ANARCHY
WILL THREATEN FREE NATIONS
AND FREE INSTITUTIONS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
IT IS NOT OUR POWER
BUT OUR WILL AND CHARACTER
THAT IS BEING TESTED TONIGHT.
Narrator:
AS NIXON SPOKE, AMERICAN
TROOPS MOVED INTO CAMBODIA.
HIS CRITICS WERE OUTRAGED.
THE PRESIDENT WHO HAD PROMISED
TO END THE WAR
SEEMED TO BE WIDENING I
MOVING INTO A COUNTRY
PERCEIVED AS NEUTRAL.
THREE MEMBERS OF KISSINGER'S
STAFF, INCLUDING ROGER MORRIS
RESIGNED IN PROTEST.
NIXON WAS UNMOVED.
Nixon:
I WOULD RATHER BE
A ONE-TERM PRESIDEN
AND DO WHAT I BELIEVE WAS RIGH
THAN TO BE A TWO-TERM PRESIDEN
AT THE COST OF SEEING AMERICA
BECOME A SECOND-RATE POWER
AND TO SEE THIS NATION
ACCEPT THE FIRST DEFEA
IN ITS PROUD 190-YEAR HISTORY.
Narrator:
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING
NIXON WENT TO THE PENTAGON
FOR A FIRSTHAND BRIEFING.
THE MILITARY WAS
REPORTING SUCCESS.
NIXON WAS ENCOURAGED,
AND PRAISED AMERICAN SOLDIERS
FIGHTING IN THE JUNGLES
OF SOUTHEAST ASIA.
THE WIFE OF ONE OF THOSE
SOLDIERS
REACHED OUT TO SHAKE HIS HAND.
NIXON DREW A SHARP CONTRAS
BETWEEN THE TROOPS IN VIETNAM
AND THE STUDENT PROTESTERS
AT HOME.
Nixon:
YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THESE BUMS,
YOU KNOW, BLOWING UP THE
CAMPUSES.
LISTEN, THE BOYS THAT ARE
ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUSES TODAY
ARE THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE
IN THE WORLD
AND HERE THEY ARE,
BURNING UP THE BOOKS
I MEAN, STORMING AROUND ABOU
THIS ISSUE
I MEAN, YOU NAME IT.
GET RID OF THE WAR,
THERE'LL BE ANOTHER ONE
( siren howling)
Narrator:
NIXON'S REMARKS FURTHER
INFURIATED STUDENTS
ALREADY PROTESTING
OVER CAMBODIA.
AFTER THREE TENSE DAYS
OF DEMONSTRATIONS
AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY IN OHIO
NERVOUS NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
OPENED FIRE.
( crackle of gunshots)
FOUR STUDENTS WERE KILLED.
"MY CHILD WAS NOT A BUM," SAID
THE FATHER OF ONE DEAD GIRL.
AMERICAN CAMPUSES EXPLODED.
HUNDREDS OF COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES CLOSED DOWN.
GOVERNORS IN 16 STATES
CALLED OUT THE POLICE
AND NATIONAL GUARD.
NIXON'S SUPPORTERS TOOK
TO THE STREETS AS WELL.
AT NEW YORK'S CITY HALL,
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS STRUGGLED
TO RAISE THE FLAG
WHICH THE MAYOR HAD LOWERED
TO HONOR THE DEAD AT KENT STATE.
NIXON'S MOVE INTO CAMBODIA
AND HIS DIVIDING OF AMERICANS
INTO "BUMS" AND "HEROES" HAD SE
OFF A NATIONAL FIRESTORM.
Crowd:
STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!
Narrator:
ANGRY PROTESTORS RETURNED
TO WASHINGTON.
AS TENSIONS ROSE, THE SECRE
SERVICE RINGED THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH A BARRICADE OF BUSES.
Man:
IT WAS LIKE LIVING IN A BUNKER
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
YOU'D LOOK OUT IN THE STREETS
AND SEE THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE PROTESTING.
YOU LITERALLY WERE AFRAID
FOR YOUR LIFE.
THERE WERE TIME
WHEN I CAN REMEMBER SAYING
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
"A FREE COUNTRY.
"HERE WE ARE IN THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH BARRICADES UP
"AND BUSES AROUND
THE WHITE HOUSE
"AND TEAR GAS GOING OF
"AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF
PROTESTERS OUT IN THE STREETS
AND TROOPS SITTING HERE."
Narrator:
AN EMBATTLED NIXON FACED THE
PRESS AS ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATORS
CONTINUED TO FLOCK
TO WASHINGTON.
Journalist:
WHAT DO YOU THINK
THE STUDENTS
ARE TRYING TO SAY
WITH THESE DEMONSTRATIONS?
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY
THAT THEY WANT PEACE.
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY THA
THEY WANT TO STOP THE KILLING.
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY
THAT THEY WANT TO END THE DRAFT.
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY THA
WE OUGHT TO GET OUT OF VIETNAM.
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THA
THEY'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
I BELIEVE, HOWEVER, THA
THE DECISIONS THAT I HAVE MADE
WILL SERVE THAT PURPOSE.
Crowd:
ALL WE ARE SAYING ♪
IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE ♪
Narrator:
THAT NIGHT, PROTESTORS
CIRCLED THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH CHANTS AND CANDLES.
INSIDE, A SLEEPLESS NIXON MADE
MORE THAN 40 PHONE CALLS
TO FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS
AROUND THE COUNTRY.
NEAR DAWN, HE CALLED FOR A CAR
AND ASKED TO BE DRIVEN
TO THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL
WHERE PROTESTORS HAD GATHERED.
WHITE HOUSE AIDE,
EGIL KROGH FOLLOWED HIM.
IT WAS I GUESS IT WAS ALMOS
A SURREAL ATMOSPHERE.
IT WAS ALMOST LIKE DREAMLIKE.
IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?
WALKING UP THE STAIRS
OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL
AND THERE WAS THE PRESIDEN
SORT OF STANDING IN THE MIDDLE
OF A GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE
WHO WERE WEARING COMBAT FATIGUES
WITH PEACE SYMBOLS,
AND BANDANNAS
ALL OF THE CLOTHING
OF THE '60s AND THE '70s
AND TRYING VERY HARD TO
TO COMMUNICATE TO THEM.
I THINK I SAID, "WELL,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO
"ABOUT THE KENT STATE KILLINGS?
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOU
THE WAR?"
HE SAID, "I'M REALLY NOT HERE
TO TALK ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE TRYING TO HANDLE THINGS."
SO IT WAS A ONE-WAY, YOU KNOW,
CONVERSATION OR A ONE-WAY STREE
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HE WAS THERE
TRYING TO BE VERY CONVERSATIONAL
AND CASUAL
AND WE WERE THERE
OUTRAGED AND ANGRY AND SCARED.
Krogh:
ONE STUDENT BASICALLY TOLD HIM
SAID, "I HOPE THAT YOU REALIZE
THAT WE ARE WILLING TO DIE
FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN."
AND I THINK AS I RECALL,
THE PRESIDENT'S RESPONSE WAS
"WELL, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BU
WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD A WORLD
WHERE PEOPLE WILL NOT HAVE TO
DIE FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN."
Choir:
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS ♪
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS ♪
Singer:
IF YOU LOVE HIM, SING!
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS ♪
Singer:
TO KNOW THAT JESUS ♪
SWEET, LOVING MERCIFUL
JESUS IS OURS.
HE BELONGS TO ALL OF US WHO WAN
TO RECEIVE AND ACCEPT HIM.
( loud applause)
Narrator:
WHEN HE APPEARED
AS THE GUEST OF HONOR
AT A BILLY GRAHAM CRUSADE
IN TENNESSEE
NIXON HAD BEEN IN OFFICE
16 MONTHS.
A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS STILL
BACKED HIS VIETNAM POLICY
BUT THE FUROR OVER CAMBODIA
HAD DEEPENED THE DIVISIONS
NIXON HAD PROMISED TO MEND.
EVEN HERE, SURROUNDED BY
THOUSANDS WHO SUPPORTED HIM
THE PRESIDENT COULD NOT ESCAPE
THE CEASELESS STORM OF PROTEST.
( shouting and booing)
AND IF WE'RE GOING
TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
AS WE MUST BRING THEM TOGETHER
IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEACE
IN THE WORLD
IF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE
GOING TO HAVE A FULFILLMEN
BEYOND SIMPLY
THOSE MATERIAL THINGS
THEY MUST TURN TO THOSE
GREAT SPIRITUAL SOURCES
THAT HAVE MADE AMERICA
THE GREAT COUNTRY THAT IT IS.
I'M PROUD TO BE HERE
AND I'M VERY PROUD
TO HAVE YOUR WARM RECEPTION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
( applause)
Man:
LET US SING TOGETHER
"GOD BLESS AMERICA,
MY HOME, SWEET HOME."
GOD BLESS AMERICA,
LAND THAT I LOVE ♪
STAND BESIDE HER,
AND GUIDE ♪
Narrator:
THROUGHOUT THE NEXT YEAR
NIXON CONTINUED TO TRY
TO RALLY HIS SUPPORTERS
WHILE DENOUNCING HIS OPPONENTS
CALLING SOME
AMONG THE PROTESTERS
"THUGS" AND "HOODLUMS"
BLAMING HIS CRITICS
IN CONGRESS AND THE PRESS
FOR FAILING TO SUPPORT THE WAR.
GOD BLESS AMERICA ♪
Narrator:
ALL U.S. TROOPS LEFT CAMBODIA
BY THE END OF JUNE
AS NIXON HAD PROMISED.
HE INSISTED THA
THE MILITARY ACTION
WHICH HAD CAUSED SUCH TURMOIL
HAD EASED THE PRESSURE
ON THE TROOPS IN VIETNAM.
WITHDRAWALS CONTINUED
ON SCHEDULE
BUT MORE AMERICAN LIVES
HAD BEEN LOST.
THERE WAS NO BREAKTHROUGH
IN THE PEACE TALKS.
AND IN THE WHITE HOUSE
AN INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED
AND SUSPICIOUS NIXON URGED
INTENSIFIED SURVEILLANCE
OF THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT.
HE GREW DISTRUSTFUL EVEN
OF HIS CLOSEST ADVISORS
AND INSTALLED HIDDEN MICROPHONES
IN HIS OWN OFFICE
IN PART, SO THAT HIS AIDES
COULD NOT LATER CLAIM
TO HAVE DISAGREED
WITH HIS DECISIONS.
BUT THE TAPING SYSTEM
WOULD EVENTUALLY TRAP
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF.
Narrator:
ON JUNE 12, 1971,
THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF
PREPARED FOR A WEDDING
IN THE ROSE GARDEN.
THE PRESIDENT'S ELDER DAUGHTER,
TRICIA, WAS TO BE MARRIED
TO A YOUNG LAW STUDENT,
EDWARD COX.
RAIN THREATENED THE CEREMONY.
NIXON SPENT MUCH OF THE
AFTERNOON ON THE PHONE
TO AIR FORCE WEATHERMEN.
FINALLY, THERE WAS A PREDICTION
OF A 15-MINUTE BREAK
IN THE WEATHER.
I GOT TO GET DRESSED!
I'VE GOT TO GET ALL MY THINGS
MY HAIR DONE.
( laughter)
Man:
I SAW THE PRESIDENT MORE RELAXED
MORE HAPPY AND MORE
LIKE A TYPICAL AMERICAN FATHER
THAN I'VE SEEN HIM
IN A LONG, LONG TIME.
Interviewer:
HE LOOKED LIKE
HE WAS DOING
A GREAT JOB
OUT ON THE DANCE
FLOOR TOO.
YES
AND HE DOESN'T DANCE
ALL THAT OFTEN, YOU KNOW.
Narrator:
"IT WAS A DAY THA
ALL OF US WILL REMEMBER"
NIXON LATER WROTE
"BECAUSE WE WERE
BEAUTIFULLY AND SIMPLY HAPPY."
THE NEXT MORNING, NIXON
PICKED UP THE NEW YORK TIMES.
IN THE LEFT CORNER WAS
AN ACCOUNT OF TRICIA'S WEDDING.
ACROSS THE PAGE WAS
ANOTHER HEADLINE:
THE FIRST INSTALLMEN
OF WHAT CAME TO BE CALLED
THE PENTAGON PAPERS, A SECRE
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT STUDY
WHICH REVEALED PAS
GOVERNMENT DECEPTION
ABOUT THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
I FELT AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN
Narrator:
DANIEL ELLSBERG, A FORMER
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE
WHO HAD TURNED AGAINST THE WAR
HAD GIVEN THE TOP-SECRE
DOCUMENTS TO THE PRESS.
I COULD NO LONGER COOPERATE WITH
CONCEALING THIS INFORMATION
FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
Narrator:
ALTHOUGH THE PENTAGON PAPERS
CONTAINED NOTHING
ABOUT THE NIXON POLICY
IN VIETNAM
IT WAS A LEAK
OF ENORMOUS MAGNITUDE.
THE PRESIDEN
AND HENRY KISSINGER SAW I
AS A DISTURBING PRECEDEN
AND A THREA
TO THEIR SECRET DIPLOMACY.
Colson:
THERE WAS PANIC
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND I REMEMBER BEING IN MEETINGS
WITH HENRY KISSINGER THAT DAY
IN WHICH HE SAID
"THIS COULD CAUSE THE COLLAPSE
"OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
"AND THIS COULD UNDERMINE
OUR INITIATIVES
WITH CHINA AND
THE SOVIET UNION."
AND DON'T FORGET, AT THAT TIME
PEOPLE DID NOT KNOW
THAT WE WERE NEGOTIATING
SECRETLY WITH THE CHINESE.
THEY DID NOT ALSO KNOW
THAT WE WERE CONDUCTING
SECRET NEGOTIATIONS
WITH THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
TO END THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
AND SO A LOT OF THINGS WERE
GOING ON THAT WE KNEW
THAT THE PUBLIC DIDN'T.
Narrator:
JUST FIVE WEEKS LATER,
THE TIMES PUBLISHED ANOTHER LEAK
THIS ONE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING
TO NIXON'S FOREIGN POLICY.
IT REVEALED U.S.
NEGOTIATING TACTICS
AND UPCOMING ARMS TALKS
WITH THE SOVIETS
AND IT SEEMED TO CONFIRM NIXON'S
WORST FEARS ABOUT THE PRESS.
Krogh:
I HAD SEEN HIM ANGRY
IN MEETINGS IN THE PAS
BUT I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED
THIS KIND OF FURY
WHERE HE WAS BASICALLY
WALKING AROUND THE ROOM
SLAMMING HIS FIST IN HIS HANDS
SAYING THAT THIS
CANNOT BE TOLERATED.
WE CANNOT LET THIS GO ON!
Colson:
NIXON BECAME OBSESSIVE
ABOUT THE PRESS COVERAGE.
WE HAD A DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
THAT WAS PREPARED
BY A YOUNG MAN
IN THE WHITE HOUSE
AND BY THE TIME
I GOT TO THE WHITE HOUSE
THE PRESIDENT HAD ALREADY READ
IT AND HAD MARKED ON THE COLUMNS
"JOHN CHANCELLOR LAST NIGH
SAID THIS, RESPOND TODAY."
"CALL UP SO-AND-SO."
"LOOK AT THIS
YOU CAN'T TRUST THESE PEOPLE."
"NEWSWEEK HAS DONE I
TO US AGAIN."
I'D GET NIXON'S NEWS SUMMARY
WITH ALL THESE COMMENTS
DOWN THE SIDE
AND SO YOU HAD THE IDEA,
WHEN YOU WENT TO WORK
IN THE MORNING
YOU WERE GOING
TO WAR WITH THE PRESS.
Narrator:
A SENSE OF BEING UNDER SEIGE
PERVADED THE WHITE HOUSE
FUELED BY THE LEAKS, THE
CONSTANT ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS
AND INTENSIFYING CRITICISM
IN THE PRESS.
IN THIS ATMOSPHERE
OF "US VERSUS THEM"
COLSON'S OFFICE BEGAN
AN EVER-EXPANDING LIS
OF NIXON'S CRITICS
"THE ENEMIES LIST."
ITS OBJECT WAS "TO SCREW
OUR POLITICAL ENEMIES."
REPORTERS AND POLITICIANS,
EDUCATORS AND ENTERTAINERS
WERE BARRED FROM
THE WHITE HOUSE.
SOME WERE TARGETED
FOR TAX AUDITS
OTHERS WERE TRAILED
BY PRIVATE DETECTIVES.
Colson:
AND IT WAS VERY
SHORTLY THEREAFTER
THAT NIXON AUTHORIZED
THE PLUMBERS
THE CREATION OF A SPECIAL
GROUP TO STOP LEAKS
AND THEY BEGAN
TO TAKE EXTRALEGAL STEPS AND
PUT INTO MOTION THE MECHANISM
WHICH ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN THE
DOWNFALL OF THE ADMINISTRATION.
Narrator:
IN A WHITE HOUSE MEMO
REGARDING THE NEUTRALIZATION
OF DANIEL ELLSBERG
THE PLUMBERS DISCUSSED
HOW THEY MIGH
"DESTROY HIS PUBLIC IMAGE
AND CREDIBILITY."
IN SEARCH OF DAMAGING
INFORMATION
ABOUT ELLSBERG'S PRIVATE LIFE
THEY ARRANGED A BREAK-IN A
THE OFFICE OF HIS PSYCHIATRIST.
Krogh:
THEY APPARENTLY BROKE A WINDOW
ON THE WAY IN.
AND REALIZING THAT IT COULD
NO LONGER BE VIEWED
AS A COVERT OPERATION
CHANGED COURSES AND DECIDED
TO MAKE IT LOOK
AS IF IT HAD BEEN
ENTERED BY A BURGLAR
LOOKING FOR DRUGS
OR SOME OTHER SUBSTANCES.
BASICALLY, THEY SMASHED UP
THE OFFICE
TOOK PICTURES OF THE DAMAGE.
I WAS SHOCKED AT THESE PICTURES.
WENT TO SEE JOHN EHRLICHMAN.
HE WAS, IF ANYTHING,
MORE SHOCKED THAN I WAS
AND SAID, "SHUT IT DOWN
AS OF NOW."
Narrator:
THE PLUMBERS WERE
EVENTUALLY DISBANDED
BUT SOME OF THE AGENTS
WERE REASSIGNED
TO WORK BEHIND THE SCENES
FOR THE NEWLY-FORMED COMMITTEE
TO REELECT THE PRESIDENT.
REELECTION HAD BECOME
NIXON'S CONSUMING CONCERN.
FROM THE FIRST DAY
OF HIS PRESIDENCY
HE HAD FOUGHT TO HOLD ON
TO HIS "SILENT MAJORITY"
AND HAD SHAPED
HIS DOMESTIC POLICIES
IN PART TO WIN THEIR VOTES.
BUT THOSE VOTERS
WERE SLIPPING AWAY.
UNEMPLOYMEN
AND INFLATION WERE UP.
RACIAL DIVISIONS HAD DEEPENED
AND STILL, WEEK AFTER WEEK,
THE DEAD CAME HOME FROM VIETNAM.
NIXON'S POPULARITY HAD FALLEN
SO LOW THAT HE HAD BEGUN TO FEAR
HE WOULD NOT EVEN
BE RENOMINATED IN 1972.
Announcer:
GOOD EVENING.
THE 37th PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
RICHARD M. NIXON, IS IN CHINA
THE FIRST AMERICAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
EVER TO VISIT THE WORLD'S
MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY.
( band playing "The
Star-spangled Banner")
( crowd cheering)
Narrator:
ON FEBRUARY 18, 1972
RICHARD NIXON BEGAN STILL
ANOTHER REMARKABLE COMEBACK
WITH A STUNNING
FOREIGN POLICY SUCCESS.
Reporter:
PRESIDENT NIXON'S MOTORCADE
IS NOW SWEEPING TOWARD
THE CITY OF PEKING.
Reporter:
HERE COMES THE MOTORCADE NOW,
AS YOU SEE.
Narrator:
THE WORLD WATCHED AS RICHARD
NIXON DROVE THROUGH A CITY
THAT FEW OUTSIDERS HAD SEEN FOR
NEARLY A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.
"HE KNEW," SAID
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"THAT FOR THIS JOURNEY,
NO MATTER WHAT ELSE OCCURRED
HE WOULD ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED."
THAT AFTERNOON, NIXON
WAS ABRUPTLY SUMMONED
TO SEE MAO TSE-TUNG.
AMERICAN TELEVISION WAS
UNAWARE OF THE MEETING.
THE ONLY COVERAGE WAS
BY CHINESE CAMERAMEN
WITH BLACK AND WHITE FILM.
THIS ENCOUNTER BETWEEN NIXON,
THE CAREER ANTI-COMMUNIS
AND CHAIRMAN MAO,
THE LEADER OF THE LARGES
COMMUNIST REVOLUTIONARY
MOVEMENT IN HISTORY
SHOCKED NIXON'S
OLD CONSERVATIVE ALLIES.
THEY ACCUSED HIM OF SURRENDERING
TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNISM.
BUT FOR NIXON, IT WAS ALL PAR
OF HIS GLOBAL STRATEGY.
BY VISITING CHINA,
HE WAS BEGINNING TO EXPLOI
THE DIVISIONS
IN THE COMMUNIST WORLD.
Man:
ONE OF NIXON'S
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
IN OPENING UP WITH CHINA
WAS TO GIVE HIM MORE LEVERAGE
WITH THE SOVIET UNION.
THESE RELATIONS WERE
ESSENTIALLY STALLED
BUT SOON AFTER
THE OPENING WITH CHINA
THE SOVIET UNION BECAME MUCH
MORE FLEXIBLE ON SEVERAL FRONTS.
THEY AGREED TO A SUMMIT MEETING
WITH US IN 1972
AND THEY BEGAN
TO BE MORE REASONABLE
ON VARIOUS ARMS CONTROL ISSUES.
( dramatic opera singing)
Colson:
NIXON ENJOYED THE POWER GAME
PROBABLY AS MUCH AS ANY
PRESIDENT IN MODERN TIMES.
HE PLAYED IT VERY HARD
AND VERY CLEVERLY
AND VERY CAREFULLY
IN THE WORLD SCENE.
HE WAS ALWAYS
THINKING STRATEGICALLY
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE QUALITIES
THAT SOMEONE HAS TO HAVE
IN FOREIGN POLICY
BECAUSE YOU CANNO
MAKE DECISIONS IN FOREIGN POLICY
BASED ON TODAY'S CIRCUMSTANCE.
YOU'VE GOT TO THINK
ABOUT ITS RAMIFICATIONS
FOR FIVE, TEN, 15, 20 YEARS
DOWN THE ROAD
IT'S LIKE A CHESS PLAYER:
YOU'RE ANTICIPATING
SIX MOVES AHEAD
IF YOU'RE A GOOD CHESS PLAYER.
Group:
WE LOVE YOU, PRESIDENT ♪
OH, YES WE DO ♪
WE LOVE YOU, PRESIDENT,
AND WE'LL BE TRUE ♪
WHEN YOU'RE NOT NEAR US,
WE'RE BLUE ♪
OH, PRESIDENT, WE LOVE YOU. ♪
( helicopter engine humming)
Narrator:
IN THE SPRING OF 1972
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE SUDDENLY
LAUNCHED A MASSIVE OFFENSIVE.
SOUTH VIETNAM'S FORCES
WERE OVERWHELMED.
THOUSANDS FLED.
IF THE OFFENSIVE WERE NO
STOPPED, THE WAR WOULD BE LOS
AND WITH IT, NIXON FEARED,
THE PRESIDENCY.
BUT IF HE ORDERED
A U.S. COUNTERATTACK
THE SOVIETS MIGHT CANCEL
THE UPCOMING ARMS CONTROL
SUMMIT IN MOSCOW
A VITAL PAR
OF NIXON'S GRAND DESIGN.
MOST OF HIS ADVISORS URGED NIXON
NOT TO TAKE ANY ACTION
THAT MIGHT JEOPARDIZE
THE SUMMIT.
ONCE AGAIN,
NIXON OVERRULED THEM.
HIS VIEW WAS THAT I
WOULD BE EMBARRASSING
FOR HIM TO GO TO MOSCOW
WITHOUT RESPONDING
TO NORTH VIETNAMESE AGGRESSION.
HE WOULD LOOK WEAK.
HE'S TALKING TO SOVIET LEADERS
WHO ARE PROVIDING ARMS
TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
WHO ARE KILLING AMERICAN TROOPS.
SO HE DIDN'T THINK
THE SUMMIT WAS WORTH I
UNLESS HE COULD ALSO SHOW
THAT HE WAS STRONG
WITHIN VIETNAM ITSELF.
Narrator:
NIXON ORDERED THE MOS
DRASTIC ESCALATION
OF THE WAR SINCE 1968
MASSIVE, SUSTAINED
BOMBING OF HANOI
AND THE MINING
OF HAIPHONG HARBOR
RISKING A FULL-SCALE
CONFRONTATION WITH THE SOVIETS
BY PUTTING THEIR SUPPLY
SHIPS IN PERIL.
AFTER EXPLAINING HIS DECISION
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
HE MADE A DIRECT APPEAL
TO THE KREMLIN.
OUR TWO NATIONS HAVE MADE
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS
IN OUR NEGOTIATIONS
IN RECENT MONTHS.
WE ARE NEAR MAJOR AGREEMENTS
ON NUCLEAR ARMS LIMITATION
ON TRADE, ON A HOS
OF OTHER ISSUES.
LET US NOT SLIDE BACK
TOWARD THE DARK SHADOWS
OF A PREVIOUS AGE.
WE DO NOT ASK YOU TO SACRIFICE
YOUR PRINCIPLES OR YOUR FRIENDS
BUT NEITHER SHOULD YOU PERMI
HANOI'S INTRANSIGENCE
TO BLOT OUT THE PROSPECTS
WE TOGETHER HAVE
SO PATIENTLY PREPARED.
( American anthem being played)
Narrator:
NIXON'S GAMBLE PAID OFF.
THE SOVIETS DID
NOT CANCEL THE SUMMIT.
ON MAY 22, 1972
RICHARD NIXON BECAME
THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDEN
EVER TO SET FOO
INSIDE THE KREMLIN.
NIXON HAD DONE WHAT NONE
OF HIS PREDECESSORS
HAD BEEN ABLE TO DO.
HE HAD NEGOTIATED A TREATY
IN WHICH THE TWO SUPERPOWERS
AGREED TO SLOW AN ARMS RACE
THAT HAD BEEN ACCELERATING
FOR MORE THAN
A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.
IT WAS HIS GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT.
TWO DAYS LATER, FIVE BURGLARS
WORKING FOR THE COMMITTEE
TO REELECT RICHARD NIXON
ENTERED THE WATERGATE COMPLEX
IN WASHINGTON.
THEY BROKE INTO THE OFFICE
OF THE DEMOCRATIC
NATIONAL COMMITTEE
PLACED BUGS ON THE TELEPHONES
AND MADE THEIR ESCAPE.
BUT THE MICROPHONES
FAILED TO WORK.
THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK.
THE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
NIXON RETURNED
FROM MOSCOW IN TRIUMPH.
HE HAD ALMOST COMPLETED
THE WITHDRAWAL
OF AMERICAN FORCES FROM VIETNAM,
OPENED THE DOOR TO CHINA
AND SIGNED THE FIRS
NUCLEAR ARMS LIMITATION TREATY
SINCE THE DAWN
OF THE ATOMIC AGE.
HE HAD OFTEN SAID THA
ALL HE WANTED WAS A LIFE
WITH ONE MORE VICTORY
THAN DEFEAT.
NOW THAT VICTORY
A SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT
SEEMED HIS FOR THE ASKING.
Reporter:
FIVE MEN WEARING WHITE GLOVES
AND CARRYING CAMERAS
WERE CAUGHT EARLY TODAY
IN THE HEADQUARTERS
OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
COMMITTEE IN WASHINGTON.
THEY APPARENTLY WERE UNARMED
AND NOBODY KNOWS YE
WHY THEY WERE THERE
BUT I DON'T THINK
THAT'S THE LAS
WE'RE GOING TO HEAR
OF THIS STORY.
FIVE MEN WEARING WHITE GLOVES
AND CARRYING CAMERAS
WERE CAUGHT EARLY TODAY
IN THE HEADQUARTERS
OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
COMMITTEE IN WASHINGTON.
THEY WERE CAUGH
BY A NIGHT WATCHMAN,
AND THEY DID NOT RESIST ARRES
WHEN THE POLICE CAME.
THEY APPARENTLY WERE UNARMED
AND NOBODY KNOWS YE
WHY THEY WERE THERE.
THE FILM IN THE CAMERA
HADN'T EVEN BEEN EXPOSED.
IN ANY CASE THEY'RE BEING HELD.
Narrator:
"ON SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 18,"
RICHARD NIXON LATER WROTE,
"I LEFT FOR KEY BISCAYNE.
"WHEN I GOT TO MY HOUSE,
"I COULD SMELL COFFEE
BREWING IN THE KITCHEN
"AND I WENT IN TO GET A CUP.
"THERE WAS A MIAMI HERALD
ON THE COUNTER
"AND I GLANCED OVER
THE FRONT PAGE.
"THE MAIN HEADLINE WAS ABOU
THE VIETNAM WITHDRAWALS.
"THERE WAS A SMALL STORY
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE
ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE"
Announcer:
THE WATERGATE APARTMENT-HOTEL-
OFFICE COMPLEX IN WASHINGTON
HAS A FORTRESS-LIKE APPEARANCE,
BUT THE BURGLARS PENETRATED
Announcer:
FOUR OF THE MEN ARRESTED
WERE CUBAN NATIONALS
NOW LIVING IN MIAMI
AND THE FIFTH, JAMES McCORD, WAS
A FORMER F.B.I. AND C.I.A. AGEN
RECENTLY EMPLOYED
AS A SECURITY AIDE
BY THE
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
AND THE COMMITTEE TO
REELECT THE PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SECRETARY
RON ZEIGLER
TODAY CALLED THE INCIDEN
A "THIRD-RATE BURGLARY
AND NOTHING THE PRESIDEN
WOULD BE CONCERNED WITH."
Narrator:
BUT THE PRESIDENT WAS CONCERNED.
ON JUNE 23, HE MET WITH HIS
CHIEF OF STAFF, H.R. HALDEMAN.
( audio recording playing)
Narrator:
TO THWART THE F.B.I.
INVESTIGATION,
HALDEMAN SUGGESTED THA
THE BREAK-IN COULD BE MADE
TO LOOK LIKE A C.I.A. OPERATION.
Narrator:
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT NIXON
HAD ORDERED THE BREAK-IN,
BUT HIS AIDES HAD.
THE PRESIDENT APPROVED THE PLAN
TO DIVERT THE F.B.I.
Narrator:
"I SAW WATERGATE AS POLITICS,
PURE AND SIMPLE,"
NIXON WROTE IN HIS MEMOIRS.
"WE WERE GOING TO PLAY IT TOUGH.
"I NEVER DOUBTED
THAT WAS EXACTLY
HOW THE OTHER SIDE
WOULD HAVE PLAYED IT."
Man:
RICHARD NIXON PULLED I
INTO THE WHITE HOUSE.
HE COULDN'T LEAVE IT ALONE.
AND SO WITHIN A WEEK
AFTER THE BREAK-IN,
OR MAYBE TWO WEEKS, HE HAD
PERSONALLY INVOLVED HIMSELF
IN THE INTRIGUE
OF THE WHOLE THING.
SO NIXON SEALED HIS FATE
SIX DAYS AFTER THE BREAK-IN.
( applause)
( florid piano music)
Narrator:
LESS THAN SIX MONTHS
AFTER HIS HUMILIATING DEFEA
IN CALIFORNIA
NIXON APPEARED
ON THE JACK PARR SHOW
PLAYING A TUNE
HE HAD WRITTEN HIMSELF.
ALTHOUGH NO ONE IN THE AUDIENCE
COULD HAVE KNOWN I
THIS WAS THE BEGINNING
OF THE MOST REMARKABLE COMEBACKS
IN AMERICAN POLITICAL HISTORY.
CAN KENNEDY
BE DEFEATED IN '64?
WELL, WHICH ONE?
( laughter)
JUST TO BE VERY SERIOUS
I KNOW, OF COURSE
YOU'RE REFERRING TO
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
AND I, UNDER
NO CIRCUMSTANCES
WOULD SPEAK
DISRESPECTFULLY
EVEN OF HIM
OR OF HIS OFFICE.
WEREN'T YOU KIND OF
FRIENDS ONCE?
OH, CERTAINLY.
WE CAME TO THE
CONGRESS TOGETHER
AND WE WERE LOW MEN
ON THE TOTEM POLE
IN THE LABOR
COMMITTEE TOGETHER.
AND WE REMAINED LOW MEN
UNTIL HE RAN
FOR PRESIDENT.
NOW HE'S UP AND I'M DOWN.
( laughter)
MY LITTLE DAUGHTER
SAID TODAY
"MR. NIXON WILL BE ON?"
I SAID, "YES."
SHE SAID, "I DO HOPE
THAT MAN FINDS WORK."
( laughter)
Narrator:
NIXON FOUND WORK
AS A WALL STREET LAWYER
DETERMINED TO SUCCEED AT WHA
HE CALLED "THE FAST TRACK."
PAT NIXON HAD NEVER BEEN HAPPY
WITH THE CONSTAN
DEMANDS OF POLITICS
AND WELCOMED THE PROSPEC
OF A MORE NORMAL EXISTENCE.
"I HOPE WE NEVER MOVE
AGAIN," SHE TOLD HIM
WHEN THEY SETTLED IN NEW YORK.
BUT POLITICS HAD BEEN
NIXON'S WHOLE LIFE
ALL HE HAD EVER KNOWN.
HE SOON TOLD FRIENDS
HE WOULD DIE OF BOREDOM
IF HE STAYED IN PRIVATE LIFE.
TV Announcer:
HERE IS A BULLETIN
FROM CBS NEWS.
IN DALLAS, TEXAS,
THREE SHOTS WERE FIRED
AT PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S
MOTORCADE
Narrator:
TO SOME, IT SEEMED
THAT KENNEDY'S ASSASSINATION
MIGHT OPEN THE WAY FOR NIXON
IN THE NEXT ELECTION.
BUT SENSING THE MOOD
OF THE COUNTRY
NIXON CONCLUDED THAT LYNDON
JOHNSON, THE NEW PRESIDEN
WOULD BE UNBEATABLE IN 1964.
Interviewer:
ARE YOU WRITING
YOURSELF OFF
AT THIS POINT,
AS A POLITICAL
CANDIDATE
AS A PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE
AT ANY TIME?
WELL, I'VE MADE IT CLEAR
THAT I AM NOT A CANDIDATE
FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.
I SHALL NOT BECOME A CANDIDATE
IN THIS YEAR, 1964
AND I CERTAINLY HAVE NO PLANS
TO BECOME A CANDIDATE
IN THE FUTURE.
I ALSO WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR
AT THE SAME TIME, HOWEVER
I AM NOT WRITING MYSELF OFF
AS A POLITICAL LEADER
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
AS NIXON EXPECTED,
PRESIDENT JOHNSON OVERWHELMED
REPUBLICAN BARRY GOLDWATER
IN 1964
AND THE PARTY LOS
DISASTROUSLY IN CONGRESS.
BUT IN THE RUINS OF THAT DEFEA
NIXON SAW HIS WAY BACK TO POWER.
HE WORKED THE REPUBLICAN
CONGRESSIONAL CIRCUIT TIRELESSLY
TRAVELED TO 35 STATES,
BARNSTORMED FOR 105 CANDIDATES.
AND WHEN THE PARTY MADE
A DRAMATIC COMEBACK IN 1966
THERE WAS HARDLY A REPUBLICAN
WHO DIDN'T OWE NIXON A FAVOR.
Man:
HE WAS UNCOMFORTABLE
WITH ALL OF THE OBLIGATORY
ACTIVITIES OF POLITICS.
THOSE WERE THE DUES ONE PAID
IN ORDER TO GAIN ADMISSION
TO THE ARENA, AND HE PAID THEM.
HE FLINCHED, ON OCCASION,
BUT HE PAID THEM.
HE LEARNED TO DO
WHAT HE HAD TO DO.
Nixon:
HOW ARE YOU DOING?
Man:
GOOD TO SEE YOU!
GET THIS BOY IN!
WE'RE GOING TO!
YOU GET HIM IN NOW!
Narrator:
NIXON PROMISED HIS FAMILY
A MORATORIUM ON POLITICS IN 1967
BUT IMMEDIATELY TOOK OFF
ON A GRUELING TOUR
OF FOUR CONTINENTS.
TRAVELING AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN
THE FORMER VICE-PRESIDEN
COULD STILL COMMAND A CROWD
IN THE MOST REMOTE REACHES
OF THE GLOBE.
HIS TRIPS KEPT HIM IN THE NEWS
AND STRENGTHENED HIS GRASP
OF FOREIGN POLICY.
ONCE AGAIN, RICHARD NIXON
WAS AIMING FOR THE PRESIDENCY.
HE HAD THIS ABSOLUTELY CORE FIRE
THAT HE WANTED TO BE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
I THINK FOR SEVERAL REASONS
PROBABLY TO PROVE A LO
OF THINGS TO HIMSELF
BUT ALSO BECAUSE
HE SINCERELY WANTED
TO TAKE THE COUNTRY
IN A DIRECTION
THAT HE FELT WAS
THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
Man:
OKAY!
( cheers)
Narrator:
AS NIXON OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED
HIS CANDIDACY IN FEBRUARY, 1968
THE EVENTS OF
THAT TUMULTUOUS YEAR
MOVED HIM CLOSER TO THE OFFICE
HE HAD SOUGHT FOR SO LONG.
IN VIETNAM, COMMUNIST GUERRILLAS
FOUGHT THEIR WAY
TO THE VERY DOORSTEP OF
THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN SAIGON.
NEVER HAD THE PROSPECTS
FOR VICTORY LOOKED MORE BLEAK.
AT HOME, ANGER OVER THE WAR
TORE THE COUNTRY APAR
AND FORCED LYNDON JOHNSON
TO WITHDRAW
FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE.
ROBERT KENNEDY WAS
JUST BEGINNING TO EMERGE
AS THE DEMOCRATIC FRONT-RUNNER
WHEN HE WAS KILLED
BY AN ASSASSIN'S BULLET.
( screaming)
RACE RIOTS FOLLOWING THE MURDER
OF MARTIN LUTHER KING
TURNED MANY CITIES
INTO BATTLEGROUNDS.
( sirens)
THE COUNTRY HAD NOT SUFFERED
SUCH UPHEAVAL
SINCE THE CIVIL WAR.
MANY AMERICANS
YEARNED FOR A LEADER
WHO PROMISED SAFETY
AND STABILITY.
IN MIAMI BEACH
SAFE FROM THE CRISES
THAT ENGULFED THE COUNTRY
THE NIXON FAMILY WATCHED
AS REPUBLICANS CHOSE
THEIR CANDIDATE.
Delegate:
for Richard M. Nixon.
THERE WE WORKED FOR THOSE!
Delegate:
Wisconsin is proud
to cast its 30 votes
for the nominee
of this convention
Richard M. Nixon
Nixon:
SIT DOWN,
GET TO WORK!
Narrator:
AS HE ACCEPTED
THE NOMINATION OF HIS PARTY
NIXON OFFERED HIMSELF
AS THE MAN WHO COULD BRING ORDER
OUT OF THE TURMOIL OF 1968.
WHEN THE STRONGEST NATION
IN THE WORLD
CAN BE TIED DOWN FOR FOUR YEARS
IN A WAR IN VIETNAM
WITH NO END IN SIGH
WHEN THE NATION WITH
THE GREATEST TRADITION
OF THE RULE OF LAW IS PLAGUED
BY UNPRECEDENTED LAWLESSNESS
WHEN A NATION THAT HAS
BEEN KNOWN FOR A CENTURY
FOR EQUALITY OF
OPPORTUNITY IS TORN
BY UNPRECEDENTED RACIAL VIOLENCE
THEN IT'S TIME
FOR NEW LEADERSHIP
FOR THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA!
Narrator:
REPUBLICANS ONCE AGAIN PINNED
THEIR PRESIDENTIAL HOPES
ON RICHARD NIXON.
TO THEM, AND TO MANY
IN THE PRESS
HE SEEMED A NEW NIXON
BETTER PREPARED THAN
THE MAN WHO HAD LOST IN 1960.
BUT THE DEMOCRATIC
FRONT-RUNNER HUBERT HUMPHREY
SAID HE'D SEEN IT ALL BEFORE.
HE STARTED
THAT RENEWAL JOB IN 1952
BRAND NEW NIXON.
THERE WAS SOME REASON
FOR IT, TOO.
THEN THEY HAD ANOTHER
RENEWAL JOB IN 1956.
THEN THEY HAD ANOTHER RENOVATION
OPERATION IN 1960.
THEN, WHEN HE WEN
TO RUN FOR GOVERNOR
IN CALIFORNIA IN 1962,
THEY RENEWED HIM AGAIN.
AND THEN IN 1964,
ANOTHER TOUCH-UP.
AND NOW, I READ ABOU
THE NEW NIXON OF 1968.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
ANYBODY THAT'S HAD HIS POLITICAL
FACE LIFTED SO MANY TIMES
CAN'T BE VERY NEW.
( laughter, applause)
Narrator:
BOATING IN THE FLORIDA KEYS,
NIXON WAS RELAXED AND CONFIDENT.
HE WAS RUNNING FAR AHEAD
OF HUMPHREY IN THE POLLS
AND THE VIETNAM WAR WAS
SPLINTERING THE DEMOCRATS.
Crowd:
WE WANT PEACE NOW!
WE WANT PEACE NOW!
Narrator:
AT THEIR CONVENTION IN CHICAGO,
THE ANTI-WAR WING OF THE PARTY
PRESSED FOR AN END
TO THE BOMBING
AND A NEGOTIATED WITHDRAWAL
OF U.S. TROOPS.
BUT HUMPHREY STUCK BY
PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S POLICY.
AND I THINK THAT WITHDRAWAL
WOULD BE TOTALLY UNREALISTIC
AND WOULD BE A CATASTROPHE.
( chanting)
Narrator:
AS THE DEMOCRATS
FOUGHT OVER VIETNAM
NIXON AVOIDED THE ISSUE
PROMISING ONLY
THAT HE WOULD FIND
AN HONORABLE END TO THE WAR.
ALONG WITH MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
HE WATCHED ON TELEVISION
AS ANTI-WAR PROTESTS
OUTSIDE THE CONVENTION HALL
EXPLODED INTO VIOLENCE.
IN THE CHAOS,
NIXON SAW AN OPPORTUNITY.
A FEW DAYS LATER
HE MOVED THROUGH
THE SAME STREETS IN A MOTORCADE.
400,000 PEOPLE
TURNED OUT TO CHEER HIM.
HE CHOSE THE CITY WHICH HAD SEEN
OPEN WAR AMONG THE DEMOCRATS
TO SOUND ONE OF THE CENTRAL
THEMES OF HIS CAMPAIGN.
THIS IS A NATION OF LAWS,
AND AS ABRAHAM LINCOLN HAS SAID
NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW,
NO ONE IS BELOW THE LAW
AND WE'RE GOING
TO ENFORCE THE LAW
AND AMERICANS
SHOULD REMEMBER THA
IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
LAW AND ORDER.
Narrator:
THE EMPHASIS ON LAW AND ORDER
APPEALED TO MILLIONS
OF AMERICANS.
NIXON'S TELEVISION COMMERCIALS
HAMMERED IT HOME.
Nixon:
IN RECENT YEARS, CRIME
IN THIS COUNTRY HAS GROWN
NINE TIMES AS FAS
AS POPULATION.
AT THE CURRENT RATE
THE CRIMES OF VIOLENCE
IN AMERICA WILL DOUBLE BY 1972.
WE CANNOT ACCEPT THAT KIND
OF FUTURE FOR AMERICA.
WE OWE IT TO THE DECENT AND
LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS OF AMERICA
TO TAKE THE OFFENSIVE
AGAINST THE CRIMINAL FORCES
THAT THREATEN
THEIR PEACE AND THEIR SECURITY
AND TO REBUILD RESPEC
FOR LAW ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
Narrator:
TO THE DEMOCRATS,
NIXON'S CALL FOR LAW AND ORDER
PLAYED TO THE WORS
IN AMERICANS.
BUT YOU CAN'T VOTE YOUR ANGER,
YOU HAVE TO VOTE YOUR HOPES.
YOU CAN'T VOTE YOUR HATES,
YOU HAVE TO VOTE YOUR HOPES.
THE PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTION
DOESN'T JUST SAY
"DOUBLE THE RATE
OF CONVICTIONS."
IT DOESN'T JUST SAY,
"LAW AND ORDER."
IT SAYS, "TO ENSURE JUSTICE."
AND IF MR. NIXON HASN'T READ IT,
THEN I'LL SEND HIM A COPY.
Narrator:
BUT NIXON HAD A FEEL
FOR THE ISSUES
THAT MOVED THE MIDDLE
AMERICAN VOTER.
THEY WERE THE SAME ISSUES
THAT MOVED HIM.
BLAMING LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
FOR THE UPHEAVAL IN THE COUNTRY
HE SOUGHT TO RALLY
A NEW REPUBLICAN MAJORITY.
THE NEW VOICE THAT IS BEING
HEARD ACROSS AMERICA TODAY
IT IS NOT THE VOICE
OF A SINGLE PERSON.
IT'S THE VOICE OF
A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS
WHO HAVE NOT BEEN THE PROTESTORS
WHO HAVE NOT BEEN THE SHOUTERS.
THE GREAT MAJORITY
FINALLY HAVE BECOME ANGRY
NOT ANGRY WITH HATE,
BUT ANGRY, MY FRIENDS
BECAUSE THEY LOVE AMERICA
AND THEY DON'T LIKE
WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING
TO AMERICA
FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
YOU'VE JUST HEARD
RICHARD NIXON
REFER TO YOU
AMONG ALL THESE
OTHER PEOPLE
AS "THE FORGOTTEN
AMERICANS."
WHAT DO YOU THINK
HE'S REFERRING TO?
WELL, I SORT OF THINK
HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE
THAT ARE PAYING THE TAXES
THAT ARE SUPPORTING
THE SCHOOLS, THE CHURCHES
THE PEOPLE THAT ARE
THEY ARE SORT OF FORGOTTEN
BECAUSE EVERYTHING'S AIMED
AT WELFARE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
( band playing
"Stars and Stripes forever")
Narrator:
NIXON'S CALL TO
THE FORGOTTEN AMERICANS
APPEALED TO A BROAD
BAND OF VOTERS
MOSTLY WHITE, MIDDLE CLASS,
HAWKISH, PATRIOTIC.
IT WAS A GROUP THAT FEL
IGNORED AND EXCLUDED
IN THE UPHEAVALS OF THE '60s
AND THE STRATEGY
SEEMED TO BE WORKING.
NIXON HELD HIS STRONG LEAD
INTO THE FALL.
THEN, JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
SUDDENLY STOPPED
THE BOMBING OF NORTH VIETNAM.
HUMPHREY SURGED IN THE POLLS.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
THE BIGGEST ELECTION SURPRISE
THAT AMERICA HAS KNOWN
IN 20 YEARS.
WE'RE GOING TO WIN
THIS ELECTION!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Narrator:
BY ELECTION NIGHT, NIXON
AND HUMPHREY WERE DEAD EVEN.
NIXON PREPARED HIS FAMILY
FOR THE POSSIBILITY
OF STILL ANOTHER DEFEAT.
Nixon has closed a little bit
in the last few
tabulations there.
Man:
I THINK BEFORE
THE MORNING IS OU
HUBERT HUMPHREY WILL BE
THE NEXT PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
( cheering)
And there have been no changes.
None of those big states
have fallen yet
the ones we are waiting for
and Nixon has 175
Narrator:
ALL NIGHT LONG, THE LEAD
SHIFTED BACK AND FORTH.
THE RESULTS WEREN'T ANNOUNCED
UNTIL 8:00 THE NEXT MORNING.
With 26 electoral votes
in Illinois
Richard Nixon goes over the top
with 287 electoral votes.
He needed 270 to win
and that seems to be
the 1968 election.
Announcer:
AND HE IS BEAMING,
PAT NIXON IS BEAMING.
ONE CAN'T HELP
BUT THINK BACK TO 1960
WHEN A TEARFUL PAT NIXON
WAS CHOKING BACK THE EMOTIONS.
IT WAS A TOTALLY DIFFEREN
SCENE, OF COURSE, THEN.
HERE IS POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOS
FANTASTIC POLITICAL COMEBACKS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
I SAW MANY SIGNS
IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
SOME OF THEM WERE NOT FRIENDLY,
SOME WERE VERY FRIENDLY
BUT THE ONE THA
TOUCHED ME THE MOS
WAS ONE THAT I SAW
IN DEXTER, OHIO
AT THE END OF A LONG DAY
OF WHISTLE-STOPPING.
A TEENAGER HELD UP A SIGN
"BRING US TOGETHER"
AND THAT WILL BE
THE GREAT OBJECTIVE
OF THIS ADMINISTRATION
AT THE OUTSE
TO BRING THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE TOGETHER.
Narrator:
NIXON SPOKE OF UNITY
BUT HIS MARGIN OF VICTORY
HAD BEEN EXTREMELY NARROW.
HE HAD NOT REACHED OUT TO BLACKS
OR THE POOR,
OR OPPONENTS OF THE WAR
AND A NATION AS BADLY DIVIDED
AS AMERICA IN 1968
WOULD NOT BE EASY TO LEAD.
Chorus:
AMERICA ♪
AMERICA ♪
Narrator:
AT AGE 56, AFTER 22 YEARS
OF POLITICAL BATTLE
RICHARD NIXON HAD BECOME THE
MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD.
HE ENVISIONED NOTHING LESS
THAN A NEW WORLD ORDER
WITH HIMSELF AS ITS ARCHITECT.
THE GREATEST HONOR
HISTORY CAN BESTOW
IS THE TITLE OF PEACEMAKER.
THIS HONOR NOW BECKONS AMERICA.
IF WE SUCCEED
GENERATIONS TO COME
WILL SAY OF US NOW LIVING
THAT WE MASTERED OUR MOMEN
THAT WE HELPED MAKE
THE WORLD SAFE FOR MANKIND.
THIS IS OUR SUMMONS
TO GREATNESS.
( marching band music)
Man:
THERE'S NO QUESTION AT ALL THA
NIXON ASPIRED TO GREATNESS.
HE WOULD TALK CONSTANTLY
ABOUT THE GENERATION OF PEACE
THAT HE HOPED TO CONTRIBUTE
TO BUILDING
THAT WOULD INDEED BE
HIS BEQUES
TO THE UNITED STATES
AND THE WORLD.
Narrator:
AS NIXON TOOK POWER,
HE ASSEMBLED A STAFF
THAT WOULD LEAVE HIM FREE
TO CARRY OUT HIS AMBITIOUS PLANS
AND WHOSE LOYALTY
HAD ALREADY BEEN DEMONSTRATED.
THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF,
AS IT EVOLVES,
I THINK YOU'LL FIND
WILL BE SMALLER THAN
IT'S BEEN IN THE PAST
Narrator:
H.R. HALDEMAN, A FORMER
ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE
WHO HAD BEEN AT NIXON'S SIDE
SINCE 1956
WAS MADE CHIEF OF STAFF.
"HE WAS PROUD," HE ONCE SAID
"TO BE RICHARD NIXON'S
SON OF A BITCH."
JOHN EHRLICHMAN, A LAWYER AND
TOP AIDE DURING THE CAMPAIGN
WOULD HANDLE MUCH
OF DOMESTIC POLICY.
TOGETHER, HE AND HALDEMAN
WOULD TIGHTLY CONTROL ACCESS
TO THE PRESIDENT.
THOSE WHOM THEY EXCLUDED
CALLED THEM "THE BERLIN WALL."
BEHIND THAT WALL
NIXON COULD FOCUS
ON HIS MAIN INTEREST
FOREIGN POLICY,
BYPASSING THE STATE DEPARTMEN
TO WORK CLOSELY WITH HIS
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
HENRY KISSINGER.
DR. KISSINGER IS PERHAPS
ONE OF THE MAJOR SCHOLARS
IN AMERICA AND
THE WORLD TODAY
IN THIS AREA.
HE HAS NEVER YET HAD A FULL-TIME
GOVERNMENT ASSIGNMEN
AND HE WILL BRING
TO THIS RESPONSIBILITY
A FRESH APPROACH
Man:
THEY ORGANIZED THE GOVERNMEN
TO CONCENTRATE POWER
IN THE HANDS OF THESE TWO MEN
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND IT'S NOT ACCIDENTAL
THAT HE APPOINTS AN OLD FRIEND
BUT A DECIDEDLY WEAK
PRACTITIONER IN BILL ROGERS
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OR ESSENTIALLY A WISCONSIN DELLS
POLITICIAN, MELVIN LAIRD
AS SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THERE ARE NO STRONG FIGURES
IN THIS CABINE
AND THERE ARE NO STRONG
FOREIGN POLICY FIGURES
ANYWHERE IN THE HIGHER
ECHELONS OF THE GOVERNMENT.
IT IS TO BE RICHARD NIXON'S
FOREIGN POLICY
AND IT IS TO BE CARRIED OU
WITH SOPHISTICATION AND SOME
SUBTLETY BY HENRY KISSINGER.
Narrator:
LOOMING OVER
THE NEW ADMINISTRATION
WAS THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
AMERICAN TROOPS HAD BEEN
FIGHTING FOR FOUR YEARS
ON BEHALF OF SOUTH VIETNAM
AGAINST THE SOVIET-BACKED
COMMUNIST FORCES OF THE NORTH.
THE WAR HAD ALREADY TAKEN
THE LIVES OF 30,000 AMERICANS
AND OVER A MILLION VIETNAMESE,
AND DESTROYED ONE PRESIDENT.
NIXON WAS DETERMINED
NOT TO LET IT DESTROY HIM.
EVEN BEFORE HIS INAUGURATION
NIXON HAD KISSINGER
BEGIN SECRET CONTACTS
WITH THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
IN AN ATTEMP
TO MOVE THE STALLED
PARIS PEACE TALKS FORWARD
AND SOON, THE TWO MEN
DEVELOPED A STRATEGY
THEY HOPED WOULD GE
THE U.S. OUT OF THE WAR
WITHOUT ABANDONING
AMERICA'S ALLY, SOUTH VIETNAM.
Nixon:
WE HAVE ADOPTED A PLAN
WHICH WE HAVE WORKED OU
IN COOPERATION
WITH THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE
FOR THE COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL
OF ALL U.S. COMBAT GROUND FORCES
AND THEIR REPLACEMEN
BY SOUTH VIETNAMESE FORCES
ON AN ORDERLY,
SCHEDULED TIMETABLE.
THIS WITHDRAWAL
WILL BE MADE FROM STRENGTH
Narrator:
CONFIDENT THAT THIS POLICY
WOULD END AMERICA'S INVOLVEMEN
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
BY THE END OF 1970
NIXON AND KISSINGER TURNED THEIR
ATTENTION TO GLOBAL STRATEGY
RESHAPING AMERICA'S
ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP
WITH THE COMMUNIST WORLD.
THEY BOTH BEGAN IN 1969-1970
WITH A NOTION
THAT ONLY LATELY HAS BECOME
FASHIONABLE IN WASHINGTON
AND THAT IS THA
THE POST-WAR IS REALLY OVER
THAT THE COLD WAR OUGHT TO BE
A THING OF THE PAST.
THEY ARE, IN THAT SENSE, ALMOS
20 YEARS AHEAD OF THEIR TIME.
Narrator:
RECOGNIZING THA
THE SOVIET UNION
HAD NEARLY CAUGHT UP TO THE U.S.
IN NUCLEAR STRENGTH
NIXON AND KISSINGER DISPATCHED
A TEAM OF NEGOTIATORS
TO WORK OUT A TREATY
WITH THE SOVIETS.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
THE HISTORY OF THE NUCLEAR AGE
THE TWO SUPERPOWERS SAT DOWN
TO DISCUSS SETTING LIMITS
ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
AT THE SAME TIME,
THEY BEGAN SECRET CONTACTS
WITH THE OTHER GREA
COMMUNIST POWER, CHINA.
THERE WERE FEW MORE FORBIDDING
AND ISOLATED PLACES
IN THE WORLD IN 1969
BUT NIXON BELIEVED THAT CHINA,
WITH ITS VAST POPULATION
AND GROWING NUCLEAR ARSENAL
WOULD SOON BE
TOO POWERFUL TO IGNORE.
Morris:
HERE, FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THE 20th CENTURY
WE HAVE TWO MEN AT THE VERY
PINNACLE OF AMERICAN GOVERNMEN
WHO HAVE SOME CLEAR NOTION
NOT ONLY OF WHAT THE WORLD
IS DOING OUT THERE
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD
BUT OF WHERE THEY WAN
THE UNITED STATES TO FIT IN.
WE ARE NOT A NATION
THAT PRACTICES
ITS FOREIGN POLICY BY DESIGN,
FOR THE MOST PAR
AND NIXON AND KISSINGER ARE
AN EXCEPTION TO THAT RULE.
Narrator:
IN THE SUMMER OF 1969,
NIXON ANNOUNCED
THE FIRST AMERICAN TROOP
WITHDRAWALS FROM VIETNAM.
ARMS CONTROL, CHINA,
SOUTHEAST ASIA
HE SEEMED TO BE MOVING STEADILY
TOWARD BECOMING A PEACEMAKER.
Man:
TEN, HUT!
Narrator:
RICHARD NIXON LOVED
THE MOVIE PATTON
AND WATCHED IT AGAIN AND AGAIN
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
( bugle salute)
GENERAL GEORGE PATTON
WAS A MAN OF ACTION
CONTEMPTUOUS OF HIS CRITICS,
UNCOMPROMISING
DETERMINED TO WIN AT ALL COSTS.
BE SEATED.
I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER
AMERICANS LOVE A WINNER
AND WILL NOT TOLERATE A LOSER.
AMERICANS PLAY TO WIN
ALL THE TIME.
I WOULDN'T GIVE A HOOT IN HELL
FOR A MAN WHO LOST AND LAUGHED.
THAT'S WHY AMERICANS
HAVE NEVER LOS
AND WILL NEVER LOSE A WAR
BECAUSE THE VERY THOUGHT OF
LOSING IS HATEFUL TO AMERICANS.
Narrator:
RICHARD NIXON WAS DETERMINED
NOT TO BE THE FIRST AMERICAN
PRESIDENT TO LOSE A WAR.
HE MIGHT SIMPLY HAVE BROUGH
THE TROOPS HOME
AND BLAMED VIETNAM
ON THE DEMOCRATS
BUT NIXON, LIKE MANY OF HIS
CONTEMPORARIES IN BOTH PARTIES
BELIEVED THAT ABANDONING
SOUTH VIETNAM TO THE COMMUNISTS
WOULD BE A DEFEAT THA
INVITED FURTHER AGGRESSION
A SIGN THAT AMERICA
COULD NO LONGER BE COUNTED ON
BY HER ALLIES.
DESPITE MOUNTING PRESSURE
FOR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL
HE STUCK TO HIS GRADUAL COURSE
WHILE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE
WHAT HE CALLED
"AN HONORABLE END TO THE WAR."
BUT THE MONTHS DRAGGED ON.
CASUALTIES MOUNTED
AND NIXON'S POLICY SEEMED
ONLY TO PROLONG AMERICA'S AGONY.
I SAID, "WITH RESPEC
TO VIETNAM
I SAID,
"THE WAR IN VIETNAM IS LOS
AND THE SOONER YOU GET OUT,
THE BETTER WE WILL BE."
IT WAS LOST, BUT HE,
FOR SOME REASON, KEPT AT IT.
IT WASN'T HIS WAR
AND IT SEEMED TO ME THA
JUST IN HANDLING A PRESIDENCY
YOU STICK AROUND WITH
THE WAR FOR TWO YEARS
AND IT'S YOUR WAR,
AND IT BECAME HIS WAR.
AND IN THE END
HALF THE COUNTRY SEEMED
TO THINK HE STARTED IT.
Crowd:
ALL WE ARE SAYING ♪
IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE ♪
Narrator:
IN OCTOBER 1969
THE LARGEST ANTI-WAR
DEMONSTRATIONS
IN THE NATION'S HISTORY
COLLECTIVELY KNOWN
AS "THE MORATORIUM"
WERE HELD IN CITIES
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
CRITICS OF THE WAR
HAD WAITED NINE MONTHS
FOR NIXON TO MAKE GOOD
HIS PLEDGE TO END THE CONFLIC
BUT NOW THE HONEYMOON WAS OVER.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE HAS BEEN
AND CONTINUES TO BE
OPPOSITION TO THE WAR IN VIETNAM
ON THE CAMPUSES
AND ALSO IN THE NATION.
AS FAR AS THIS KIND
OF ACTIVITY IS CONCERNED
WE EXPECT IT, HOWEVER,
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
WILL I BE AFFECTED
WHATEVER BY IT.
THE MORATORIUM ITSELF
WAS SEEN BY RICHARD NIXON
AS 200,000 PEOPLE
OUT THERE ON THE MALL
PROTESTING HIS FOREIGN POLICY
WHILE AT THE SAME TIME
THE POLLS WERE SHOWING
THAT 58%-59% OF THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE SUPPORTED HIM
IN HIS FOREIGN POLICY.
AND HE WOULD LOOK OU
THE WINDOW AND HE WOULD SAY
"I SIMPLY CANNOT PERMI
FOREIGN POLICY TO BE MADE
IN THE STREETS OF WASHINGTON."
Man:
THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES SAID
NOTHING YOU YOUNG KIDS WOULD DO
WOULD HAVE ANY EFFECT ON HIM.
WELL, I SUGGEST TO THE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
IF HE WANT TO KNOW
HOW MUCH EFFEC
YOU YOUNGSTERS CAN HAVE
ON THE PRESIDEN
HE SHOULD MAKE ONE
LONG-DISTANCE PHONE CALL
TO THE L.B.J. RANCH
AND ASK THAT BOY
HOW MUCH EFFECT YOU CAN HAVE.
( cheering)
Crowd:
1-2-3-4, TRICKY DICK
STOP THE WAR.
Narrator:
THE FATE OF LYNDON JOHNSON
DID HAUNT RICHARD NIXON.
HE FELT HE HAD TO DEMONSTRATE
THAT MOST AMERICANS
STILL SUPPORTED HIM
AND THAT IT WOULD
NOT BENEFIT HANOI
TO STALL PEACE NEGOTIATIONS.
"DON'T GET RATTLED,
DON'T WAVER, DON'T REACT"
HE TOLD HIMSELF
AS HE WENT TO WORK ON A SPEECH
TO RESPOND TO THE PROTESTS.
INSISTING ON WRITING IT HIMSELF
HE DISTINGUISHED HIS SUPPORTERS,
THE "FORGOTTEN AMERICANS"
FROM THE VOCAL MINORITY
IN THE STREETS
WITH A NEW CATCHPHRASE:
TO YOU, THE GREAT SILEN
MAJORITY OF MY FELLOW AMERICANS
I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
FOR THE MORE DIVIDED
WE ARE AT HOME
THE LESS LIKELY THE ENEMY
IS TO NEGOTIATE AT PARIS.
LET US BE UNITED FOR PEACE.
LET US ALSO BE UNITED
AGAINST DEFEAT.
BECAUSE LET US UNDERSTAND:
NORTH VIETNAM CANNOT DEFEA
OR HUMILIATE THE UNITED STATES.
ONLY AMERICANS CAN DO THAT.
Narrator:
IT WAS THE MOST EFFECTIVE SPEECH
OF NIXON'S PRESIDENCY.
80,000 TELEGRAMS AND LETTERS
ARRIVED AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
NEARLY ALL SUPPORTED HIM.
HIS APPROVAL RATING SOARED.
BUT THE WAR CONTINUED,
AND WITH IT THE PROTESTS.
Morris:
RICHARD NIXON CAME
TO OFFICE EXPECTING
IF NOT A QUICK FIX IN VIETNAM
EXPECTING A KIND OF
RESPONSIVENESS IN THE WAR.
HE HAD MADE CERTAIN SPEECHES.
HE HAD OFFERED CERTAIN GESTURES.
HE HAD PROFFERED
BOTH SECRETLY AND PUBLICLY
WHAT HE THOUGHT WERE PROMISING
INITIATIVES IN NEGOTIATIONS.
NONE OF THA
HAD YIELDED ANYTHING.
THERE WAS A PALPABLE
SENSE OF FRUSTRATION
IN THE ADMINISTRATION
ABOUT HOW LONG THIS WAR
WAS GOING TO DRAG ON.
OUT OF THE OVAL OFFICE
BEGAN TO FLOOD MEMORANDA
THAT WERE STREAM-
OF-CONSCIOUSNESS
RENDITIONS OF THE PRESIDENT'S
FEARS AND AMBITIONS
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
HIS IMAGE OF THIS WHOLE CONTES
AS A KIND OF CHALLENGE
BEING ISSUED
NOT ONLY BY THE PARTIES
ON THE GROUND
BY THE CAMBODIAN REBELS,
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE,
AND THE VIET CONG
BUT ULTIMATELY BY MORE
FORMIDABLE AND DISTANT FORCES
THE SOVIET UNION, BY CHINA,
BY HIS ENEMIES TESTING HIM
MEASURING HIS METTLE
AS A MAN AND AS A LEADER.
Ehrlichman:
HE TOOK ME ASIDE AND HE SAID
"I'M GOING TO BE
OUT OF THE PLAY FOR TEN DAYS.
"I WON'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE
"ANY DOMESTIC DECISIONS
FOR TEN DAYS
"SO COME BACK THIS AFTERNOON
AND TELL ME ALL THE THINGS
"THAT NEED TO BE DECIDED
FOR THE NEXT TEN DAYS
"AND THEN I WON'T BE ABLE
TO SEE YOU
"BECAUSE I'LL BE FOCUSING
ON THIS BUSINESS IN VIETNAM.
WE'RE GOING TO TRY
AND BRING IT TO A HEAD."
Narrator:
AT THE PENTAGON,
DEFENSE SECRETARY LAIRD
WAITED FOR THE PRESIDENT.
AFTER DAYS OF TENSE DELIBERATION
NIXON WAS ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE
AN ATTACK ON ENEMY SANCTUARIES
ACROSS THE VIETNAM
BORDER IN CAMBODIA
AND THE WOULD DO SO
OVER THE OBJECTIONS
OF MANY WHITE HOUSE ADVISORS.
Morris:
WE THOUGHT THE INVASION
WAS A BAD IDEA
AND THAT IT WAS ONE MORE
ROUND OF ESCALATION
ON THE PATTERN
ON AN OLD PATTERN IN VIETNAM
WHICH WOULD COST LIVES
AND NATIONAL TREASURE
AND REALLY ONLY PROLONG
THE SUFFERING
AND DO NOTHING TO AFFEC
THE LARGER OUTCOME OF THE WAR.
Narrator:
BUT THE MILITARY AND KISSINGER
RECOMMENDED THE ACTION
AND NIXON WANTED TO GO AHEAD.
HE WAS CONVINCED THAT DESTROYING
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
HIDING PLACES IN CAMBODIA
WOULD RELIEVE COMMUNIS
PRESSURE ON THE SOUTH
AND HE WANTED TO TAKE SOME
DRAMATIC ACTION TO DEMONSTRATE
THAT NEITHER HANOI
NOR THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMEN
COULD INTIMIDATE THE UNITED
STATES OR ITS PRESIDENT.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ACTS LIKE A PITIFUL,
HELPLESS GIAN
THE FORCES OF TOTALITARIANISM
AND ANARCHY
WILL THREATEN FREE NATIONS
AND FREE INSTITUTIONS
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
IT IS NOT OUR POWER
BUT OUR WILL AND CHARACTER
THAT IS BEING TESTED TONIGHT.
Narrator:
AS NIXON SPOKE, AMERICAN
TROOPS MOVED INTO CAMBODIA.
HIS CRITICS WERE OUTRAGED.
THE PRESIDENT WHO HAD PROMISED
TO END THE WAR
SEEMED TO BE WIDENING I
MOVING INTO A COUNTRY
PERCEIVED AS NEUTRAL.
THREE MEMBERS OF KISSINGER'S
STAFF, INCLUDING ROGER MORRIS
RESIGNED IN PROTEST.
NIXON WAS UNMOVED.
Nixon:
I WOULD RATHER BE
A ONE-TERM PRESIDEN
AND DO WHAT I BELIEVE WAS RIGH
THAN TO BE A TWO-TERM PRESIDEN
AT THE COST OF SEEING AMERICA
BECOME A SECOND-RATE POWER
AND TO SEE THIS NATION
ACCEPT THE FIRST DEFEA
IN ITS PROUD 190-YEAR HISTORY.
Narrator:
EARLY THE NEXT MORNING
NIXON WENT TO THE PENTAGON
FOR A FIRSTHAND BRIEFING.
THE MILITARY WAS
REPORTING SUCCESS.
NIXON WAS ENCOURAGED,
AND PRAISED AMERICAN SOLDIERS
FIGHTING IN THE JUNGLES
OF SOUTHEAST ASIA.
THE WIFE OF ONE OF THOSE
SOLDIERS
REACHED OUT TO SHAKE HIS HAND.
NIXON DREW A SHARP CONTRAS
BETWEEN THE TROOPS IN VIETNAM
AND THE STUDENT PROTESTERS
AT HOME.
Nixon:
YOU KNOW, YOU SEE THESE BUMS,
YOU KNOW, BLOWING UP THE
CAMPUSES.
LISTEN, THE BOYS THAT ARE
ON THE COLLEGE CAMPUSES TODAY
ARE THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE
IN THE WORLD
AND HERE THEY ARE,
BURNING UP THE BOOKS
I MEAN, STORMING AROUND ABOU
THIS ISSUE
I MEAN, YOU NAME IT.
GET RID OF THE WAR,
THERE'LL BE ANOTHER ONE
( siren howling)
Narrator:
NIXON'S REMARKS FURTHER
INFURIATED STUDENTS
ALREADY PROTESTING
OVER CAMBODIA.
AFTER THREE TENSE DAYS
OF DEMONSTRATIONS
AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY IN OHIO
NERVOUS NATIONAL GUARDSMEN
OPENED FIRE.
( crackle of gunshots)
FOUR STUDENTS WERE KILLED.
"MY CHILD WAS NOT A BUM," SAID
THE FATHER OF ONE DEAD GIRL.
AMERICAN CAMPUSES EXPLODED.
HUNDREDS OF COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES CLOSED DOWN.
GOVERNORS IN 16 STATES
CALLED OUT THE POLICE
AND NATIONAL GUARD.
NIXON'S SUPPORTERS TOOK
TO THE STREETS AS WELL.
AT NEW YORK'S CITY HALL,
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS STRUGGLED
TO RAISE THE FLAG
WHICH THE MAYOR HAD LOWERED
TO HONOR THE DEAD AT KENT STATE.
NIXON'S MOVE INTO CAMBODIA
AND HIS DIVIDING OF AMERICANS
INTO "BUMS" AND "HEROES" HAD SE
OFF A NATIONAL FIRESTORM.
Crowd:
STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!
Narrator:
ANGRY PROTESTORS RETURNED
TO WASHINGTON.
AS TENSIONS ROSE, THE SECRE
SERVICE RINGED THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH A BARRICADE OF BUSES.
Man:
IT WAS LIKE LIVING IN A BUNKER
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
YOU'D LOOK OUT IN THE STREETS
AND SEE THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE PROTESTING.
YOU LITERALLY WERE AFRAID
FOR YOUR LIFE.
THERE WERE TIME
WHEN I CAN REMEMBER SAYING
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
"A FREE COUNTRY.
"HERE WE ARE IN THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH BARRICADES UP
"AND BUSES AROUND
THE WHITE HOUSE
"AND TEAR GAS GOING OF
"AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF
PROTESTERS OUT IN THE STREETS
AND TROOPS SITTING HERE."
Narrator:
AN EMBATTLED NIXON FACED THE
PRESS AS ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATORS
CONTINUED TO FLOCK
TO WASHINGTON.
Journalist:
WHAT DO YOU THINK
THE STUDENTS
ARE TRYING TO SAY
WITH THESE DEMONSTRATIONS?
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY
THAT THEY WANT PEACE.
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY THA
THEY WANT TO STOP THE KILLING.
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY
THAT THEY WANT TO END THE DRAFT.
THEY'RE TRYING TO SAY THA
WE OUGHT TO GET OUT OF VIETNAM.
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THA
THEY'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH.
I BELIEVE, HOWEVER, THA
THE DECISIONS THAT I HAVE MADE
WILL SERVE THAT PURPOSE.
Crowd:
ALL WE ARE SAYING ♪
IS GIVE PEACE A CHANCE ♪
Narrator:
THAT NIGHT, PROTESTORS
CIRCLED THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH CHANTS AND CANDLES.
INSIDE, A SLEEPLESS NIXON MADE
MORE THAN 40 PHONE CALLS
TO FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS
AROUND THE COUNTRY.
NEAR DAWN, HE CALLED FOR A CAR
AND ASKED TO BE DRIVEN
TO THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL
WHERE PROTESTORS HAD GATHERED.
WHITE HOUSE AIDE,
EGIL KROGH FOLLOWED HIM.
IT WAS I GUESS IT WAS ALMOS
A SURREAL ATMOSPHERE.
IT WAS ALMOST LIKE DREAMLIKE.
IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?
WALKING UP THE STAIRS
OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL
AND THERE WAS THE PRESIDEN
SORT OF STANDING IN THE MIDDLE
OF A GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE
WHO WERE WEARING COMBAT FATIGUES
WITH PEACE SYMBOLS,
AND BANDANNAS
ALL OF THE CLOTHING
OF THE '60s AND THE '70s
AND TRYING VERY HARD TO
TO COMMUNICATE TO THEM.
I THINK I SAID, "WELL,
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO
"ABOUT THE KENT STATE KILLINGS?
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOU
THE WAR?"
HE SAID, "I'M REALLY NOT HERE
TO TALK ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE TRYING TO HANDLE THINGS."
SO IT WAS A ONE-WAY, YOU KNOW,
CONVERSATION OR A ONE-WAY STREE
YOU KNOW, BECAUSE HE WAS THERE
TRYING TO BE VERY CONVERSATIONAL
AND CASUAL
AND WE WERE THERE
OUTRAGED AND ANGRY AND SCARED.
Krogh:
ONE STUDENT BASICALLY TOLD HIM
SAID, "I HOPE THAT YOU REALIZE
THAT WE ARE WILLING TO DIE
FOR WHAT WE BELIEVE IN."
AND I THINK AS I RECALL,
THE PRESIDENT'S RESPONSE WAS
"WELL, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BU
WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD A WORLD
WHERE PEOPLE WILL NOT HAVE TO
DIE FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN."
Choir:
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS ♪
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS ♪
Singer:
IF YOU LOVE HIM, SING!
OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS ♪
Singer:
TO KNOW THAT JESUS ♪
SWEET, LOVING MERCIFUL
JESUS IS OURS.
HE BELONGS TO ALL OF US WHO WAN
TO RECEIVE AND ACCEPT HIM.
( loud applause)
Narrator:
WHEN HE APPEARED
AS THE GUEST OF HONOR
AT A BILLY GRAHAM CRUSADE
IN TENNESSEE
NIXON HAD BEEN IN OFFICE
16 MONTHS.
A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS STILL
BACKED HIS VIETNAM POLICY
BUT THE FUROR OVER CAMBODIA
HAD DEEPENED THE DIVISIONS
NIXON HAD PROMISED TO MEND.
EVEN HERE, SURROUNDED BY
THOUSANDS WHO SUPPORTED HIM
THE PRESIDENT COULD NOT ESCAPE
THE CEASELESS STORM OF PROTEST.
( shouting and booing)
AND IF WE'RE GOING
TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
AS WE MUST BRING THEM TOGETHER
IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PEACE
IN THE WORLD
IF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE
GOING TO HAVE A FULFILLMEN
BEYOND SIMPLY
THOSE MATERIAL THINGS
THEY MUST TURN TO THOSE
GREAT SPIRITUAL SOURCES
THAT HAVE MADE AMERICA
THE GREAT COUNTRY THAT IT IS.
I'M PROUD TO BE HERE
AND I'M VERY PROUD
TO HAVE YOUR WARM RECEPTION.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
( applause)
Man:
LET US SING TOGETHER
"GOD BLESS AMERICA,
MY HOME, SWEET HOME."
GOD BLESS AMERICA,
LAND THAT I LOVE ♪
STAND BESIDE HER,
AND GUIDE ♪
Narrator:
THROUGHOUT THE NEXT YEAR
NIXON CONTINUED TO TRY
TO RALLY HIS SUPPORTERS
WHILE DENOUNCING HIS OPPONENTS
CALLING SOME
AMONG THE PROTESTERS
"THUGS" AND "HOODLUMS"
BLAMING HIS CRITICS
IN CONGRESS AND THE PRESS
FOR FAILING TO SUPPORT THE WAR.
GOD BLESS AMERICA ♪
Narrator:
ALL U.S. TROOPS LEFT CAMBODIA
BY THE END OF JUNE
AS NIXON HAD PROMISED.
HE INSISTED THA
THE MILITARY ACTION
WHICH HAD CAUSED SUCH TURMOIL
HAD EASED THE PRESSURE
ON THE TROOPS IN VIETNAM.
WITHDRAWALS CONTINUED
ON SCHEDULE
BUT MORE AMERICAN LIVES
HAD BEEN LOST.
THERE WAS NO BREAKTHROUGH
IN THE PEACE TALKS.
AND IN THE WHITE HOUSE
AN INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED
AND SUSPICIOUS NIXON URGED
INTENSIFIED SURVEILLANCE
OF THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT.
HE GREW DISTRUSTFUL EVEN
OF HIS CLOSEST ADVISORS
AND INSTALLED HIDDEN MICROPHONES
IN HIS OWN OFFICE
IN PART, SO THAT HIS AIDES
COULD NOT LATER CLAIM
TO HAVE DISAGREED
WITH HIS DECISIONS.
BUT THE TAPING SYSTEM
WOULD EVENTUALLY TRAP
THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF.
Narrator:
ON JUNE 12, 1971,
THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF
PREPARED FOR A WEDDING
IN THE ROSE GARDEN.
THE PRESIDENT'S ELDER DAUGHTER,
TRICIA, WAS TO BE MARRIED
TO A YOUNG LAW STUDENT,
EDWARD COX.
RAIN THREATENED THE CEREMONY.
NIXON SPENT MUCH OF THE
AFTERNOON ON THE PHONE
TO AIR FORCE WEATHERMEN.
FINALLY, THERE WAS A PREDICTION
OF A 15-MINUTE BREAK
IN THE WEATHER.
I GOT TO GET DRESSED!
I'VE GOT TO GET ALL MY THINGS
MY HAIR DONE.
( laughter)
Man:
I SAW THE PRESIDENT MORE RELAXED
MORE HAPPY AND MORE
LIKE A TYPICAL AMERICAN FATHER
THAN I'VE SEEN HIM
IN A LONG, LONG TIME.
Interviewer:
HE LOOKED LIKE
HE WAS DOING
A GREAT JOB
OUT ON THE DANCE
FLOOR TOO.
YES
AND HE DOESN'T DANCE
ALL THAT OFTEN, YOU KNOW.
Narrator:
"IT WAS A DAY THA
ALL OF US WILL REMEMBER"
NIXON LATER WROTE
"BECAUSE WE WERE
BEAUTIFULLY AND SIMPLY HAPPY."
THE NEXT MORNING, NIXON
PICKED UP THE NEW YORK TIMES.
IN THE LEFT CORNER WAS
AN ACCOUNT OF TRICIA'S WEDDING.
ACROSS THE PAGE WAS
ANOTHER HEADLINE:
THE FIRST INSTALLMEN
OF WHAT CAME TO BE CALLED
THE PENTAGON PAPERS, A SECRE
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT STUDY
WHICH REVEALED PAS
GOVERNMENT DECEPTION
ABOUT THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
I FELT AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN
Narrator:
DANIEL ELLSBERG, A FORMER
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE
WHO HAD TURNED AGAINST THE WAR
HAD GIVEN THE TOP-SECRE
DOCUMENTS TO THE PRESS.
I COULD NO LONGER COOPERATE WITH
CONCEALING THIS INFORMATION
FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.
Narrator:
ALTHOUGH THE PENTAGON PAPERS
CONTAINED NOTHING
ABOUT THE NIXON POLICY
IN VIETNAM
IT WAS A LEAK
OF ENORMOUS MAGNITUDE.
THE PRESIDEN
AND HENRY KISSINGER SAW I
AS A DISTURBING PRECEDEN
AND A THREA
TO THEIR SECRET DIPLOMACY.
Colson:
THERE WAS PANIC
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
AND I REMEMBER BEING IN MEETINGS
WITH HENRY KISSINGER THAT DAY
IN WHICH HE SAID
"THIS COULD CAUSE THE COLLAPSE
"OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
"AND THIS COULD UNDERMINE
OUR INITIATIVES
WITH CHINA AND
THE SOVIET UNION."
AND DON'T FORGET, AT THAT TIME
PEOPLE DID NOT KNOW
THAT WE WERE NEGOTIATING
SECRETLY WITH THE CHINESE.
THEY DID NOT ALSO KNOW
THAT WE WERE CONDUCTING
SECRET NEGOTIATIONS
WITH THE NORTH VIETNAMESE
TO END THE WAR IN VIETNAM.
AND SO A LOT OF THINGS WERE
GOING ON THAT WE KNEW
THAT THE PUBLIC DIDN'T.
Narrator:
JUST FIVE WEEKS LATER,
THE TIMES PUBLISHED ANOTHER LEAK
THIS ONE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING
TO NIXON'S FOREIGN POLICY.
IT REVEALED U.S.
NEGOTIATING TACTICS
AND UPCOMING ARMS TALKS
WITH THE SOVIETS
AND IT SEEMED TO CONFIRM NIXON'S
WORST FEARS ABOUT THE PRESS.
Krogh:
I HAD SEEN HIM ANGRY
IN MEETINGS IN THE PAS
BUT I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED
THIS KIND OF FURY
WHERE HE WAS BASICALLY
WALKING AROUND THE ROOM
SLAMMING HIS FIST IN HIS HANDS
SAYING THAT THIS
CANNOT BE TOLERATED.
WE CANNOT LET THIS GO ON!
Colson:
NIXON BECAME OBSESSIVE
ABOUT THE PRESS COVERAGE.
WE HAD A DAILY NEWS SUMMARY
THAT WAS PREPARED
BY A YOUNG MAN
IN THE WHITE HOUSE
AND BY THE TIME
I GOT TO THE WHITE HOUSE
THE PRESIDENT HAD ALREADY READ
IT AND HAD MARKED ON THE COLUMNS
"JOHN CHANCELLOR LAST NIGH
SAID THIS, RESPOND TODAY."
"CALL UP SO-AND-SO."
"LOOK AT THIS
YOU CAN'T TRUST THESE PEOPLE."
"NEWSWEEK HAS DONE I
TO US AGAIN."
I'D GET NIXON'S NEWS SUMMARY
WITH ALL THESE COMMENTS
DOWN THE SIDE
AND SO YOU HAD THE IDEA,
WHEN YOU WENT TO WORK
IN THE MORNING
YOU WERE GOING
TO WAR WITH THE PRESS.
Narrator:
A SENSE OF BEING UNDER SEIGE
PERVADED THE WHITE HOUSE
FUELED BY THE LEAKS, THE
CONSTANT ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS
AND INTENSIFYING CRITICISM
IN THE PRESS.
IN THIS ATMOSPHERE
OF "US VERSUS THEM"
COLSON'S OFFICE BEGAN
AN EVER-EXPANDING LIS
OF NIXON'S CRITICS
"THE ENEMIES LIST."
ITS OBJECT WAS "TO SCREW
OUR POLITICAL ENEMIES."
REPORTERS AND POLITICIANS,
EDUCATORS AND ENTERTAINERS
WERE BARRED FROM
THE WHITE HOUSE.
SOME WERE TARGETED
FOR TAX AUDITS
OTHERS WERE TRAILED
BY PRIVATE DETECTIVES.
Colson:
AND IT WAS VERY
SHORTLY THEREAFTER
THAT NIXON AUTHORIZED
THE PLUMBERS
THE CREATION OF A SPECIAL
GROUP TO STOP LEAKS
AND THEY BEGAN
TO TAKE EXTRALEGAL STEPS AND
PUT INTO MOTION THE MECHANISM
WHICH ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN THE
DOWNFALL OF THE ADMINISTRATION.
Narrator:
IN A WHITE HOUSE MEMO
REGARDING THE NEUTRALIZATION
OF DANIEL ELLSBERG
THE PLUMBERS DISCUSSED
HOW THEY MIGH
"DESTROY HIS PUBLIC IMAGE
AND CREDIBILITY."
IN SEARCH OF DAMAGING
INFORMATION
ABOUT ELLSBERG'S PRIVATE LIFE
THEY ARRANGED A BREAK-IN A
THE OFFICE OF HIS PSYCHIATRIST.
Krogh:
THEY APPARENTLY BROKE A WINDOW
ON THE WAY IN.
AND REALIZING THAT IT COULD
NO LONGER BE VIEWED
AS A COVERT OPERATION
CHANGED COURSES AND DECIDED
TO MAKE IT LOOK
AS IF IT HAD BEEN
ENTERED BY A BURGLAR
LOOKING FOR DRUGS
OR SOME OTHER SUBSTANCES.
BASICALLY, THEY SMASHED UP
THE OFFICE
TOOK PICTURES OF THE DAMAGE.
I WAS SHOCKED AT THESE PICTURES.
WENT TO SEE JOHN EHRLICHMAN.
HE WAS, IF ANYTHING,
MORE SHOCKED THAN I WAS
AND SAID, "SHUT IT DOWN
AS OF NOW."
Narrator:
THE PLUMBERS WERE
EVENTUALLY DISBANDED
BUT SOME OF THE AGENTS
WERE REASSIGNED
TO WORK BEHIND THE SCENES
FOR THE NEWLY-FORMED COMMITTEE
TO REELECT THE PRESIDENT.
REELECTION HAD BECOME
NIXON'S CONSUMING CONCERN.
FROM THE FIRST DAY
OF HIS PRESIDENCY
HE HAD FOUGHT TO HOLD ON
TO HIS "SILENT MAJORITY"
AND HAD SHAPED
HIS DOMESTIC POLICIES
IN PART TO WIN THEIR VOTES.
BUT THOSE VOTERS
WERE SLIPPING AWAY.
UNEMPLOYMEN
AND INFLATION WERE UP.
RACIAL DIVISIONS HAD DEEPENED
AND STILL, WEEK AFTER WEEK,
THE DEAD CAME HOME FROM VIETNAM.
NIXON'S POPULARITY HAD FALLEN
SO LOW THAT HE HAD BEGUN TO FEAR
HE WOULD NOT EVEN
BE RENOMINATED IN 1972.
Announcer:
GOOD EVENING.
THE 37th PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
RICHARD M. NIXON, IS IN CHINA
THE FIRST AMERICAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
EVER TO VISIT THE WORLD'S
MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY.
( band playing "The
Star-spangled Banner")
( crowd cheering)
Narrator:
ON FEBRUARY 18, 1972
RICHARD NIXON BEGAN STILL
ANOTHER REMARKABLE COMEBACK
WITH A STUNNING
FOREIGN POLICY SUCCESS.
Reporter:
PRESIDENT NIXON'S MOTORCADE
IS NOW SWEEPING TOWARD
THE CITY OF PEKING.
Reporter:
HERE COMES THE MOTORCADE NOW,
AS YOU SEE.
Narrator:
THE WORLD WATCHED AS RICHARD
NIXON DROVE THROUGH A CITY
THAT FEW OUTSIDERS HAD SEEN FOR
NEARLY A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.
"HE KNEW," SAID
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"THAT FOR THIS JOURNEY,
NO MATTER WHAT ELSE OCCURRED
HE WOULD ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED."
THAT AFTERNOON, NIXON
WAS ABRUPTLY SUMMONED
TO SEE MAO TSE-TUNG.
AMERICAN TELEVISION WAS
UNAWARE OF THE MEETING.
THE ONLY COVERAGE WAS
BY CHINESE CAMERAMEN
WITH BLACK AND WHITE FILM.
THIS ENCOUNTER BETWEEN NIXON,
THE CAREER ANTI-COMMUNIS
AND CHAIRMAN MAO,
THE LEADER OF THE LARGES
COMMUNIST REVOLUTIONARY
MOVEMENT IN HISTORY
SHOCKED NIXON'S
OLD CONSERVATIVE ALLIES.
THEY ACCUSED HIM OF SURRENDERING
TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNISM.
BUT FOR NIXON, IT WAS ALL PAR
OF HIS GLOBAL STRATEGY.
BY VISITING CHINA,
HE WAS BEGINNING TO EXPLOI
THE DIVISIONS
IN THE COMMUNIST WORLD.
Man:
ONE OF NIXON'S
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
IN OPENING UP WITH CHINA
WAS TO GIVE HIM MORE LEVERAGE
WITH THE SOVIET UNION.
THESE RELATIONS WERE
ESSENTIALLY STALLED
BUT SOON AFTER
THE OPENING WITH CHINA
THE SOVIET UNION BECAME MUCH
MORE FLEXIBLE ON SEVERAL FRONTS.
THEY AGREED TO A SUMMIT MEETING
WITH US IN 1972
AND THEY BEGAN
TO BE MORE REASONABLE
ON VARIOUS ARMS CONTROL ISSUES.
( dramatic opera singing)
Colson:
NIXON ENJOYED THE POWER GAME
PROBABLY AS MUCH AS ANY
PRESIDENT IN MODERN TIMES.
HE PLAYED IT VERY HARD
AND VERY CLEVERLY
AND VERY CAREFULLY
IN THE WORLD SCENE.
HE WAS ALWAYS
THINKING STRATEGICALLY
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE QUALITIES
THAT SOMEONE HAS TO HAVE
IN FOREIGN POLICY
BECAUSE YOU CANNO
MAKE DECISIONS IN FOREIGN POLICY
BASED ON TODAY'S CIRCUMSTANCE.
YOU'VE GOT TO THINK
ABOUT ITS RAMIFICATIONS
FOR FIVE, TEN, 15, 20 YEARS
DOWN THE ROAD
IT'S LIKE A CHESS PLAYER:
YOU'RE ANTICIPATING
SIX MOVES AHEAD
IF YOU'RE A GOOD CHESS PLAYER.
Group:
WE LOVE YOU, PRESIDENT ♪
OH, YES WE DO ♪
WE LOVE YOU, PRESIDENT,
AND WE'LL BE TRUE ♪
WHEN YOU'RE NOT NEAR US,
WE'RE BLUE ♪
OH, PRESIDENT, WE LOVE YOU. ♪
( helicopter engine humming)
Narrator:
IN THE SPRING OF 1972
THE NORTH VIETNAMESE SUDDENLY
LAUNCHED A MASSIVE OFFENSIVE.
SOUTH VIETNAM'S FORCES
WERE OVERWHELMED.
THOUSANDS FLED.
IF THE OFFENSIVE WERE NO
STOPPED, THE WAR WOULD BE LOS
AND WITH IT, NIXON FEARED,
THE PRESIDENCY.
BUT IF HE ORDERED
A U.S. COUNTERATTACK
THE SOVIETS MIGHT CANCEL
THE UPCOMING ARMS CONTROL
SUMMIT IN MOSCOW
A VITAL PAR
OF NIXON'S GRAND DESIGN.
MOST OF HIS ADVISORS URGED NIXON
NOT TO TAKE ANY ACTION
THAT MIGHT JEOPARDIZE
THE SUMMIT.
ONCE AGAIN,
NIXON OVERRULED THEM.
HIS VIEW WAS THAT I
WOULD BE EMBARRASSING
FOR HIM TO GO TO MOSCOW
WITHOUT RESPONDING
TO NORTH VIETNAMESE AGGRESSION.
HE WOULD LOOK WEAK.
HE'S TALKING TO SOVIET LEADERS
WHO ARE PROVIDING ARMS
TO THE NORTH VIETNAMESE TROOPS
WHO ARE KILLING AMERICAN TROOPS.
SO HE DIDN'T THINK
THE SUMMIT WAS WORTH I
UNLESS HE COULD ALSO SHOW
THAT HE WAS STRONG
WITHIN VIETNAM ITSELF.
Narrator:
NIXON ORDERED THE MOS
DRASTIC ESCALATION
OF THE WAR SINCE 1968
MASSIVE, SUSTAINED
BOMBING OF HANOI
AND THE MINING
OF HAIPHONG HARBOR
RISKING A FULL-SCALE
CONFRONTATION WITH THE SOVIETS
BY PUTTING THEIR SUPPLY
SHIPS IN PERIL.
AFTER EXPLAINING HIS DECISION
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
HE MADE A DIRECT APPEAL
TO THE KREMLIN.
OUR TWO NATIONS HAVE MADE
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS
IN OUR NEGOTIATIONS
IN RECENT MONTHS.
WE ARE NEAR MAJOR AGREEMENTS
ON NUCLEAR ARMS LIMITATION
ON TRADE, ON A HOS
OF OTHER ISSUES.
LET US NOT SLIDE BACK
TOWARD THE DARK SHADOWS
OF A PREVIOUS AGE.
WE DO NOT ASK YOU TO SACRIFICE
YOUR PRINCIPLES OR YOUR FRIENDS
BUT NEITHER SHOULD YOU PERMI
HANOI'S INTRANSIGENCE
TO BLOT OUT THE PROSPECTS
WE TOGETHER HAVE
SO PATIENTLY PREPARED.
( American anthem being played)
Narrator:
NIXON'S GAMBLE PAID OFF.
THE SOVIETS DID
NOT CANCEL THE SUMMIT.
ON MAY 22, 1972
RICHARD NIXON BECAME
THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDEN
EVER TO SET FOO
INSIDE THE KREMLIN.
NIXON HAD DONE WHAT NONE
OF HIS PREDECESSORS
HAD BEEN ABLE TO DO.
HE HAD NEGOTIATED A TREATY
IN WHICH THE TWO SUPERPOWERS
AGREED TO SLOW AN ARMS RACE
THAT HAD BEEN ACCELERATING
FOR MORE THAN
A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.
IT WAS HIS GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT.
TWO DAYS LATER, FIVE BURGLARS
WORKING FOR THE COMMITTEE
TO REELECT RICHARD NIXON
ENTERED THE WATERGATE COMPLEX
IN WASHINGTON.
THEY BROKE INTO THE OFFICE
OF THE DEMOCRATIC
NATIONAL COMMITTEE
PLACED BUGS ON THE TELEPHONES
AND MADE THEIR ESCAPE.
BUT THE MICROPHONES
FAILED TO WORK.
THEY WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK.
THE PRESIDEN
OF THE UNITED STATES.
Narrator:
NIXON RETURNED
FROM MOSCOW IN TRIUMPH.
HE HAD ALMOST COMPLETED
THE WITHDRAWAL
OF AMERICAN FORCES FROM VIETNAM,
OPENED THE DOOR TO CHINA
AND SIGNED THE FIRS
NUCLEAR ARMS LIMITATION TREATY
SINCE THE DAWN
OF THE ATOMIC AGE.
HE HAD OFTEN SAID THA
ALL HE WANTED WAS A LIFE
WITH ONE MORE VICTORY
THAN DEFEAT.
NOW THAT VICTORY
A SECOND TERM AS PRESIDENT
SEEMED HIS FOR THE ASKING.
Reporter:
FIVE MEN WEARING WHITE GLOVES
AND CARRYING CAMERAS
WERE CAUGHT EARLY TODAY
IN THE HEADQUARTERS
OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
COMMITTEE IN WASHINGTON.
THEY APPARENTLY WERE UNARMED
AND NOBODY KNOWS YE
WHY THEY WERE THERE
BUT I DON'T THINK
THAT'S THE LAS
WE'RE GOING TO HEAR
OF THIS STORY.
FIVE MEN WEARING WHITE GLOVES
AND CARRYING CAMERAS
WERE CAUGHT EARLY TODAY
IN THE HEADQUARTERS
OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL
COMMITTEE IN WASHINGTON.
THEY WERE CAUGH
BY A NIGHT WATCHMAN,
AND THEY DID NOT RESIST ARRES
WHEN THE POLICE CAME.
THEY APPARENTLY WERE UNARMED
AND NOBODY KNOWS YE
WHY THEY WERE THERE.
THE FILM IN THE CAMERA
HADN'T EVEN BEEN EXPOSED.
IN ANY CASE THEY'RE BEING HELD.
Narrator:
"ON SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 18,"
RICHARD NIXON LATER WROTE,
"I LEFT FOR KEY BISCAYNE.
"WHEN I GOT TO MY HOUSE,
"I COULD SMELL COFFEE
BREWING IN THE KITCHEN
"AND I WENT IN TO GET A CUP.
"THERE WAS A MIAMI HERALD
ON THE COUNTER
"AND I GLANCED OVER
THE FRONT PAGE.
"THE MAIN HEADLINE WAS ABOU
THE VIETNAM WITHDRAWALS.
"THERE WAS A SMALL STORY
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE
ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE"
Announcer:
THE WATERGATE APARTMENT-HOTEL-
OFFICE COMPLEX IN WASHINGTON
HAS A FORTRESS-LIKE APPEARANCE,
BUT THE BURGLARS PENETRATED
Announcer:
FOUR OF THE MEN ARRESTED
WERE CUBAN NATIONALS
NOW LIVING IN MIAMI
AND THE FIFTH, JAMES McCORD, WAS
A FORMER F.B.I. AND C.I.A. AGEN
RECENTLY EMPLOYED
AS A SECURITY AIDE
BY THE
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
AND THE COMMITTEE TO
REELECT THE PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SECRETARY
RON ZEIGLER
TODAY CALLED THE INCIDEN
A "THIRD-RATE BURGLARY
AND NOTHING THE PRESIDEN
WOULD BE CONCERNED WITH."
Narrator:
BUT THE PRESIDENT WAS CONCERNED.
ON JUNE 23, HE MET WITH HIS
CHIEF OF STAFF, H.R. HALDEMAN.
( audio recording playing)
Narrator:
TO THWART THE F.B.I.
INVESTIGATION,
HALDEMAN SUGGESTED THA
THE BREAK-IN COULD BE MADE
TO LOOK LIKE A C.I.A. OPERATION.
Narrator:
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT NIXON
HAD ORDERED THE BREAK-IN,
BUT HIS AIDES HAD.
THE PRESIDENT APPROVED THE PLAN
TO DIVERT THE F.B.I.
Narrator:
"I SAW WATERGATE AS POLITICS,
PURE AND SIMPLE,"
NIXON WROTE IN HIS MEMOIRS.
"WE WERE GOING TO PLAY IT TOUGH.
"I NEVER DOUBTED
THAT WAS EXACTLY
HOW THE OTHER SIDE
WOULD HAVE PLAYED IT."
Man:
RICHARD NIXON PULLED I
INTO THE WHITE HOUSE.
HE COULDN'T LEAVE IT ALONE.
AND SO WITHIN A WEEK
AFTER THE BREAK-IN,
OR MAYBE TWO WEEKS, HE HAD
PERSONALLY INVOLVED HIMSELF
IN THE INTRIGUE
OF THE WHOLE THING.
SO NIXON SEALED HIS FATE
SIX DAYS AFTER THE BREAK-IN.