henry kissinger, john ehrlichman and haldeman.t an easy, tidy one to describe, and of the three he's been by his own choice the least visible to the public. he's the only one of the three never to have given a television interview until now. his friends talk of his brilliance, efficiency, his total dedication to the president and his lack of personal ego or jealousy. his critics call him cold, arrogant, inaccessible. this interview was filmed a week ago in mr. haldeman's office at the white house. you have no calendar? you really follow the president's day. you're available, as i understand it, from 7:00 in the morning and on and on and on. what does this do to your personal life? >> 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've probably seen the picture of my sons that we sent out for christmas, but -- because my older son has

haldeman, ehrlichman and yours truly, we're obstructing justice.thinking about the criminal law. we were thinking more about the politics of it all. >> all of the burglars stay quiet. nobody else is indicted, which is exactly what the white house's strategy was. >> the strategy was containment. if it doesn't get widespread coverage in the country as a whole, then we'll be able to handle this. >> this is about the government. this is about credibility. this is about bugging. this is about deception. this is about the white house. and this is how you stop it. with your vote. >> while senator mcgovern is out campaigning tirelessly, trying to get his message across to the people, president nixon is sitting in the white house and carrying out his presidential duties and leaving the hard campaigning to vice president agnew. >> people want to trust the king. people don't want to believe this about their president. >> pennsylvania decisively important state for the democrats gone tonight to the republicans. kansas, connecticut, texas, michigan, delaware, a

haldeman his chief of staff and john ehrlichman, his chief domestic adviser, have resigned.resident's white house legal counsel john dean has been fired. reportedly, dean is implicated in efforts to cover up the watergate scandal, and he may implicate ehrlichman and haldeman. >> good evening. i want to talk to you tonight from my heart on a subject of deep concern to every american. 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. >> he thought, by throwing out his inner circle, he would be left alone he was throwing these people under the bus so the bus wouldn't hit him. >> justice will be pursued fairly, fully, and impartially no matter who's involved. >> richard nixon wants to control everything. but he's extraordinarily delusional. i mean, he really doesn't seem to understand that he's digging himself deeper and deeper into the crime when he's trying to dig himself out. >> we must maintain the integrity of the white house, and that integrity must

ehrlichman begins to monopolize more and more of their time.n had a secret tape recording system in the oval office. >> what's the dope on the watergate incident? >> there's nothing new. >> because i think the country doesn't give much of a [ bleep ] about it. and most people around the country think that this is routine, everybody's trying to bug everybody else. it's politics. >> the great thing about this is it is so totally [ bleep ] up and so badly done that nobody believes that we could have done it. that's right. it's just beyondprehension. >> well, it sounds like a comic era. it would make a funny [ bleep ] damn movie. it reay is like a comic opera. it would make one hell of a movie. but not very funny. >> haldeman and ehrlichman knew what they had to do, cover all the tracks leading to the white house. they started by enlisting another of the president's men, legal adviser john dean, to monitor day-to-day changes. >> after the watergate break-in i really very quickly become the desk officer at the white house on watergate. i'm the perso

so, john ehrlichman, holland was ear lickman -- ehrlichman and ron zigler had a higby, happened to be diane sawyer, and even the higby had a higby, gordon. so i was buchanan's higby and that became that 50-year long-term friendship. pat was part of a white house that was very unique. it was part of a murder's row of speech writers that they've never had ever since. pat buchanan, bill sapphire who won a pulitzer prize. ray price, who came to the nixon staff from the new york herald tribune and he had written interestingly enough the editorial that endorsed lyndon johnson over barry goldwater and you head two journeymen speech writers, bill and -- the most remarkable speech-writing staff. ben and i were in awe of them as their talents because we were locally speech writers. pat began his remarkable career with nixon or, as as he called him the old man in 1965, when he became mr. nixon roz writer, researcher, briefer, traveling campaign aide, and along with his current book, which i knowow have all purchased, you really have to buy his other book think greatest comeback, where chronicled

, the assistant was ehrlichman higbee and ron higbee and happened to the diane sawyer and even higbee had a higbee. so i was buchanan's higbee and that became the 50 year longtime friendship. that was part of the white house that was very unique. it was part of a murderer's row of speechwriters that they'd had ever since. pat buchanan, phil safire, ray price who came to the nixon staff from the new york herald tribune, and he'd written interestingly enough the editorial that endorsed lyndon johnson over barry goldwater and two journeyman speechwriters as the most remarkable staff ever. pat buchanan has remarkable career with nixon when he became the writer, researcher, briefer traveler campaigning and along with this current book you really have to buy his book the greatest combat on this remarkable period had worked with. richard nixon rose. it is no was not only the consee conscience but the strategist for the president. no other single person in my judgment had the same creative insight into the american political mind able to capture the forces shaping america in the 60s and 70s a