gun, had to fill out forms or get a permit first or sign in with the police or anything complicated, i preebl wouldn't have done it. where to begin. we've waited a long time to chat with bob haldeman and now we have the opportunity, and the question is where to start. here you were working -- you worked four years in washington as nixon's number two man, nixon's s.o.b. as you called yourself. nixon never went to key biscayne without you. he never went anywhere without you. >> pretty close to right. >> what you're accusing yourself of is a cloudy crystal ball. that's hardly the mea culpa the

american public thinks it's entitled to. >> well maybe the american public is wrong. i know in my own heart and i know in my own head precisely what i did. i know precisely why i did it. i know that i made some mistakes. i deeply refwret those mistakes. zeefs the one most often regarded on the tapes. they destroyed them. i had the rare privilege for four years of serving on the white house staff of one of america's greatest presidents. >> former white house chief of staff found guilty today on five counts of the watergate coverup trial. >> do you regret what happened and what you did? >> oh sure. the country lost motion. a lot of good things that we were working on in the way of domestic reforms were lost in the mess. you can't help but regret an

aftermath of that kind. a lot of good people had their lives spoiled in the process. >> john early finished his statements. he returned to the holding room. it gives you an idea that they're holding a chemical or a bacteria or something. >> former white house domestic affairs advisor john ehrlichman four counts guilty. >> the rirchs to like an era of criminalality or like people they were trying to you know rape the country of its democracy. i mean i just don't see it that way. >> it was lirnked in several reports to the watergate case and that sabotage and the democratic presidential

campaign. >> i don't think you can take that little piece of history that may have been the darkest days of mr. nixon's careers and construct from that a mosaic that tells you all about that man.

♪ ♪ be there too ♪ ♪ they say we're crazy, but i just don't care ♪ ♪ and if they keep on talking, still they get nowhere ♪

they don't understand ♪ ♪ when i look at you like you hold my hand ♪ ♪ because they don't know about us ♪ ♪ they've never heard of love ♪ ♪ they don't know about us ♪ ♪ they've never heard of us ♪ ♪ nly swear. >> that you will faithfully

execute the office. >> that i will faithfully execute the office. >> of president of the united states. >> of president of the united states. >> and will to the best of your ability. >> and will to the best of my ability. >> preserve protect, and defend. >> preserve protect, and defend. >> the constitution of the united states. >> the constitution of the united states. >> so help you god. >> so help me god. ld to this job really well and was

eager to get at it. >> he named another long-time aid, h.r.haldeman. haldeman a long-time advertising executive while nixon campaigned. he is the closest thing to an alter ego known for his crew cut and his nonstop home movie taking. >> it was just an extremely exciting time for all of us. it was terribly hard work and very very long difficult hours, but it was exciting because you were building something. there was no great idealogical thrust or noble ambition involved in this and no thought at all of becoming permanently involved in politics or government. i thought it would be an interesting side experience where i could make a

contribution and something that would be a learning experience and an interesting experience for me. that's why i do it. >> i think he was probably the youngest one in person, certainly one of the youngest -- >> also named was another ad man, 27-year-old who was heard that mr. nixon's personal aid. >> you got to keep in mind i was 27 years old at that point, and we had just began through this campaign and i was just waiting to see what unfolded. the day that i went in and interviewed for the job, when i met this young 34-year-old crew cut guy by the name of bob haldeman and bob haldeman changed my life. aye never laughed as much as when i worked in the nixon white

house, and the sense of humor was the leveling factor. the mess we would find ourselves in or whatever it mighten. >> i think a lot of the younger staff people here find that he can far excel them in terms of energy and stamina. >> i took the camera on all my trips. a super 8. i have quite a collection of film. >> john a 43-year-old seattle lawyer will have a broad advisory role in the nixon administration. >> i think we're seeing as basic little time of reform. >> ehrlichman was the chief aid for domestic affairs, understudy of haldeman who he has known since college. >> i was not a passionate nixon person going in. probably if some college friend had invited me to go advance for john kennedy, i might have.

>> there were very few illusions about richard nixon, i think. one the senior staff particularly as we got into things. a good deal of kind of dry humor about his mannerisms and foybles and prejudices. he is the president of the united states. he is the only president around. you all elected him. we're all working for him, and it's up to us to make it work. >> it was like a badly run television show. i was taking a home movie of this throughout.

>> i advanced the first trip to europe eight countries, and found myself hobnobbing with the king of belgium and the pope and all these folks, and it got to be very heady very fast. ♪ ♪

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berlin wall. i'm speaking of president nixon's chief white house advisors henry kissinger, john ehrlichman and h.r. for harry robins haldeman. everyone these days knows who henry kissinger is. john ehrlichman is the president's assistant for domestic affairs, but h.r.haldeman's job is not an easy tidy one to describe and of the three men he has been by his own choice the least visible by the public. he is the only one of the three never to have given a television interview until now. his friends talk of his brilliance his efficiency his total dedication to the president and his lack of personal egotism or jealousy. he is said to be hostile to the press, inaccessible. this interview was filmed a week ago in mr. haldeman's office at the white house. >> you have no calendar of your own. you really follow the president's day. you're available, as i understand it from 7:00 in the

morning on. what does it do to you personally? >> well it poses some problems in it sometimes, but i have fortunately, a very understanding wife and four very interested and understanding children. >> do your sons want you to grow your hair longer? >> i was afraid you would probably ask that. you probably have seen the picture of my sons that we sent out for christmas. my older son has what i would call very long hair, and my younger son has very long hair. >> they don't look like daddy. >> no they don't. i faced the fact that they're the ones in style and i'm out of step on hairstyling, and i'm afraid they're right, and i'm wrong on that one. >> you have said these are -- i often find it fascinating to ponder by what standards history will judge nixon when all the partisan battles are over. well how do you think he will be judged?

>> if he has the opportunity to move ahead with what he is trying to do there isn't any doubt that he will be judged as one of the great president presidents. put the men into orbit 115 miles above the earth for one and a half orbits and then the third stage will put them on the way --

zz. i'm talking to you by telephone from the room at the white house and this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made from the white house. and as you talk to us from the sea of tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to earth. for one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this earth are truly one. one in their pride in what you have done. >> armstrong is on the moon. 38-year-old american standing on the surface of the moon on this

july 20th 1969. >> it's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. ould get bob. then it would get larry higby, bob's aide, and then it would swing by my house and then into it is white house. i am responsible for the scheduling and also for the president's daily activities. our thing was a machine, and i

knew my place. it really reflected a lot about richard nixon. the degree to which he wanted things controlled. >> literally from 6:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night every day of the week. and saturdays and sundays too. and that pace was unremitting. totally consuming for somebody like me. >> i was very tough on people feeling that i had to be. there's something about the presidency that i have been ridiculed for my picking up the naval term zero defect but you have to operate as close to zero defect as you can. and i was not overly concerned with whether people liked me as a result of it or not. i was only concerned with the

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>> why didn't you burn the tapes? surely you talked about it. >> well the question came up at one point, should the tapes be destroyed, and my strong recommendation was that they should not be destroyed. >> that was a mistake, wasn't

it? >> yes, sir. i would say that given what we now know and what's now happened that it was a disastrous thing to have done but there was never a thought that one word of those tapes would be played in public or be played to other people, and when it got to the point of having to release them or having to even consider the possibility of releasing them they should have been in my opinion now it should have been destroyed. >> i had no idea about the taping system. you know -- >> did you ever talk to haldeman about that after? >> no never. >> you didn't know about the taping system in the oval office did you? >> no. >> did it come as a surprise? >> it did. our white house staff was essentially a dysfunctional organization. i think nixon believed that he

didn't have to share every piece of information with everybody. listening to the tapes is very revealing because he is talking to others about me and what i should know and what he didn't want me to know and he did the same thing with kissinger and the same thing with a lot of people. several times. i recall his saying to me don't tell henry. he kept little water tight compartments of information, and it didn't work very well. >> dan rather who has closely observed the nixon presidency reports now on the first year in office. >> he emerged az shrewd political manager with a chance to be remembered as a consequence mat politician. his mind methodical cautious, given to worry, yes, but never,

never let the worry show. control. the word calculated nonflam boyance. special hair tonic to cover gray and a special smile to cover worry. one year does not make or break any president. a first year -- what the past year has proven is that the principal directions of the presidency are coming back abroad and reforming the machinery of government at home and playing political foundations that will have republicans replacing democrats in the decade ahead. [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity to discover a hybrid from the luxury car company that understands that one type of hybrid isn't right for everyone. come to the lexus golden opportunity sales event and choose from one of five lexus hybrids that's right for you including the lexus es and ct hybrids. ♪ ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection.

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president nixon's primary focus, his own personal attention, was almost totally dedicated to ending the war in vietnam. nixon tried to move into his committed areas of welfare reform some areas of economic reform and all that but the one factor which really totally overroad all of those factors was vietnam.

>> i had been in the office in the president's office several different occasions where he had a handkerchief out and he had been out writing notes to parents of kids that had been killed. the president was doing the very best he could and he was trying to end it and i didn't have much compassion for the people in the streets. i respect their right to demonstrate because that's what the country is about, but i was of the opinion that the demonstrators prolonged. they didn't help us get out. they made it worse.

office. >> that's too bad. too bad. with regard to this matter bob just raised with me just before i came over to the house with regard to the -- what we do on the thing tomorrow just a second

second let's face it it isn't as bad as berkeley or san francisco has had yet. i think you can expect that these people will be in very massive numbers and that probably the police department will be swamped. they will not be able to handle the numbers. >> massive numbers? >> in any one of these 20 intersections, you'll have anywhere from 700 to 1,000, 1 5shgs00. >> who is organizing them? >> it's a highly structured operation. it's quite beautifully organized, actually by davis and a whole group of more or less professional organizers that have been at this for a long time. >> i think the general conclusion that we've all come to is that we should not call off troops. >> no god, no. >> and that we would need -- >> don't let me 'em say marshall law about the war or -- hell no. >> let's leave them to conduct their affairs in the normal way.

anti-war protesters jammed the streets of washington today in what was probably the biggest peace demonstration to be held since they began six years ago. no nixon administration official spoke at the rally or appeared on the capitol hill platform. ♪ last night i had the strangest dream ♪ ♪ i ever dreamed before ♪ ♪ i dreamed a world had all the

dream to put an end to war ♪ >> sing it again. ♪ last night i had the strangest dream i've ever dreamed before ♪ i dreamed the world had all the things to put an end to war ♪ >> what is important is not just that we are here today because we've been here before you and i. we've been here before and we've been other places and what we have to decide is that we're going to keep coming back until this war ends.

>> yeah. >> mr. early abbingman. >> hello. yeah. yes, sir. >> i bet the television wouldn't show the raunchy ones. >> they showed some of them. they so muched it a good deal. they didn't describe the profanity and that sort of thing. it came off rather well on television. >> i think they came off better than they should have considering what they pulled. >> well there you are. yep. ♪ (woman) this place has got really good chocolate shakes. (growls)

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good evening, my fellow americans. a few weeks ago i saw demonstrators carrying signs reading "lose in vietnam, bring the boys home." well one of the strengths of our free society is that any american has a right to reach that conclusion to advocate that point of view but as president of the united states i would be untrue to my oath of office if i allowed the policy of this nation to be dictated by the minority who hold that point of view and who try to impose it on the nation by mounting

demonstrations in the street. so tonight to you the great silent majority, my fellow americans, i ask for your support. i pledged in my campaign for the presidency to end the war in a way that we could win the peace. i pledge to you tonight that i shall meet this responsibility with all of the strength and wisdom that i can command in accordance with your hopes, mindful of your concerns. sustained by your prayers. thank you, and good night. >> that was great. i must say that i put an awful

lot of emotion into it. >> well and -- >> i don't know if that read true. >> it sure did. >> the last part was quite a work of art, to be frank with you. >> it sure was. >> take all of that and compress it into that and to say it without being maudlin and to have some emotion. it was done with style. >> it sure was. you talked to him, and did you talk to the vice president? >> yeah i talked to him. i talked to those three because i felt i should. >> nevertheless but it was a god damn good speech. >> it was -- that thing is coming through all the way through. want to give me a rundown? >> sure. o'neil at the "new york daily news" said it was the most effective job you've done yet. national review were impressed with the statement. courageous and absolutely necessary, adequately to the critics and the strength that you'll need in the months ahead. the best and most effective

presentation he has made. it will really get through to the american people. it was honest and sincere. george mcgovern didn't like it. he said it hadn't changed anything. >> that's great. i didn't want him to say anything. what the hell. doesn't make any difference. as i say, tomorrow we'll just live through the day, and we've heard from the only three cabinet officers that i expected. rogers mitchell -- >> mitchell rogers hudson. >> hadn't heard from conley though. that's curious. >> not conley, though. >> call him and ask him what he thought of it. >> sure. >> all right. >> okay. you want me to call you back then? >> if you would, yes. >> all right.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪atest land in all the world ♪ ♪ we are americans what can we do ♪ ♪ we are americans, we hope that you are too ♪ ♪ we hope that you are too ♪ ♪ yeah ♪ >> it was irish night at the white house. a salute to the visiting prime minister of the emerald isles

with dances. yet, the crowd could hardly wait for the truly big event of the evening, the president and mrs. nixon ended the suspense in a light-hearted move. >> i understand that i'm supposed to make the surprise announcement. >> the difficulty is that every time i'm supposed to make a surprise announcement i find that some way it's leaked before i get to make it. even though the information may have leaked out until i say it it's not official. so tonight mrs. nixon and i are very honored to announce the engagement of our daughter trisha, to mr. edward cox in new york.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

special guests tonight the ray conniff

singers. it's very difficult to describe them. most of you have heard them and if the music is square, it's because i like it square. tion. you go to church on sundays and pray to jesus christ. if jesus christ were here tonight, you would not dare drop another bomb. bless the barragans and bless daniel elsburg. ♪

♪ ma he's making eyes at me ♪ ♪ ma, he's awfully nice to me ♪ >> "the new york times" began publishing a partial text of a sacredly prepared study in the pentagon relating to the origins of american involvement in vietnam. five days later, the "washington post" began publishing excerpts from the same pentagon report. on june 22nd the boston globe joins the times and the post and published additional material. the material was classified which means according to the government they were not to be made public. ♪ >> at present, the attorney general's called a couple times about these "new york times" stories, and he has advised that unless he put "the times" on notice he is probably going to

waive any right of prosecute. >> you mean to prosecute "the times"? >> right. >> hell i wouldn't prosecute "the times." my view is to prosecute the goddamn pricks who gave it to them. >> if you can find out who that is. >> a single name has been mentioned most prominently of the source "the times" documents. daniel ellsbury something of a phantom figure. >> i think we cannot at all let the officials of the executive branch determine for us what it is that the public needs to know about how well and how they are discharging their functions. ♪ ma i'm meeting no resistance ♪ ♪ i'm the one who needs assistance ♪ >> he's a jean news. he's the brightest student i've ever had. he volunteered for service in vietnam. he was so nuts he'd drive all over vietnam with a carb carbine

when it was guerrilla infested. and he'd shoot at peasants in the field on the theory that everyone in black, but he's always been a little unbalanced. late in '67, he suddenly turned into a -- at mit, he heckled me. and being associated with murder. >> all right, all right, all right. >> pentagon report was only the beginning in itself. the incomplete history. there will be much more. and temptation will be great for a witch-hunt the unmasking of villains and the manufacture of scapegoats. >> the president was furious. kissinger was furious. it was very intense. it was a little like walking on eggshells. i mean it was just a tense, tense time.

>> the irony of the pentagon papers is that they were not critical of nixon. they were very critical of the johnson administration. but nixon was committed to the proposition that classified documents, secret documents ought not to be stolen and given away. some of these documents actually did get into the hands of foreign governments, as well as part of them getting in the papers. and the president and kissinger were very upset that this man would be doing these kinds of things. >> you were so mad at elsburg, this dirty guy i don't have to tell you or anyone else that the anger and the resentment toward elsburg was near hysterical levels in the white house. >> this didn't develop into any pathological hatred of daniel elsburg. it developed into a rather cold-blooded and in my view misguided attempt to discredit elsburg in the public eye because at the time daniel

elsburg was being made a public hero and there was an effort to try to show that this man was not necessarily the great savior of the nation that many were portraying him as. >> i think i changed during the time i was in the white house. i'm not sure whether it was for the better. probably it's not in the time that i was there. when you first go in there, at least when i first went in there, i asked a lot of hard questions, why are we doing it this way? what's the justification for this program, why are we spending this money, why does this fellow work here, you know those kinds of things.

after a couple of years, i -- i felt like i was defending the status quo rather than challenging it and trying to get it changed and repaired and made better. and that was not satisfying to me at all. i have a very clear sense that i was becoming a part of the problem after a while rather than the solution. and i remember one day thinking i had just moved that pile of firewood from over there to over here, and today i was going to have to move it from over here back to there. and thinking to myself how strange it was to be coming to this historic place, dealing with these great issues seeing the president of the united states two or three times a day, and feeling like i was just in the business of moving firewood around. and i thought to myself well if it's come to that, maybe it's time i was out of here.

nixon talked me into staying. >> i was told the other day i was trying to tune in to the baseball game and then if game went off and cbs came on with a movie. they had two magnificent handsome guys and a glorifying homosexuality. that's a regular show. it's on every week. and usually it's just set in the guy's home. usually it's just that guy who is a hard hat. >> that's right. he is the hard hat. >> he always looks like a slob. and he has a hippie son-in-law. and usually the general trend of it is to downgrade him and upgrade, make the square to be bad. >> what's his name? >> archie.

the point is i do not think that you glorify on public television homosexuality. you know greeks. homosexuality destroyed there. we all know that. he never had the influence of television. and the last six roman emperors were fags. you see, homosexuality in general, these are the enemies of strong societies. and that's why the communists and the left-wingers are pushing it. they're trying to destroy us. >> yep. >> fatal lib rattle.'s fatal liberality. jesus christ. well getting back to my point, i'd like to have everybody around here think from now on politically, well don't waste much time. we run better with our left hand than the other ever ran. we're honest and we're smart.

>> got into a discussion with me about the problems of hep's briefing tactics. he feels that he does too much of the good job telling people what they want to know rather than what we want them to know. then he also got on the point of the need for kissinger to be more discreet regarding his glamorous young women, especially in public, and especially in washington, d.c. it's okay for him to be a swinger in new york and california, but he should not be in washington. and not to put anhe wants dinners at a white house -- but intelligent and interesting women instead.

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good evening. i have requested this television time tonight to announce a major development in our efforts to build a lasting peace in the world. i sent dr. kissinger, my assistant for national security affairs, to peking during his recent world tour for the purpose of having talks with premier. the announcement i shall now read is being issued simultaneously in peking and in the united states. premier lai on behalf of the

government of the people's republic of china has extended an invitation to president nixon to visit china at an appropriate date before may 1972. president nixon has accepted the invitation with pleasure. ♪ >> two decades, every american president has been presented to the chinese people as the arch-enemy as the personification of hated capitalism and imperialism. most asians recognize this development as a momentous step that can change the whole complexion of this part of the world. ♪ >> i found out i was going to china from bob haldeman. i was the acting chief of political for that trip and it was one of the great mountaintop experiences.

the thing about the flight to china was -- one of the things was it was just kind of surreal. the plane is taking off to go to china, and we've got a television set there watching us take off. i mean everything about that trip was televised. i mean, it was a production from start to finish. >> the president will journey to peking in the dead of winter a season especially severe in the chinese capital following the joint announcement issued at 4:00 a.m. peking time. the white house news secretary reemphasized president nixon's purpose for becoming the first american president to visit mainland china. >> as president nixon has pointed out on a number of occasions, he shall try in the meetings with the people's leader of the republic of china to seek a new direction in the relationship between our two countries, and to end the

isolation of our two great peoples from each other. ♪ an mao tse-tung. the fact that the chairman arranged an immediate meeting with the american president in his home is considered significant by diplomatic observers. >> it's kind of funny. when i called zeigler, i sat him down in my room and i told him i wanted to know that if president had left. ron was holding a tangerine in his hand. took a bite of it, getting about half the tangerine in one bite

peel and all. he was, to say the leasts, a little startled. also speculated on all the wild range of possibilities you have when you're sitting in a chinese guest house with red army troops guarding you outside. >> the red detachment of women that depicts the overthrow by female communist partisans. >> the evening ballet performance was quite an experience. a complete propaganda operation. extremely well done. he had interpreters behind me explain the theological aspects of the ballet all the way through. he wanted to be sure i understood all of the points. that was a rather odd sight to see the president clapping at the end for this kind of thing which would have been horrifying at home. but it all kind of seemed to fit

together somehow here. >> the skies have been somber in peking all day, and in the afternoon a light snow began to fall. in the city streets, men and women with brooms began sweeping it up, almost flake by flake. and it seemed to have no effect at all on the president and premier in their third long conversation. ♪

nk you. >> that italian story on henry is the most -- really most -- do you see it? >> i haven't seen it. henry called me last night about it. >> oh, it's unbelievable. henry talks about the china trip, and he said well the thing about it that was really appealing to the public is he said i did it he henry, did it alone. he said people like to see somebody do something alone. and did it all by himself. the whole china nation. what happened? was it some girl he met at a party or something? >> this is a point roger made to me yesterday. he said henry is always very carefully in what he said publicly to build up the president, but never privately. whatever it is, he has to be

cool that he knows he makes a great point of the great job the president is doing, but in private conversations he does himself. >> do you have -- >> yeah i visit. >> take a reading of it. give me a call back will you? >> yeah. >> call me back today. i'm not going to leave until 11:30. bye. >> bye.

♪ >> we all have little kiddie kids the same age. i mean people at an ice skating party, there would be all kinds of things. and we're in our 30s, and we're you know, living.

♪ >> there were pranks. there were these incredible friendships. and it was our -- our senses of humor and our personalities that made it all, you know, nice. >> illegal bugging apparently was one aim of a team which broke into the democratic national headquarters in washington during the weekend, and the political backgrounds of the men charged in the case have kicked up a storm. barry serafin has the story. >> the watergate apartment hotel office complex in washington has a fortress-like appearance that is noted for its security. but the burglars penetrated that

security to break into the sixth floor offices of the democratic national committee. material from files there was found in their possession. democratic spokesman called the file information very mundane. in the men's rooms police confiscated photographic and eavesdropping gear. >> currently about five men, one of them clearly under contract and employed by both the republican national committee and the campaign to reelect the president. this i thought, this administration was a law and order administration. and i've never seen such a crass violation of individual rights as we have seen in this instance. >> i must say that it's the legacy of years of wiretapping and snooping and violation of privacy in which the government itself has been too deeply involved.

>> i again proudly accept your nomination for president of the united states. and let us pledge ourselves to win an even greater victory this november in 1972. >> four more years! four more years! ♪ ♪ ♪ reaching out to find the way, to make tomorrow a brighter day ♪ ♪ making dreams reality, more than ever nixon now for you and me ♪

♪ nixon now, nixon now, he's made a difference he showed us how ♪ ♪ nixon now, nixon now, more than ever nixon now ♪ ♪ listen, america, nixon now ♪ ♪ nixon now, nixon now, he's made a difference he's shown us how ♪ ♪ nixon now, nixon now, more than ever nixon now ♪ ♪ listen america, nixon now ♪ >> president nixon's victory in the election is surely one of the biggest landslides ever. let's look at the popular vote now with almost all of it counting. with 98% of the precincts reporting, it's nixon,

45,800,000. mcgovern 28,400,000. this adds up to a record-breaking 521 electoral votes for president nixon who won 49 states. mcgovern carried only massachusetts and the district of columbia for 17 electoral votes. >> at first it was called the watergate caper. five men apparently caught in the act of burglarizing and bugging democratic headquarters in washington. but the episode grew steadily more sinister no longer a caper but the watergate affair escalating finally into charges of a high-level campaign of political sabotage and espionage, apparently unparalleled in american history. >> the charges center about a

man whose very name in italian is secrets. joel blocker reports. >> reporter: donald segretti. reports say white house aides recruited segretti for secret intelligence work and dirty tricks against the democrats. segretti went to college with several men now in the white house. he was particularly close to dwight chapin and several press reports document recent links between chapin and segretti. a grand jury is investigating. and deal chapin. >> yeah. the story on that. how you going to handle that? >> well i've of mixed minds. but i thought one approach would be to attack the post for

picking on a fine, clean, upstanding patriotic young man who has come to washington and done his part. >> hearsay. >> why don't you use the word mccarthyism? >> i had that in mind. >> the shocking double standard that the post and "the new york times" use that line. >> shocking campaign the dirtiest in history there has never been an editorial written about that. there has never been any reaction at all. it's shocking that a paper that all the news that is fit to print would do a story on innuendo. >> all right. >> good luck. or more on car insurance. mmmhmmm...everybody knows that. well, did you know that old macdonald was a really bad speller? your word is...cow. cow. cow. c...o...w... ...e...i...e...i...o. [buzzer]

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i richard nixon do solemnly swear -- >> i richard nixon do solemnly swear. >> i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. >> that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states. >> and will to the best of my ability. >> and will to the best of my ability. >> preserve protect and defend the constitution of the united states. >> preserve and protect and defend the constitution of the united states. >> so help me god. >> so help me god.

♪ >> phone rings. it's john dee. and he said have you given any thought to what you're going to do next? and i said john what in the world are you trying to tell me? and he said well i think you need to figure out what you're going to do next. and i said does bob know this? and he said bob asked me to talk to you. i could not believe it. so the next day i flew up to camp david. and bob met me and we went over to one of the cabins and talked. and we were both crying. and he said that it looked like i was going to be a political problem to the president because

of all this ready stuff. and this guy sam irvin may hold some hearings. and therefore it's probably better for your career and everything else if you move on. i mean it was just horrible. there is nothing that can describe how i felt. so i sucked it up said yes, sir. went into the men's room to get myself kind of straightened up and there is the attorney general of the united states richard bawling like a baby. he had just met with ehrlichman. i'm thinking this thing is surreal. i mean i can't believe this. so i went back got on the helicopter and started figuring out my life.

>> leon jaworski said if the american people had not demanded action in the watergate scandal, it might have grown into outrages as great as those in nazi germany. >> well here again, you're into this -- this verbal excess thing, that it just seems to be as easy to do after the fact -- >> question, what was the mentality, what was the mind-set in the nixon white house that led to watergate? >> watergate didn't lead from -- it didn't come from the nixon white house. and i don't think there was any mind-set that led to watergate. >> the president is out of office. men in the nixon white house went to jail. what was the mind-set? what happened? >> that's the problem. i don't know what happened. >> the burglary had nothing to do with richard nixon at the time that it occurred. if he had kept distance between

himself and that whole episode, he didn't know about that in advance, i'm persuaded. i've never heard anybody come forward with any evidence. if he had kept distance between himself and that episode and just said, you know those guys did it. they're going to have to take their punishment. that is what could have saved richard nixon, i'm persuaded. a little quick surgery. but he was the compulsive minutia man. he had to get involved. he had to -- he had to dabble in this -- in this conspiratorial spy stuff. and he pulled it all into his office. >> what is the dumbest thing you did? >> the dumbest thing i did was not to go to him when i realized this and say, look if you don't go out there and make a clean of this thing, i'm going out to the

press room and i'm going to tell them everything i know about this. and then i'm going to walk out of here. >> do you think you would have had the courage to do that? >> well, obviously i didn't. i just was -- i was not playing with a full deck. i just didn't know at the time one, that there were tapes. two, that he was as deeply involved as he was. >> ladies and gentlemen, president nixon. has requested time on the net works this evening for a report on vietnam. >> good evening. i have asked for this radio and television time tonight for the purpose of announcing that we today have concluded an agreement to end the war and bring peace with honor in vietnam and in southeast asia. the following statement is being issued at this moment in washington and hanoi. at 12:30 paris time today,

january 23 1973 the agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in vietnam was initialled by dr. henry kissinger on behalf of the united states and special adviser lee ducto on behalf of the democratic republic of vietnam. let us consecrate this moment by resolving together to make the peace we have achieved, a peace that will last. thank you. and good evening. >> the parliament please. >> thank you. >> yes, sir? >> i thought you would be amused to hear that eric sevareid marvin kalb and dan were sick. they were all just sick about the fact. they weren't happy about it that the peace was coming. i guess we're pissing on it all over.

>> it was -- in a sense, it was so masterfully underplayed in the way that you know you dropped this huge bomb in your first sentence. >> right. >> and there it was. it just sit there's. and i think -- like a thunder clap. but it was great. >> that's right. okay. >> very good. ♪ ♪ [ woman ] destination assist. this is ann. where would you like to go tonight? ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] it's a golden opportunity to see how lexus effortlessly connects you to where you're going. ♪ ♪ come to the golden opportunity sales event and experience the connectivity of lexus enform, available on all lexus models, including the es and rx. ♪ ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection.

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senate democrats have chosen north carolina's sam ervin to investigate the watergate bugging case. the committee would have full subpoena power and a half million budget. ♪ rs had been involved in illegal actions relating to the pentagon papers case the whole affair took on a new and more sinister air. >> two of the convicted watergate conspirators howard hunt and gordon liddy burglarized the offices of a

psychiatrist of defendant daniel ellsberg to get files on ellsberg. >> the message of watergate as i read it is the same as the message of the pentagon papers. from the eyes of people who work for the president, all law stops at the white house fence. >> the entire political system that the entire standard of politics in the country has reached an all-time low. >> the president and his cabinet and his administration owe this country an explanation first of all, and secondly an apology. >> i don't respect the type of journalism the shabby journalism that is being practiced by "the washington post." >> informed sources say it was the watergate prosecution that set off the recent series of explosions and there are further time bombs in president nixon's hands.

>> we're in late april of 1973, and i'm really getting beat up in the press. >> we're going make it. yeah, let me get up here to the door and then i'll -- okay. excuse me. here we are. >> i'm going to be following the unvarying practice of having no comment on this matter until its final disposition. >> i have delegations of fbi agents in and out of my office all the time and all of the sudden it has dawned on me that i have a very serious problem, that richard nixon has a very serious problem, that haldeman and a lot of other people have serious problems. >> the president flew south to look at flood damage and dedicate a naval training station in mississippi to senator john stennis. in the presidential party were h.r. haldeman and john ehrlichman. >> we're on air force one.

we're going off to dedicate a john stennis memorial rocket launcher or something in mississippi. and i'm standing on the flight deck and it occurred to me for about 30 seconds that i could crash this airplane and that would put an end to everybody's problems. mine and nixon's and haldeman's and everybody, everybody who was aboard. i stepped off that airplane. and usually the drill is richard nixon steps off the airplane and all the cameras click away and all that. he got off and nobody paid any attention to him. i got off, and boy, they were all taking mark shots.

g about this break-in in california, the ellsberg psychiatrist break-in. and he said i didn't know about that did i? and i had to -- i had to indicate to him that he did know about it. >> that of course is a totally, totally out of our cabinet. have you ever heard of such a thing? >> yes, sir. >> goddamn it i never heard of it, john. i should have been told about that shouldn't i? >> well i'm not so sure but you weren't. my recollection is that this was discussed with you. >> yeah. yeah. uh-huh. well i've got to know about that. >> all right. i'll check it.

>> i mean uh if i'm in that kind of a position time in a position i just didn't know about. believe me i have throughout this thing i must say i have not known that you -- i didn't know about the watergate and i didn't know about this other. but i knew that we were checking all this but my god -- >> i didn't know there was a taping system in the room at the time. since then it's occurred to me that he was talking for the record, among other things. but at the same time i'm convinced he really didn't know the difference between what was true and what wasn't true at any given moment. for a long time. and he could persuade himself of almost anything, which is kind of too bad. >> hello? >> mr. ziegler calling you. >> yes, hello. >> i talked to bob and i told him that your decision was to ask for their resignation. and you had thought this through

now for three weeks. and i told him that you recognize that their lawyers don't agree with this approach and that they don't agree with this approach. but the president feels clear in his mind now that this must be done, and that's what he wants. and bob said fine. he understands. he feels it's a wrong decision, but he will abide by it. and in terms of john he said i think john is going to be more difficult in accepting this. and bob said i'll do what i can with john. >> good. big man. >> he sure is. >> big man. you're saying in other words he's got to talk to john? >> he's going to talk to him on the helicopter.

>> okay. thank you. >> yes, sir. >> good evening. president nixon moved at the highest level today to cleanse the white house of the taint of the watergate scandal. the president has asked me to announce that he has today received and accepted the resignation of two of his closest friends and most trusted assistants in the white house. in their statements of resignation, haldeman and ehrlichman blamed many of their problems on the press. whether the president plans to incorporate any such statement in his nationwide address tonight is unknown. >> today in one of the most difficult decisions of my presidency i accepted the resignations of two of my closest associates in the white house, bob haldeman john ehrlichman two of the finest public servants it has been my

privilege to know. i want to stress that in accepting these resignations i mean to leave no implication whatever of personal wrongdoing on their part. and i leave no implication tonight of implication on the part of others who have been charged in this matter. god bless america. and god bless each and every one of you. >> hello? >> hi. >> i hope i didn't let you down. >> no, sir you got your points over and now you're -- you got it set right and move on. you're right where you ought to be. >> well it's a tough thing,

bob, for you for john the rest but goddamn it i'm never going to discuss this son of a bitching watergate thing again, never, never, never, never. the interesting thing, the only cabinet officer that has called is cap weinberger bless his soul. all the rest are waiting to see what the polls show. let me say you're a strong man, goddamn it, and i love you. and i love john and all the rest. and by god, keep the faith. keep the faith. you're going win this son of a bitch. >> absolutely. >> i don't know whether you can call and get any reactions and call me back. >> i don't think i can. >>, no i agree. >> i'm kind of an odd god zamora soul. any cabinet officer accept weinberger an hour afterwards. and thank god. and no staff member. >> when i called the board said they were instructed not to put

any calls through. >> to hell with that. i told them to put all the calls through. >> well that may be why you haven't gotten them though. >> all right. i'll change it. i'll change it. fine. but god bless you, boy. god bless you. i love you, as you know. >> okay. >> like my brother. all right, boy. keep the faith. >> right. cute blob is metamucil. and this park is the inside of your body. see, the special psyllium fiber in metamucil actually gels. and that gelling helps to lower some cholesterol. metamucil. 3 amazing benefits in 1 super fiber.

dwight chapin president nixon's former appointment secretary, today was found guilty of lying to the watergate grand jury investigating political sabotage during the 1972 presidential campaign. >> i will never, ever under any circumstance have a regret for any contribution or any hardships or anything else that have come out of the work that i have done with richard nixon.

>> i loved what i did, and it was very important to me. and i think these friendships just -- you know are golden, and they still exist. >> john ehrlichman president nixon's domestic affairs adviser is behind bars tonight. the highest ranking former nixon aide to go to prison so far. >> for myself i went through a process of being just absolutely stripped bare. i woke up one day realizing that there was nothing left. there just really wasn't anything. and it occurred to me that there might be an opportunity in all

of that to do it over again simpler and better. dal is here to see his daughter graduate from law school. on wednesday haldeman reports to the federal prison in lompoc california to begin serving a two and a half to eight-year sentence.

an investigation. and then a charge and then a trial. >> yeah. >> and then a year and a half in prison. all of that time had to work on my defense. the time is here to stop defending, at least on my part, and to start looking ahead there is a lot more to my life than watergate. there is a lot more to my life than politics. ♪ ♪

tol hill ♪ ♪ sentiment is not the same, mr. nixon, you're to blame ♪ ♪ you made our town your summer home and crowned with the capitol dome ♪ ♪ you took a step out on the beach, now cotton's points is out of reach ♪ ♪ there was a town so quiet and still and then came the folks from capitol hill ♪ ♪ san clemente's not the same mr. nixon you're to blame ♪ ♪ at night we used to close the bar that was okay with fdr ♪ ♪ mr. nixon you're so great, but

must your guests stay out so late ♪ ♪ there was a town so quiet and still then came the folks from capitol hill ♪ ♪ sentiment is not the same mr. nixon, you're to blame, mr. nixon, you're to blame, mr. nixon, you're to blame ♪ >> convicted watergate cover-up conspirator john ehrlichman sought of a job. the one-time white house aide to former president richard nixon has ended his brief career as an ice cream pitchman on television. by all accounts the ad campaign was simply a meltdown. >> try this stuff. it's unbelievable. and believe me, i'm an expert on that subject. >> the california ice cream company that ran the ad said consumer response was so negative, the ehrlichman commercials were being taken off the air immediately.

. we interrupt -- >> we have a late development. >> we don't know precisely what happened. >> oh my god, he's been shot. >> the president of the united states has been shot. >> i could see it through the viewfinder. even now -- >> an inch from his heart. >> he was minutes away from not making it. >> who is the shooter? >> then he says, if you know about that, you know about everything. >> a bizarre motive. >> he felt the relationship was real. >> he was a really severely disturbed person. >> and his crime changed history. the shooting of ronald reagan, next.