The Resignation Speech of President Richard M. Nixon

The Nixon era of American register will be considered one of the most tumultuous times the domain has faced. Elected in 1968, Nixon was faced with a people divided by the War in Vietnam, racial tension and economic disparity. International tensions were no less Communist China was a great unknown foe and the Cold War with Russia com earthly concerndmed on the verge of turning into a juicy and potenti onlyy nuclear conflict at whatever moment. Six geezerhood later, following the infamous break-in at the Watergate Hotel and lining impeachment, Richard M. Nixon delivered his resignation run-in on August 8, 1974.His speech is clearly a primary inscription necessary for understanding Nixon and his perspective on himself as well as on the Watergate fiasco. Obviously Nixon did not fuck off a generous bill of time to prepare the speech, much(prenominal) as he would study with a typi-cal State of the Union address. It is also likely he wished, in retrospect, to have more time t o craft a finer product. Nonetheless, he agnize the magnitude and uniqueness of the document, although at the time he probably did not realize the candid insight into his atti-tude and in-personity that it would provide.Facing impeachment as well as the possibility of criminal charges, it is likely Nix-on strongly mat up the legal implications of either admissions he would make. Whether inten-tional or not, his speech gave strength to his detr mouldors who considered him the deceitful Tricky arctic. Few if any of his supporters, much less detractors, expected him to shoul-der any rap for the illegal activities and cover-ups. The closest he could come to an admission of wrong-doing carried a selfish caveat I regret deeply any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision.I would say only that if few of my judgments were wrong, and some were wrong, they were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interest of the nation. Late r revelations brought about through the White dramatic art Tapes would indicate Mr. Nixon had other interests, in-cluding his own semipolitical survival, in mind as well. Nixon took the approach of being a wounded strugglerior giving up a just cause for the good of the country.He does not refer to the act or use impeachment rather, he calls it the constitutional process and although he felt strongly to see it through, he incongruously declared to do otherwise would be unfaithful to the spirit of that deliber-ately difficult process and a hazardously destabilizing precedent for the future. He claims he has never been a quitter and had always taken heart in Theodore Roose-velts man in the arena speech, and quotes it in its entirety. It would be nothing short of delightful to hear Teddy Roosevelts response.He claims he preferred to carry through to the finish whatever the in-person agony it would have involved and despite his family urging him onward, he reluctantly resigns bec ause the interests of the nation must always come before any personal considera-tions. Therefore, he believes he can take credit for making the nation better I hope I will have hastened the prick of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America. In other words, America has me to thank for removing the noose around the governments neck which I so carefully knotted.Nixon was known as a man who often forgot his friends yet never forgot an ene-my. Therefore it was pleasant to see his reformation And to those who have not felt able to give me your support, let me say I leave with no bitterness toward those who have op-posed me, because all of us, in the concluding analysis, have been concerned with the good of the country, however our judgments faculty differ. Once again, later revelations would indicate Nixon was beyond bitterness, and fully capable of destroying any real or poten-tial enemy, if it was in his power to do so without accountability.In retrospect , after thirty-plus years, the document really is, in a sense, Richard Nixon. A career politician, he was indeed a fighter from his days in Congress to facing off with Premier Nikita Khrushchev at the U. N. while Eisenhowers Vice President. As president he shut down a ghastly war he inherited in Vietnam and took it upon himself to open dealing with China and inflect relations with the Arab states. Yet there was Tricky Dick, craw-fishing to the nation, claiming some judgments were wrong, but you know, I did it because I had the nations interests at heart.Truly a man of complexity and contradictions, his rehabilitation with the American public took years, and he never re-ally reached the ranking(prenominal) statesmen rank more easily carried by Jimmie Carter and even Gerald Ford. No doubt anyone in his position would like to go back and redo such a unique and pivotal document. In todays political arena even a finger-wagging I did not have relations with that woman Clinton, himself a veteran of the constitutional process can square up rapid rehabilitation. One wonders whether some judicious and non-exculpatory editing on Nixons part would have hastened his reco actually.Ending his presidency as no precursor had, Nixon found it necessary to use al-most half of his address to extol the virtues and accomplishments of his presidency. Sad-ly, it sounds hollow, as if no one else will tell you I left the human race a better place, than I will. In essence, it is a very sad document indeed, and Nixon supporters at the time felt the sting of sphacelus and the disgrace of a remarkable hero while his opponents could point to his final words as president as a fitting token of a failed and bitter man. His final speech helped place him in memorial in a way he never could have imagined.