richard nixon is likely, almost probable, richard nixon would have been indicted by the house and d

a lot of what richard nixon thought -- part of the reason richard nixon thought he was right to do what he did is he assumed that the presidents before him had committed the same kinds of actions and, therefore, he was arguing others have done it, why hold me, take me to task for doing what others have done. this debate, which is part of a larger national debate, is about what we expect of our presidents. so even though article ii was not required to impeach richard nixon, the fact that article ii would be passed by a 28-10 margin, including seven republicans was a signal that we had reached the high watermark in the imperial presidency and the tide was about to go down, that congress now realized that whether richard nixon wanted to or not he had acted on impulse that presidents should not have and the constitution need ad little bit of help to ensure that the executive branch did not overstep its bounds. and after this you would see a series of legislation, including the foreign intelligence surveillance act and acts regarding presidential papers, other acts that indicated that congre

charles wiigens represents richard nixon's old congressional district. charles wiigens represents the blin da. he is perhaps the most eloquent, the smartest defender of president nixon in the judiciary committee, especially in its public debates. wiigens himself will go before the cameras in a few days, once he reads the smoking gun transcript to say he changed his mind. sadly, and there are tears tomorrowing in his eyes, i have -- forming in his eyes, i have to agree that the president must leave office. wiigens is devastated by the evidence presented in the smoking gun conversation because it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, that richmond nixon had participated in a cover-up. and we should understand that it only takes one article of impeachment to impeach a president. the house creates the indictment, the house would have voted to indict the president and then it would vote the senate, and the senate would be the trial. andrew johnson tried the president. so too did clinton after the crisis. richmond nixon probably would not have survived the senate,

this is richard nixon talking to haldeman about girls cursing. and i'd like to play that tape now. [ inaudible ] . >> never tape yourself. >> yeah. and maybe we didn't make clear, but i think all of you know that nixon had a voice activated, that yes, fdr did a little taping, and kennedy controlled the exxon meetings and cuban missile crisis, and johnson did some taping. nixon started bugging everything. there were microphones picking up all these materials. you get these really awkward, almost crazy moments that you have to scratch your head about. there's something oddly -- and i don't want to be ever quoted on saying, but at times, nixon -- >> you don't want to be quoted? >> saying it as a joke. i guess the word was, aware, talking about cursing and all this. pat and richard nixon could be as old-fashioned square kind of thinking, and you're getting that there. i don't think he was putting them on. really? girls do swear. and it shows just the disconnect in a way that he had. but it was old-fashioned. >> we're going to have some questions from

richard nixon was the last casualty. >> we are getting a lot of tweets. this is from brad. 49 always amazed nixon won out of 50 states in 1972 and months later forced to resign. >> a fellow writes social history about the 1960's and 1970's. he begins his book called "nixon in 1964, 10ing years before he resigned, you had lyndon johnson with this huge landslide. later, you hadrs nixon with an identical landslide from the other side. it was a volatile time going back and forth in american politics. >> from sarasota, florida, harry hone. the po go ahead. >> i wonder if nixon was forced to resign by the republican party for watergate because of what he did at democratic headquarters. if he was forced to do that. , it was thery end seventh, the congressional leaders on capitol hill came to the white house and sat down in the oval office with nixon. he said, how bad is it? they said it is over. we cannot win a trial of infringement -- impeachment. we cannot stop it in the senate -- we cannot stop it on the floor or win it in the senate. august, most all of offic

milhouse nixon. -- four votes for richard milhouse nixon. they were defecting from romney and we didn't think they liked us at all but we got them. the cameras are rolling from cbs and nixon looks over at me -- they had a conference right there and it was decided that cbs would not show buchanan's outburst. that is somewhere in cbs's files. >> isn't that like managing the news? you may get upset about the news is over the other side. i i didn't talk about it, wasn't doing the talking, but nixon was. >> it has been explained, the context -- >> tremendously controversial. goldwater -- rockefeller one of the john birch society equated with the ku klux klan and communist party. a right wing group -- wasn't secret, but private -- founded who calledelsh eisenhower the politician, a conscious agent of the communist conspiracy, which was ridiculous. is not communist, he's a golfer. but because of that statement and similar statements, the birch society rally the conservative movement around 1962. they were tremendously controversial, supported

this is richard nixon talking to haldeman about girls cursing. and i'd like to play that tape now. [ inaudible ] . >> never tape yourself. >> yeah. and maybe we didn't make clear, but i think all of you know that nixon had a voice activated, that yes, fdr did a little taping, and kennedy controlled the exxon meetings and cuban missile crisis, and johnson did some taping. nixon started bugging everything. there were microphones picking up all these materials. you get these really awkward, almost crazy moments that you have to scratch your head about. there's something oddly -- and i don't want to be ever quoted on saying, but at times, nixon -- >> you don't want to be quoted? >> saying it as a joke. i guess the word was, aware, talking about cursing and all this. pat and richard nixon could be as old-fashioned square kind of thinking, and you're getting that there. i don't think he was putting them on. really? girls do swear. and it shows just the disconnect in a way that he had. but it was old-fashioned. >> we're going to have some questions from

what was the case against and for impeaching richard nixon in 1974? >> well, there are three articles at issue. previous to this was article i. that is about the cover-up. could you prove that nixon participated in an effort to prevent the investigation of the watergate break-in? that was article one. by the time they started debating article ii, article i had been passed by a vote of -- 21-17. i am sorry. article one had been passed by a vote of 27-10 -- 27-11. you have six republicans who voted for article i. it is clear the committee already had a bipartisan majority for impeachment. it already happened. article i has been passed by 27-11 vote. this is the second article. this all about whether nixon had misused his authority and used executive power in a way that would conflict with the constitution and was in many ways criminal. the article itself highlights some of these activities. for example, the misuse of the fbi. seeking files from the fbi to embarrass, humiliate, or hurt one of the president's political opponents. daniel's name was not ment

there was a documentary on the political obituary of richard nixon. it started the soviets by -- spy thathe soviety nixon had put in prison. i think they thought, nixon has got a point. they really did give him the shaft. i think over the extent of his career, richard nixon was probably the most brutalized politician with the exception of joe mccarthy. i can't think of anyone who got a sustained beating like that into had greater systematic hostility. i didn't agree with nixon that the press of the enemy when i -- the press was the enemy when i came with him. we got good coverage at times in the primary. but through watergate, i came to believe it was true. the problem is, when the press ceases to be individuals, going out with them, it becomes a great herd -- there is a collective mindset that builds up. i remember the day nixon resigned. we went up and had a couple of martinis. i saw a famous american correspondent laughing his head off, giggling when i showed up. he said, pat, this is terrible. [laughter] >> is he still alive? >> he's still alive. i

a senior advisor in the nixon white house, and author of the book "the greatest comeback: how richard nixon rose from defeat to create the new majority." and luke nichter, co-author, with douglas brinkley, of the "the nixon tapes," a compilation of key conversations recorded by the president's secret white house taping system. and we welcome you all to the "newshour". pat buchanan as someone who knew richard nixon very well, why do you think it's important that we look back at him and his presidency? >> well, certainly, when you mention the watergate scandal, it was the biggest scandal in the american political history that brought down his presidency. bill clinton was impeached but he survived that. nixon's presidency is extraordinary because when you look at his first term and second term, i think you would find him most consequential of presidents. arms control of the soviet union, ended the draft, desegregated the south, had enacted 18-year-old vote, e.p.a., osha, the cancer institute. so he was an enormously consequential president and it's my and others' view that he stood down and i

they were then, facing richard nixon, a counter culture. they don't want to read about dead white men and literature like shakespeare. they're burning draft cards, essentially thinking that the unts is the enemy of all that is good and true. what was the kwoun ter culture is now the reigning culture, the central culture. >> and that's the difference? >> that is the difference. now this is the norm. it is the norm to go into a university, for example, and find out that every group has been separated into little victim studies classes instead of reading the great canon in literature. in a sense, that america, which was once celebrated for example in history, people went to school, the west ward expansion is now a trail of blood. it's now a -- >> different culture. sfwra different culture. >> i just want to read to the audience what you wrote in the wall street journal, linking today's america and the irs scandal. the irs audit story isn't watergate, it's worse than watergate. it was the professionals of party going after the professionals out

we should remember about richard nixon. for all of his status, you know, kevin spacey, you know, the actor kevin spacey asked who did the most for the arts? he said, i know you'll be surprised to learn that it was richard nixon who did the most for the arts. he doubled arts funding. he produced -- remember something called title 9, the thing that changed every girl's professional athlete status? he made it possible for women to do all of this. >> but if i may say so, dorothy, those were the seeds that planted that grew up to the government that is the scale it is now. >> yes. >> i think the government's incompetence is the reason the opinion in that opinion poll we cited have lost faith in washington because it simply doesn't perform anymore. >> dan, dorothy, out of time. thank you very much. >>> when we come back, just in time for that august beach vacation, the surgeon general declares the rising rate of skin cancer a public health crisis. so why are government regulators banning better sunscreens in america? oven to tast

there was then facing richard nixon a counterculture. you remember the counter culture, they don't want to read about dead white men in literature like shakespeare. they're out in the streets fighting against the government for the war, burning draft cards, essentially thinking of the united states as the enemy of all that is good and true. that was the siege moment. what was the counterculture is now the reigning culture. the central culture. >> that's the difference.

all way before richard nixon took office. by the end of the 1970s, were in a dismal state in america thinking about things. jimmy carter tried the gentler approach, i will never lie to you, tell you the truth, and then reagan said it's time to forget that and dwell on the good things. so we bounced back relatively fast. but anybody who was there must remember the late 1970s was an awful time for america. the economy was in dismal shape, the military was in dismal shape, we're hearing about jfk's affairs. and with the exception of maybe bruce springsteen, very little good came out of the 1970s. host: the speech that he delivered from the east room to cabinet officials at 9:35 and then at 10:00 o'clock eastern time he boarded army one and at noon air force one became a presidential plane and gerald ford became the president. guest: the highlight of the morning is what we just watched. that speech was remarkable in so many ways. it was supposed to be a low-key event. pat did not want it televised and nixon did. host: why? guest:

in my opinion, richard nixon has done many wonderful things for

richard nixon departed the white house for civilian life. three speeches that the president delivered in his first month in office. we will see his swearing in ceremony and an address to the joint session of conference -- congress. first, the credit east room of the white house. this video is courtesy of the ford presidential library and runs 11 minutes. [applause] [applause] >> mr. vice president, are you prepared to take the oath of office? >> i am. >> repeat after me. swear that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. so help me god. congratulations, mr. president. [applause] let's get on with it. gentlemen, the president of the united states. >> mr. chief justice, my dear ,riends, my fellow americans the oath that i have taken is the same that was taken by george washington and by every president under the constitution. underme the presidency extraordinary circumstances that have never been experienced

richard nixon was born in 1913 in yorba linda, california. en at an early age, he refused to wear makeup, which is why even his mother preferred kennedy's baby pictures. (laughter) after serving in the navy, nixon was elected to congress and rose to political prominence as a member of the house in the house un-american activities committee, where he accused state department official alger hiss of being a soviet spy. it was a dark time in our nation's history, when it was considered wrong for government workers to spy on americans. (laughter) in 1952, while campaigning as dwight eisenhower's runningmate, nixon wins gulfed in scandal when the media reported he received improper gifts from wealthy donors. so nixon took to the air waves and saved his reputation with what became known as the checkers speech ." >> we did get something, a gift after the election. you know what it was? it was a little cocker spaniel dog, and our little girl, tricia, the 6-year-old, named it checkers. and you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and i just want

. >> 40 years ago, richard nixon's presidency ended and gerald ford's began. vice president ford was sworn into the highest office at noon that day. shortly after president nixon departed the white house for civilian life. he announced his resignation the night before. next, free speech is the new president delivered in his first month in office. we will see you swearing in ceremony, address to joint session of congress, and the white house press conference. 19 74,rn to august 9, and the crowded east room of the white house. this video is courtesy of the gerald r ford presidential library. it runs 11 minutes. [applause] [applause] >> mr. vice president, are you prepared to take the oath of office? >> i am. >> repeat after me. >> i solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. [applause] >> m

richard nixon was in dallas, texas in november 1963? had a programe that said where were you out when kennedy was killed? they had nixon on camera and you said well i had just flew out of dallas. power.ogance of read that and you will find out the truth. richard nixon had kennedy murdered. you for calling in. from bloomington, indiana, angel is on the line fro. -- please go ahead. how are you? caller: i'm just calling in reference to obama. your president. turned on the tv. you cannot listen to yourself. listen through your telephone. mr. obama. he has turned this country around. understandle cannot what the constitution consists of. heyou as a scholar like says, there is only one sentence in the constitution, what your rights are and what your rights are not fair you should read that again and reread it and reread it until people understand that. andblaming the republicans republicans, he should blame himself for what he is doing to the country. ring veteran from the core, needs to go to the service to see what it is to be in the servic

this week marks 40 years since president richard nixon resigned from the office of the presidency. to coincide with this historic date is the release of the hbo documentary "nixon by nixon: in his own words." it has recently declassified audiotapes from the white house. i am joined by the director. why did you make this movie? >> i grew up during that watergate era. i was in college and was met by it. i got into the news business because of my excitement. 35 and 38 years later i get an opportunity to spend two years listening to tapes. we had a window into richard nixon and i think people rarely get opportunity to listen to it. >> and opening this window into the world of richard nixon, describe the things you have learned and the things you have had to push the pot but not to listen to again. >> in all the listening we did there was never a moment where he was uplifting and thrilling or enlightening. he was gruff, he was dark, he was short with people. he was a micromanager to the and degree. -- to the nth degree. what surprises me the most is the level of detail he dove into and m

some of the democrats look at it as a way to get at richard nixon because they really didn't like the outcome of the election and didn't particularly care for him. so it was in the middle of that kind of crossfire, as such, that i found myself, and it was not a comfortable position to be in but one that i felt i was committed to trying to decide it on the merits. >> so, you were asked to play any particular role by the leadership or did you serve as a lone member of this committee, a republican who felt that the president should face impeachment questions? >> i was never asked to play any role other than just prior to going public. in some of the private hearings i certainly was as well prepared as any member and perhaps even better prepared than most members with some exception, chuck wiggins of california, terrific lawyer and great backer of president nixon and he was very gifted and knowledgeable. but i tried to immerse myself and i had peopmemorized the sen hearings and so when they came before our committee i would be as well prepared as anyone to debate tissues and ask the right

richard nixon was never boring. david mentioned he was probably as interesting in his after presidency as he was during his presidency. i chronicle in the book beginning with spiro agnew. remember spiro agnew being in some trouble and i said to my editor at the new yorker, thought lamented and just the legendary william shawn saying what are you thinking of writing next? i don't know. i have a feeling we are going to change vice presidents and presidents within a year. this is labor day of 73. a way out there kind of wild thought at the time. we agreed i would write a journal, not a diary but watch the events and interpret and talk about them. we didn't know where it was going and as he said at the time we don't know how to change vice presidents. that would be the first quarter of business. we didn't know how to change vice presidents, we didn't know how to impeach a president, we didn't know how to get another president. it was all kind of made up as we went along. one of the most distressing things about now is t

focuses on the resignation of richard nixon 1974, 40 years later. again, that is next sunday here on cspan 3 on 8:00 eastern time, 5:00 for those of you on the west coast. tuesday night on american history tv, more water gate with the house judiciary committee's impeachment hearings against president nixon. we'll get opening statements from members of the committee starting with its chairman. new jersey congressman peter ridino starting tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern here on cspan 3's american history tv. >> with live coverage of the u.s. house on cspan here on

richard nixon lost that opportunity. >> you know, nixon once said -- one quick line, richard nixon once said about gerald ford, he played football one too many times without his helmet. not that smart a guy. >> remember how he got to be vice president, and that was agnew's resignation. and there was a lot of talk, knowledgeable talk at the time, and some of nixon's people will tell you it is the case, that ford, he viewed ford as impeachment insurance. that they will never impeach me if gerald ford, and the contempt that you're talking about, is part of that. and, of course, it didn't work. and not only that, i mean, i think where shelby was reading this thing about the son of a -- part, that what we see in gerald ford is one of the most courageous acts by a modern president, to pardon richard nixon. because he knew that -- but he knew that he could lose the presidency if he didn't. it's amazing. >> question, please? >> my name is louisa holden. i'm quinn holden's mother of environmental planning. and i want to thank you for your discussion tonight. and what this does for me is it reall

i just didn't want to quit. >> reporter: president richard nixon, nearly 10 years after his historic >> i can remember that hazy, hot, humid august 9th, 40 years ago. >> frank gannon was one of nixon's aides. in 1983, he spent 36 hours interviewing the then-70-year-old former president. >> reporter: what surprised you most about his responses? >> i was surprised at how raw, even, he was in expressing feelings and emotions and exposing private things about the family, which he had never talked about before. >> reporter: nixon had already decided to resign before the release of the white house tapes. the smoking gun that showed nixon knew about the watergate cover-up. >> this was the final blow, the final nail in the coffin-- although, you don't need another nail if you're already in the coffin, which we were. >> reporter: he told his daughters and a reluctant first lady pat nixon that it was over. >> but she came down very emphatically against resigning. she was a fighter to the last. >> reporter: nixon later found a note on his pillow from his daughter, julie. >> "daddy, i love you. w

should richard m. nixon be found guilty of obstruction of justice. yes. should nixon be found guilty of abusing the powers of his office yes and guilty of contempt and defiance of the courts. yes. we hear a great deal today about the presumably grim consequences of impeachment. an endless public trial. people divided. the government paralyzed. the nation disgraced. suppose the house should decide not to impeach. it should have consequences too. refusal to impeach would be a decision as momentous as impeachment himself. it would alter the historic relationship of presidential power in the constitution system of accountability for using that power. our mess age to posterity, failure to impeach would be a vindication of a new theory of presidential nonaccountability. many would shrink from this trying constitutional responsibility. shrinking from impeachment derives from the difficulty of visualizing oe februariess. perhaps it is more easily conceived if put in more simple terms. number one, suppose your mayor approved a plan by which the chief of police of

i just didn't want to quit. >> nevertheless, president richard nixon did quit. 40 years ago this weekend, leaving behind a one line letter that read quote, i hereby resign the office of the president of the united states. unquote. >> question, nixon stepped down because he didn't think it was in the national interest to cling to office. did he get the credit he deserved for resigning to spare the country a pore tracted ordeal? >> i don't think so. to be truthful. nixon did resign because he realized and we realized he was going to be impeached by the full house. he was certainly going to be convicted and what used to go through six months for a trial through the election and everything, when the outcome was foregone. let me add something. gerald ford was attacked for the pardoning of richard nixon a month later and i think it was a statesman-like act. it cost him 40 points in the polls, but he avoided the trial and the indictment, prosecution, conviction, you know, should he be imprisoned and all that. i think he cut it and ended it and i think one thing that look, this impeachment thing

watch richard nixon's presidency and an gerald ford's begin. c-span3.oon eastern on >> this week while congress is in recess, watch american history tv in prime time. we will feature her grandson the early american republic, jewish history, world war ii, and sports history. comman e-mail us at ents@cspan.org. join the conversation on facebook. like us on facebook. >> 40 years ago, on august 8, 1974, the country waited as news spread of president nixon's intention to resign in the aftermath of the watergate scandal. up next on american history tv, the last 30 minutes of the cbs news special report from that evening, leading into president nixon's oval office address to the nation. >> this is a cbs news special report. here again is walter cronkite. >> president nixon makes what it seems will be his last address from the white house. he goes on the air, and it is reported he will announce his resignation as president of the united states. that has seemed to be the fact in the last nine and a half hours at any rate, as he called the vice president

by people of good faith and sou that richard nixon has created violations. last october, a number of impeachment resolutions were introduced by members of the house and referred to by the committee, the speaker. on membfebruary 6 on a vote of to 4 authored the judiciary committee investigated whether there were significant grounds to impeach the president of the united states. the constitution specified that the grounds for impeachment shall not be partisan consideration but treason, bieb ri, oer othand other high crime. it falls to the judiciary committee to understand even more precisely what high crimes and misdemeanor might mean in terms of the constitution and the facts before us in our time. the founding fathers clearly did not mean that a president might be impeached for mistakes even serious mistakes can he might commit in the faithful execution of his office but high crimes and demeanors, they meant the oe februaries defense more definitely incatability with the constitution. with the founding mothers and their determination that the lawful wrote in

on august 8, 1974, days after the house judiciary committee had passed articles of impeachment, richard nixon became the first u.s. president to resign since william henry harrison cowardly left office after one month to spend more time with his coffin. (laughter) when we return, we will be joined by former nixon speechwriter patrick j. buchanan. please join us after these important messages from our sponsors. ♪ (applause) >> space food sticks, the energy snack from u.s. aerospace research and pillsbury. (laughter) chuck liddell.and i st. uhh! uhh! just like duralast brakes. they stop anything! (tires screech) duralast, proven tough. get in the zone-- autozone. never running out of them again. a fresh new blade? get gillette's best blades delivered to your door for about $1 a week at gillette.com/subscribe gillette. steve's b-b-q.g to my barbecue? ya ya is this right? oh hey guys! subway is bringing big barbecue flavor with the applewood pulled pork. slow-cooked to tender perfection. subway. eat fresh. excuse me. can you tell me where ah no problem roller skates. so you are going to want to p

the 40th anniversary weekend of the richard nixon's resignation is good time to bring it up because the nixon administration invented modern political public relations, the photo ops, the limited access, attempts toe control the news. so much of it goes back to the nixon operatives. every president since has tried to refine the techniques. the staged foe totes, keeping a distance from reporters, speaking in gobbledygook. as i watch the current administration bar the press from some of secretary of state kerry appearance at the recent africa conference were they worried he might be asked the question about the ebola epidemic. reminded me that most of the timement press agents learned the wrong lessons from the nixon folks and nixon himself provides the perfect example of why. richard nixon's opening to china and arms control efforts with the soviets live after him as remarkable achievements. as his attempt to undermine the constitution lives on as a dastardly deed. the lesson washington ever learns is that good public relations never trumps bad policy. nor can good policy ever be undermi

asia, the fate of henry kissinger is about as important as the fate of richard nixon. kissinger would remain secretary of state for at least a few months, to lend continuity to american foreign policy, the most important issue for asian governments. currently most worried will be the chinese government in taking. mr. nixon is a symbol of china's improved relations with the west. the resignation could undermanned -- undermine the replacement. observers disagree on which direction this will take, but the man who led for the united states has been seriously ill. some people think his power has been eroded. the chinese government reportedly is questioning western diplomats very closely about the impeachment process and what effect mr. nixon's departure might have on u.s.-china relations. most asian governments should feel reassured that a resignation by the president would not be disastrous for the world situation. >> after the new administration comes in, secretary of state kissinger will be on the wing again around the world, reassuring our allies as well as those with w

or whether, in fact, richard m. nixon in violation of the sacred obligation of his constitutional oath has used the power of his high office for two years to cover up and conceal responsibility for the watergate burglary and other activities of a similar nature. in short, the committee has to decide whether in his statement of april 30th and other public statements the president was telling the truth to the american people, or whether that statement and other statements were part of a pattern of conduct designed not to take care that the laws were faithfully executed, but to impede their faithful execution for his political interests and on his behalf. there are other critical questions that must be decided. we must decide whether the president abused his power in the execution of his office. the great wisdom of our founders entrusted this process to the collective wisdom of many men. each of those chosen to toil for the people at the great forge of democracy, the house of representatives, has a responsibility to exercise

to become congressman and woman we took the same oath to uphold the constitution that richard nixon took. if we have to be careful, we must sign this. >> secretary william cohen you were a member of congress in the 1973. explain what happened? >> republicans demanded of our chief counsel and minority counsel at that point was bert jenner, a terrific trial lawyer from chicago. i believe it was congressman wig inns who really took the case. they said quote iryou're allegi abuse of power and obstruction of justice. where are the specifics so he went point by point. they had a point. i think it rocked the committee back a bit. there was very broad gauged language that doesn't have a lot of specifics. i think the chit ee thought they were on their heels. we went back to our offices and i did receive a call with the meeting with tom railsback and others. they said why don't you like to write, bill, so why don't you see if you can put these things -- these facts together in a way that can be persuasive so i was charged with organizing arguments for the articles of impeachment and then had to th

richard nixon is likely, almost probable, richard nixon would have been indicted by the house and tried and found guilty by the senate. he only needed to be found guilty of one article of impeachment. richard nixon, seeing the writing on the wall, he was very gifted, he saw the writing on the wall and he decides to resign before he is actually thrown out of office. he announced his resignation august 8, 1974. he leaves office at noon on august 9, 1974, 40 years ago this august. >> timothy naftali who served as director of the richard nixon library museum in california. now the director of the library at new york university. thank you for your perspective on the events 40 years ago. up next more from the debate , before the house judiciary committee on july 20 9, 1974, including the vote on article two the abuse of power against richard nixon. here on c-span 3 and american history tv. >> the gentleman from california recognized for five minutes. >> article two. which i suggest is an expression of our deep devotion to the constitution and to the first ten amendments. the bill of rights. a

nixon should be judged by his entire career and not just watergate. >> the enduring lesson of richard nixon is that he never gave up being part of the action and passion of his times. >> another lesson can be found in nixon's own words the day he left office. >> always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. and then you destroy yourself. >> the endlessly fascinating saga of richard nixon 40 years ago. >>> and as we head into the weekend, there's news from the heavens tonight. here's hoping you have a cloudless sky where you live this coming sunday night for the supermoon, 12% bigger, 30% brighter than our regular moon. it will be at least a year before we see anything else like it. >>> when we come back after a break, harry smith at the all-american ritual that rumbles into a small town every summer at this time. >>> finally here tonight, because of the stories in the news of late, we sometimes have to remind ourselves that it's summer after all. so we figured it was time for a ride away from it all to a place in south dakota that gets very noi

on august 8, 1974, days after the house judiciary committee had passed articles of impeachment, richard nixon became the first u.s. president to resign since william henry harrison cowardly left office after one month to spend more time with his coffin. (laughter) when we return, we will be joined by former nixon speechwriter patrick j. buchanan. please join us after these important messages from our sponsors. ♪ (applause) >> space food sticks, the energy snack from u.s. aerospace research and pillsbury. research and pillsbury. (laughter) andy williams singing "it's the most wonderful tim]" ♪ it's the most wonderful time... ♪ ...yet ♪ ... of the year! with new jolly rancher filled gummy bites? not today. bites. little greatness. walked in to a mcdonald's and discovereden an extraordinary burger with heaps of jalapeños... ...for only two dollars. within minutes, they had also discovered the phenomenon of "economnomnomics" nomnom... nom? nom nom the jalapeño double, try it now for just $2 on mcdonald's dollar menu and more. it's economnomnomcial. ♪ nom...nom...nom... blue shirt: well you can wi

richard nixon had a ruined career and we had a shattered party in 1964, down to one half of the size. when i scroiped nixon in 1965 we were talking about the end of the republican party. three years later richard nixon is taking the oath of office as president of the united states in a phenomenal comeback, in what the book tells you is how the man did it. a non-charismatic figure who lost the election, said "i'm through with politics, moved from new york and there he was, president of the united states. it's a great story. >> it is a great story, after nixon lost the gore's race -- governor assist race, he said he would be ending his career. you don't have nixon to kick around, because this is the last press conference. do you think at that moment he believed he was done. >> he was done. he packed up and went to new york to practice law. i believe this. after he got to new york or soon after that, wh when he saw gold water running for the nomination, and going down to defeat, the fact that he worked for goal waterer, harder than goal water. i think he saw himself as coming back. i kno