tonight a look at the life and career of richard nixon. david gergen began his political career in 1971 as a staff assistant on president nixon's speech writing team. we'll now hear about mr. gergen's relationship with the president and how he was later chosen to write the president's letter of resignation. this is about an hour and a half. >> hi, i'm tim atelli, and i'm director of the richard nixon presidential museum in yorba linda, california. i have the honor and privilege to be interviewing david gergen for the program. david gergen. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. it's a pleasure to be here. >> as i told you, i'll go in chronological order. i want to start by asking you about the relationship, if you can call it that, that developed between former president nixon and bill clinton. >> it was an odd relationship between bill clinton and president nixon, one that would have, i think, never -- you never could have predicted. you have to remember that hillary clinton, after all, was on the staff that helped to impeach hi

as i recall, i called richard nixon for all of the flaws of that generation and for all of nixon's enormous flaws as president. there were parts of that legacy that should be remembered in a positive way as well as the things that we all bowed and wondered how did we ever get there. how did the tragedy ever unfold? >> let me ask you, do you recall president clinton's response to the message about nafta? >> well, i think it was then that he may have told me about russia. i can't remember the exact sequencing, but it's very important that president clinton took his advice and did exactly what he said. i thought that was one of the bravest moments of president nixon's. he took on his own -- and he got bashed for it, but as you'll remember that's when he called in the former presidents who could come and visit there to support him and stand with him, and i have a -- very positive memories of the way george h.w. bush and jimmy carter and jerry ford as i recall all came here to support that in day one and that was exactly what nixon would recall, and that is when the chips are down and people sta

>> i thought the pardon of richard nixon was the right thing to do. i thought it was a brave thing to do. i thought jerry ford deserved the honor when the john f. kennedy library some years later gave him the kennedy medal for bravery citing the watergate -- the pardon of richard nixon. i thought it was the right thing to do. i also thought it was as a little matter handled very clumsily so that it was a complete shock to the country. i remember it happened at 11:00 on a sunday, about 30 days into the presidency of jerry ford. i was working for president ford at that time. of course, i was an outsider because i was a nixon person. and they brp were about to repl me, which i didn't know. i remember driving with my wife. we were coming back from church or something. we heard the news of the pardon. i near went in the ditch. i was stunned at the pardon. and the reason i thought it was clumsily handled is there was no preparation of the public. there was no balloon that went up, trial balloon. instead, there had been the, no, we're not doing that. we woul

richard nixon. you see, soaring rhetoric alone cannot sustain a presidency. it takes substance. but substance without sizzle cannot persuade. every administration struggles with a combination of substance and sizzle to show presidential leadership. how that was worked out with our 37th president is the topic today. and we have an excellent moderator with us that i'd like to introduce right now. lee huebner. [ applause ] >> lee came to richard nixon's attention in 1962 as the co-founder of the ripon society at the university of wisconsin and he worked with richard nixon in what we call the wilderness years when he was a private citizen and successfully was with him in the 1968 campaign when he was elected president. so lee became the youngest member of a speech writeing team that started on nixon's white house staff and he was, by no means, the least contributor. he had opinion with the man for so long, he was a contributor from the very outset. at the end of his white house years, he then became the

he began introducing me to the -- i think not just the spiritual side of richard nixon but his idealism and he helped me understand that nixon was a -- something cruel had happened to him somewhere along the way. he -- i don't know where this deformity of character came from or where these demons, as i call them, came from within him. but something -- one never knows. bryce harlow was another friend that used to say to me, he said publicly something terrible happened to richard nixon when he was young and we'll never know quite what it was. but nixon -- ray understood that about nixon, tried to help me understand it and tried to enlisted me in trying to build up the positive side. ray was a positive influence in the white house who was very close to nixon. he always looked out for me, and i've revered that friendship and that relationship for a long time. i've always looked up to ray price. last time i saw him was here at the kennedy library or in boston and he came um to me for a conversation about speech writing. it was very good to see him. ray price also was -- we recruited some of

there were a lot of very good people who work for richard nixon. richard nixon had a dark side but also had a real eye for good talent on the bright side and he brought a huge number of good people into public service who went on to serve with distinction in the ford administration. many of them wanted to work for richard nixon and a great many went on to work for george w. bush. but they went on and did very good things in life. we didn't turn into -- and so a lot of those associates i'm very proud of. but i thought nixon left a legacy that republicans should be proud of. i believe that environmental protection was positive. i think his ideas on health care, trying get universal coverage are right. i happen to be more for a private system than some of the democrats. but he is -- i think there is much there that in that legacy that people can look back upon and say deeply tragic, flawed president did enormous damage to the presidency but let's remember the whole of richard nixon and who he was. >> which is what president clinton said. >> yeah. >> a

the richard nixon i see in the play and the movie and especially the movie is not the richard nixon i knew. i was talking to one friend about this, he came up and i think it was true, it's sort of the hollywood version of nixon and i think that's pretty true. a couple of things that struck me about him just were visually they portray him as always walking around stooped. he never did. and talking bombastically, he never did. and, of course, david frost is a very skilled guy, but he had to make a theatrical piece and i think he made a knee attry cal piece, it was not a theatrical presidency, it was a very serious presidency. >> let's run the trailer that comes out, it describes what the movie is about, it's full of fast-paced stuff that wasn't in the movie. let's watch that and we'll talk about some of the people we see. >> good evening, i shall resign the presidency at noon tomorrow. >> this is an historic day, the only time a president has ever resigned. >> knew about the watergate cover-up. >> the man who had committed the greatest felony in american history will never stand trial.

and richard nixon -- >> i don't remember that phrase, pat, but -- >> richard nixon went out also and he became -- agnew was supposed to carry the hod, be the bayonet of the party. richard nixon went out and began taking up some of the themes. we were using with the vice president. he came off as exceedingly harsh. ed muskey had that famous cape st. elizabeth address on national television where he was calm and statesman-like, they say we're for crime, and that's a lie. they know it's a lie. clearly we were looking for an up, positive thrust. and put that election behind us. >> john mitchell even said of the '70 campaign, looks like we're running for sheriff. there was a backing away maybe from some of that harsher rhetoric. ken, you came to the white house just at that time. you were involved in trying to rally a lot of people on behalf of the cause. what do you recollect? >> i rise in tribute to the junior speechwriters in the white house. you had the murderers row of buchan buchanan, saffire and price and then a whole tribe of us who were really jr. speechwriters who never got to w

one of them was married to richard nixon's daughter, tricia cox -- tricia nixon cox, a candidate for that job. i thought i have a zero chance, a great chance to go to the white house. this is a lark. it was very fun. i told him i said you ought to know i voted for humphrey. i'm actually a great admirer of richard nixon's foreign policy. i'm more liberal that this domestic policy. but i'm interested in talking to you. i know you're going to hire somebody else. i was in north carolina, was right on the verge of accepting a job there when the phone rang. they fished me out. it was the white house calling. it was ray price on the line. he said i interview everybody, i'd like you to come to work for me. i said i can't believe it. i said, i want to remind you. he said that's fine. he said why don't you come for a year, it's 1971. we won't have an election campaign. i'll try you out, you try me out. we'll see how it fits. but i think we need diversity around here. i like the fact that you have views that are not consistent with everybody else. we have pat buchanan as far over to the right a

tonight, programs focusing on the life and career of richard nixon. first, former new york representative elizabeth holtzman talks about her time on the house judiciary committee when as a freshman in 1974, she heard impeachment hearings against president nixon. held at the nixon presidential library, this is about half an hour. >> let's fast forward to the summer of 1974. spring and summer of '74. do you -- redino hasn't taken account yet, but is it -- are there the votes to impeach nixon? when is it clear -- >> well, it's clear that the overwhelming majority of the democrats favor impeachment, but rodino understood, and i think by that time, most of us understood that impeachment was never going to happen unless republicans participated and southern democrats participated, even if we had a majority vote in the committee. that was not going to work. and so there was an effort to structure -- and i was on part of that. there was an effort. rodino participated in a small number and democrats participated in a small number and a few republicans participa

eisenhower and her family, vice president richard nixon. julie nixon married david eisenhower in 1968 just before her father took his own presidential oath of office. they recently collaborated on the book "going home to glory: a memoir of life with dwight d. eisenhower, 1961 to 1969." in this conversation at the lyndon b. johnson presidential library, the eisenhowers recall ike's presidency and later retirement in gettysburg, pennsylvania. the relationship between ike and his vice president and the reasons that propelled richard nixon to make another run at the presidency after his close closes loss to john f. kennedy in 1960. this program is one hour and 15 minutes. >>> good evening and welcome to our program tonight. i'm done carlton. i have to get my classes out or i won't be able to see what i'm talking about. i'm the director of the university's to be brisco center for american history. the brisco center is delighted to join with the lbj library in co-sponsoring tonight's program featuring david and julie eisenhower's fascinating book

richard nixon said. government must learn to take less from people so that people can do more for themselves. let us remember that america was built not by government but by people, not by welfare but by work, not by shirking responsibility but by seeking responsibility. in our own lives let us -- let each of us ask not just what will government do for me, but what can i do for myself. and i wonder, that comes pretty chose to what john kennedy said. >> it might be. i'd have to look back at his. but this was certainly central to what richard nixon was trying to do, uh-huh. >> what's the hardest thing about writing an inaugural speech? >> i don't know. i guess probably just feeling the weight of history on it. and you want to be much more careful about, be sure it's right, right in tone, right in substance, right for the occasion and also what you want to do, you want to lift the public up, you really do. and try to get your administration off to as good a start as you can and also give you a little levera

and one of the collections that she brings in the book is an amazing cache of letters that richard nixon wrote pat nixon from the south pacific. in '43, '44 and '45. if he isn't telling her in these letters he's going to be president, i don't know what he's telling her. it's there to see. as the story goes, bill clinton's classmates were saving his letters and little things he wrote at the age of 15 and 16. he wasn't captain of the football team. but he exuded an extraordinary sense of himself. i'm sure linda and lucy have stories about lyndon johnson. my grandfather -- my father told the story in 1938 or '9 they were living in manila working for mcarthur. douglas mcarthur. and my dad confronted my grandfather with the idea or suggestion that my grandfather was wasting his time. why are you wasting your time working for douglas mcarthur as an assistant liaising with the government when you have one offer after another from large shipping concerns and businesses that are based in manila and so forth, go into business and his reply was, i believe war is going to break out in 24 or 36 month

there was richard nixon in gucci shoes i think, suit pants, a white shirt, tie, cuff links bowling alone. and he looked like the loneliest fellow than i had seen in a long time. >> i just really felt badly for him. gee, you think some one would have a friend there, a child, somebody who was another human being you could share that with. but i think ultimately he was a very lonely man. and there was a part about that that you felt like you just wanted to say, it's okay. it's going to be okay. but you couldn't. >> is it that sense of vulnerability that kept you there? why did you stay so long? >> the question of whether to stay or go was an increasingly difficult question for several of us on the staff but i think for others as well, especially the younger generation. i had come in as a third or fourth level down person, you know. i was way down in the pecking order and very young. and through the evolution of time i had moved into -- i was now still a junior lieutenant but i had responsibility. i had 50 people i was responsible for. and i had a little bit of a public profile. not much but

tonight, it's focusing on the life and career of richard nixon. first, elizabeth holtzman heard impeachment hearings. this is about half an hour. >> let's fast forward to the spring and summer of 1974. radino hasn't taken a count yet but when -- >> >> well, it's clear that the over well meeg majority of the democrats supported an impeachment. we understood that it was never going to happen unless democrats participated. that was not going to work. and so there was an effort to structure and i was part of that. there was an effort rodino participated and a small number of democrats participated in and i think the southern democrats participated in that because you had to bring everybody along or as many people as possible. in the end, all of the democrats supported this. and seven or eight republicans supported it. i think that's the correct number. >> well, the tapes are part of the turning point. the overwhelming weight of the evidence, as i said before, i just felt like you were falling into quicksand. i mean, everywhere you turned there was mis

it was -- it's very important to remember richard nixon was a -- was an insular figure, was introverted. didn't like to spend a lot of time with people. and so it wasn't as if you went and spent a lot of time with him. just in the very nature -- i spent a lot of time in group meetings with him. from the beginning back when ray first hired me, there was always -- the speech writers always had a chair in the cabinet room where there was always a space for a speech writer to be there to take notes and to bring them back to the speech writing team and make sure everybody knew where the direction of the conversation was. and ray went over pretty frequently, went over and asked me to be at the cabinet meetings. and so from 1971 on, i was -- '73, '74, i spent a lot of time in those kind of settings. but that's not obviously what we call face time and one-on-one time. so my times with him were usually when haldeman or somebody called and said, we would like to see you. you'd go over and you'd talk about a speech or something he was working on. and -- or some instructions he wanted to give you b

and "washington post" and all the others who cheered america into that war, and suddenly when richard nixon enters the white house, it is nixon's war? he simply wanted to end that war with honor. and in 1973, we had all the p.o.w.s home and the south vietnamese were in control of every provincial capital. he had won the war basically. what happened then was congress began to cut off all the military equipment until a north vietnamese said, the congress forced the south vietnamese to fight a poor man's war. it was not richard nixon who marched us into vietnam. he tried to get us out with other than. honor. he succeeded in doing so, quite frankly, against the opposition of a lot of people who were responsible for having all those guys over there. >> the controversy continues. it's useful to be reminded that this is a terribly controversial time. there were many advocates on the other side. controversial time, there were many advocates on the other side, and people gathered here were all at one time or another advocates on the other side, so it's natural that you've gotten a certain interpreta

richard nixon who was the old man in the 1960 race was younger than obama was in 2008. this was a generational shift. and the war-time generation is making way for the -- for a new group in america. so, what eisenhower is saying by restoration of rank is that to understand his presidency and why he was there and what he accomplished between 1953 and '61 is a period of reconstruction. like the reconstruction of the that followed the civil war. in a 20th century frame, he is a very underestimated 19 century. grant who carried forward the reconstruction after the american civil war. this is what the eisenhower presidency is in many ways. in january of '61, he was going to be succeeded either by a republican or a democrat, both under 50. both restless in looking for a way to sort of branch out and this becomes a theme in going home to glory because what happens in going home to glory is the wisdom of the war generation. what they took for granted is constantly challenged and what eisenhower has to understand in dealing with lyndon johnson and richard nixon and john kennedy

how ike secretly held reagan against richard nixon and some of nixon's stories. chris: welcome back. and mike duffy's book about the most secret club about the most powerful men, there was one who was hardly a teammate. after ford pardonned nixon, nixon then went on an upstaging trip to china right during the new hampshire primary of 1976. forward was then put in a position of having to defend the guy who had once again embarrassed him. >> he is going under the guidelines that i suggested. >> you see no complications to foreign policy with his trip? >> none whatever. chris: he went over to china, showing off and getting the press attention and ford who got him off the hook was trying to run for president. >> at the same time, jerry ford never apologized for the pardon. he knew exactly how damaging it was to him politically and the thing he was proudest was caroline and ted kennedy gave him the profile in courage reward. chris: apparently general eisenhower, nixon thought he was helping him but giving advice secretly to ronald reagan. >> one of the things that imp

and actually lyndon johnson began and richard nixon and gerald ford continued with secretary of state kissinger as the leader of that movement. the theory was not unrealistic. it was that you ought to be able to find some areas of accommodation and if you are steely eyed and careful, you ought not to compromise on something you shouldn't compromise on but by the same token, you might try to reach out and see if you can achieve a relaxation of tension, which the word detante suggests. the problem with it was that the soviet union at the time was increasing its capabilities and was on an up trend. the united states was decreasing its capabilities on a relative basis and we were moving into a roughly a band of rough equivalents where they were superior in some areas, we were superior in some areas. i don't know any american military person that wanted to trade our military for theirs, but the trend lines were wrong. they were adverse to our interest without question, and there was a big debate in the united states about what they were spending as a percentage of their gdp on defens

president was born there in 1913 and he was laid to rest near the house in 1994. >> welcome to richard nixon's presidential museum. it really is an honor having you here today and most fortunate to be able to share with you where our 37th president of the united states, richard millhouse nixon was born. so if you look behind me, you can see this wonderful house. this is the birthplace of president nixon. i'm very excited and pleased to tell you that the most often asked question i get out here, has the house ever been moved? and, no, it's never been moved. it's always been on this spot. it's actually a kit house. and please use your imagination for a moment, because let's go back to 1912. in 1912 frank and hannah nixon arrived in this area, and believe it or not, there was only 200 people in population in yorba linda. now there are thousands. look around. see how beautiful the grounds are here today. 1912, there was plenty of lemons and orange groves and frank and hannah nixon arrived here and thought, what a great place to raise a family. he literally, frank nixon literally went through a cat

next, a visit to yorba linda, california and the birthplace home of president richard nixon. does sent darlene sky gave "american history tv" a tour of the house that rests on the ground of the richard nixon presidential library and museum. the 37th president was born there in 1913 and laid to rest near the house in 1994. >>> welcome to richard nixon's presidential museum. it really is an honor having you here today. i'm most fortunate to be able to share with you our 37th president of the united states, richard milhous nixon was born. if you look behind me, you can see this wonderful house. this is the birthplace of president nixon. i'm very excited and pleased to tell you that the most often-asked question i get out here, has the house ever been moved? no, it's never been moved. it's always been on the spot. it's kuhly a kit house. please use your imagination for a moment. let's go back to 1912. in 1912 frank and hannon nixon arrived in this area. believe it or not, there was only 200 people in population in yorba linda. now there's thousands. if you look around, you can se

judge siricca, the chief justice appointed by richard nixon, who would expect to get a pass from the chief justice. 577-0 vote by the snar of the united states vote to undertake the investigation. imagine today getting a $777-0 vote to investigate purported crimes or malfeasance of a sitting president, unanimous, both parties. the republican party being really the people who cast the most important votes for impeachment of of the president of the united states in the house jbt. republicans led by senator barry goldwater who marched down o to the white house and said to richard nixon, "you don't have the votes in the senate, you're going to be convicted" and oh, you're right. this might be an opportunity to finally put this in perspective after 40 years. bop talks very upon about the five wars of watergate. >> and you have to -- guess, got into the details of this but -- and we all, including carl and myself kind of ran buy it because the issue became what did nixon know and when did he know it and the pursuit of the tapes. about when you they did their investigation, i wall it the fi

he was known as the hatchet man for president richard nixon. he served as nixon's special council and served time for the skamgdz. his death comes three weeks after suffering a brain hemorrhage. colson was 80. in peru vimplt experts are investigate aing disturbing mystery washing up on its beaches. at least 877 dead dolphins have been found. crews deputy environment minister says the dolphins may have died from a veers. official test results are expected next week. i'll see you back here at the top of the hour. sanjay gupta m.d. begins right now. >> hey there, and thanks for joining us this morning. lots do get to, including a new push to end medical research on chimpanzees. a very controversial issue.

the policy of vietnamization that richard nixon claimed was going to work hadn't worked. it was a civil war. and we didn't think the u.s. should be playing a role in it anymore. what i do remember vividly was at the very end there were some efforts to give president ford additional powers to -- war-making powers to help in the evacuation. and there was a big debate in the house about that. i participated in that. the reason i remember it so vividly is it must have taken place between one and two or 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning so, that stuck in my mind. and those efforts to get him additional war-making powers were rejected given the experience of gulf of tonkan resolution and giving presidents war-making powers unless it was very clear and urgent. and the need was overwhelming. >> what role did you play, if any, if shaping legislation that made it harder for the government to undertake illegal wiretapping? this is in the ford administration, the foreign intelligence surveillance act. >> no, i was not part of that. i helped to draft an amendment that was adopted that requ

i want to show this one moment from august 9th, 1974, the resignation of richard nixon, which became the culmination of the watergate scandal that led to the fec and the changes we saw just two years in 1976, the election of jimmy carter and the race with gerald ford in that campaign. but here's from the east room at the white house, the morning of august 9th, outgoing president richard nixon. >> we think sometimes, when things happen, that don't go the right way, we think that when you don't pass the bar exam the first time -- i happened to, but i was just lucky, i mean, my writing so poor, the bar examiner was like, we just have to let the guy through. we think that when someone dear to us dies, we think that when we lose an election, we think that when we suffer a defeat, that all has ended. we think, as t.r. said that the light had left his light forever. not true. it's only a beginning, always. the young must know it. the old must know it. it must always sustain us. but the greatness comes not when things go always good for you, but the greatness comes when you're really tested,

partners, but the club was essentially reborn. >> nancy, governor ifduffy, let about bill clinton and richard nixonh impeachment hearings, it was actually nixon who wrote to bill clinton and clinton said to you guys that that letter is something he refers to often. >> he told us he takes it out and rereads it every year. and by that time, they had become late night phone buddies. they would talk late at night about everything from china policy and russia to things like how a president should organize his day. clinton would grill nixon about sort of when did you exercise and how much did you sleep and how did you use your time. which is of course the single most precious presidential resource. >> and as mans cinancy just sai, the relationship crosses party lines most remarkably. this was at the kennedy center and it was bill clinton referring to his relationship with the bushes and how we know he traveled to the tsunami relief back in 2005 with george herbert walker bush, the dad. this was a tribute to the former president bush he ken at the kenity center and chin to is speaking. >> got so ridiculou

colson, once described by the "washington post" as one of the most powerful presidential aides to richard nixontoday at age 80. he became a key player in the watergate scandal. he served as special counsel to president nixon from 1969 to 1973, and he pleaded guilty a year later to his role in watergate and did prison time and later in life founded a worldwide ministry. our chief washington correspondent has more on his life. >> reporter: he was known as richard nixon's hatchet man, the white house special counsel, willing to walk over his own grandmother to reelect the president but he'd spend the next four decades as one of the leading christian missionaries, working with inmates in the prison. >> i saw the world through eyes of the people untouchable and outcast. >> reporter: born in 1931:he tragedied brown university through the alumni association met e. howard hunt who years later he recruited to the nixon white house and supervised the watergate break in, a hard driving lawyer he joined the nixon white house as special counsel and his chief task, to get richard nixon reelected by identifyi

richard nixon had been out since watergate. he died on the 13th of january.ed nixon at christmas and said you're coming back to washington for my funeral and that's how you're getting back into washington. and he said now and humphrey said well, i'm a dying man of his dying wish and you're going to come back and he came back. in this at the end of the film. he said no president. i don't care what is done, should be finished in washington. you need to be here. talk about forgiveness, you know. so that's in the too. c-span: one audio clip comes from the book where he was talking about the way lyndon johnson treated him and we're about out of time, but let's just listen to this. >> it would be appropriate for me to invite my friends in the twin cities out for a boat ride. so i gave them the instructions, told them to meet me at the marine talk at 5:00. then i put in my request for the bow. i was asked -- we have is that the manifest and i fire up the names of those that were to be on the boat with me, including of course their profession for their occupation. th

people, including the overwhelming majority who supported richard nixon said, congress, you have to investigate, the laws have to be enforced. no matter what. and in the end, when the house judiciary committee acted on a bipartisan basis to vote for the impeachment of richard nixon, the country overwhelmingly supported that verdict. and what did that tell us? that more important than any political party, and more important than any president of the united states, and more important than any single person and more important than any ideology, was the bedrock principle of the rule of law and the preservation of our constitution. and americans united on that theme, regardless of how they vote just bat year and a half before that. we're not talking about ancient history in that vote. people put behind them their own partisan views and said, what is good for the country and the rule of law and one standard of law was critical. so, i said, gee, you know, that's a really important principle and i believed in it, too. and then we got the bush years. the can'tability principles pretty much w

. >> many of you might not have even been born in 1973 and four when watergate took place but richard nixon in one of the biggest landslides in the history of the united states, which meant most americans who voted in that election voted for him, yet winfax came out suggesting that laws were violated, the american people, including the overwhelming majority hewitt supported richard nixon, said congress you have to investigate and we have to have a special prosecutor. the laws have to be enforced no matter what. and in the end, when the house judiciary committee acted on a bipartisan basis, to vote for the impeachment of richard nixon, the country overwhelmingly supported bedford act and what did that tell us? that's more important than any political party and more important than any president of the united states and more important that any single person and more important than any ideology was the bedrock principle of the rule of law and the preservation of our constitution. and americans united on that theme come regardless of how they voted a year and a half before that. people put behin

and you know, the first has presidents who advocated a strong program was richard nixon. then, prices came back down, and it was hard to get fundings. so the energy companies have continued, but at a rather slow but steady pace. >> where do the national laboratories fit into this? they are controlled by the department of energy and they do very interesting things, but i'm never sure and i spent a lot of time visiting, i'm never sure how much they effect the market place. >> well, i think they've been very useful and effective in their work. however, their origins were largely related to nuclear and nuclear weapons. >> but in 1970's, they were deeply involved in solar power. >> well, look at the national energy renewal laboratory in colorado. there's pretty clear evidence that it helped drive the current state of wind technology in the u.s. wind prices have come down dramatically. and right now are cheaper, getting peak production time, when you're using peak energy, you're using gas and wind can compete. that was certainly invasion that was helped. then taken by the priva

tonight, american history dv takes a look at the presidency of richard nixon. at 8:00 eastern, an oral history of elizabeth holtzman, who considered impeachment charge against nixon. and at 9:30, david gergen who, as a speech writ writer for president nixon, wrote the president's resignation letter. april 15, 1912, nearly 1,500 perish on the ship called unsinkable. >> once the lookout bells were sounded and they shouted an iceberg ahead, they struck the bells in the crow's nest three times, ding, ding, ding, which is a warning saying there's some object ahead. it doesn't mean dead ahead. but ahead of the ship and it doesn't say what object. then he went to a telephone nest and called down to the officer on the bridge to tell them what it is that they saw. when the phone was finally answered, the entire conversation was what do you say? the response was iceberg right ahead. and the response from the officer was thank you. >> samuel halpern on the truth and myths of that night this weekend on c-span3. >>> earlier today, president obama continued to make his case