then there's richard nixon.sidential want to be had lost his last two elections. >> in 1968 he wanted that presidency so bad, he was willing to do whatever was necessary. >> this is twice a big a crowd than we had in 1960, and the result is going to be twice as good. >> back on fifth avenue, we have three men in a hotel room. a veteran politician plotting his comeback. the man running his political operation. and south vietnam's man in washington. plus one lone woman, anna chenault. >> i have the opportunity to not only talk to the leaders, but the people. >> nixon knew that anna chenault could establish a relationship between him and the south vietnamese. just in case it became public. nixon could pretend she was not his real envoy. >> after just 10 years in washington, d.c.. anna had fast tracked her way to wealth and influence. and a penthouse on top of the brand new watergate complex which she made into her clubhouse for the global elite. >> she loved to do parties. she's notoriously known as the republican

i will say one thing though without the tapes, richard nixon probably never would have had to resign.while we should note there are significant differences between the nixon and trump era we should also point out partisanship wasn't just created out of thin air in the last two years. it was never that he was going to resign it seems like a 45 years later but one could imagine that without the tapes were these specific moments richard nixon maybe could have been impeached but could have survived and gotten enough support in the senate and survived and served out a better second term but a full second term that is important to know we shouldn't romanticize the nixon era but also know there are very significant differences and there' there is very little incentives for the republicans today to stand up to the current president. i apologize for not addressing all of your thoughtful points. >> do you think he suffered from a personality disorder in this notion because in reading about and observing him over the years, one could make that assumption. >> it's hard not to psychoanalyze the pr

and then there's richard nixon.perennial republican presidential wanna wannabe had lost. this was his shot. >> he was willing to do whatever was necessary. >> this was twice a big a crowd of 1960 and the result is twice as good. >> so back on fifth avenue, july 12th. we have three men in a hotel room. a veteran politician, plotting his comeback. the man running his political operation and south vietnam's man in washington. plus one lone woman, anna chenault. >> because i had the opportunity to not only talk to the leaders but the people. >> nixon knew that anna chenault could establish a relationship between him and the south vietnamese and that just in case it became public, nixon could pretend she was not his real envoy. >> after just ten years in washington, dc, anna had fast tracked her way to wealth and influence. and a penthouse on top of the brand-new watergate complex which she made into her private clubhouse for the global elite. >> she loved to do parties. she's notoriously known as the republican social h

in the hopes that they could deprive richard nixon of a nomination on a first ballot. so while nixon's forces were somewhat concerned that reagan could be a credible threat. nixon had -- before reagan even announced at the convention, nixon had wrapped up the endorsements from barry goldwater, strom thurmond, many of the other conservatives reagan would have needed to pick off. it was ultimately -- there was not much of a credible threat to richard nixon, as opposed to 1976, where reagan almost unseated ford. >> the tactical moves by nixon paying off in 1968 by the primary process, correct? >> they did. i have to say something about ronald reagan. there's a reality in american politics. things happened that are perceived as impossible, couldn't happen. the emergence of ronald reagan is one of those things, as soon as they do happen, they become commonplace. the election of donald trump, abraham lincoln are examples of this, when pat brown was running against reagan and he dismissed reagan, tried to make light of him, he said, he's got no experience, i've never flown an

the same day as the swearing in ceremony richard nixon dangled the supreme court appointment in front of richardson's face. this is from a conversation may 25, 1973. nixon at first was talking about personnel issues in the justice department and said it's important on this appointment you never know when somebody will die. and to that i mean i was thinking of the supreme court have a very close relationship with the chief justice if you have any problems he is a very shrewd politician i would hope you could spend some time with him i mean in a proper way. >> this is not the first time nixon has used his way to bring richardson closer it comes out on the tapes several times this is just the most dramatic the same day as his theory - - swearing in ceremony. we are united to support a real investigation. this is happening behind the scenes. later that day nixon calls the staff to complain there were so many weak people in his cabinet targeting richardson and scholz and richardson is in the spot he has to prove he is the white knight so he and archie cox who was just sworn in as the new w

>> nixon. >> richard nixon. >> nixon. >> yeah, nixon. >> nixon. >> is anybody else running but nixon?e president was a political animal. the president was phenomenally skilled. he was able to handle virtually anything. >> five men wearing white gloves and carrying cameras were caught early today in the headquarters of the democratic national committee in washington. they were caught by a night watchman, and they did not resist arrest when the police came. they were apparently unarmed, and no one knows yet why they were there. the film in the camera hadn't been exposed. in any case, they're being held. >> the democratic national committee is housed in the fashionable watergate complex. the break-in prepared well in advance. files were ransacked and papers removed. also in this area, ceiling tiles had been removed for the suspected planting of bugging devices. >> it was saturday morning, june 17th. the phone rang, it was about 6:30. a colleague of mine, chuck work, was on the phone. he said, hello, it's chuck. we have a hot one. we have a burglary at the democratic national committee he

would have completed a second term. >> instead, richard nixon would spend the rest of his presidencyp anyone from hearing them. >> the white house made it clear today that president nixon has decided not to release tapes of his conversations. >> if i were to make public these tapes, the confidentiality of the office of the president would always be suspect from now on. >> he fought subpoena after subpoena. >> i have never heard or seen such outrageous, vicious, distorted reporting. >> even as he tried to convince the american people that watergate was a press creation. >> what is it about television coverage of you in these past weeks and months that has so aroused your anger? >> don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. one can only be angry with those he respects. >> mr. president, mr. president. >> finally, a drastic step. >> nothing like this has ever happened before. >> their offices have been sealed by the fbi. >> a mass firing of the men pursuing the tapes. the saturday night massacre. >> the news calls the sensation in the white house press room and sent reporters sc

richard millhouse nixon. >> richard nixon is well known to the american people. >> nixon's not scaredthe russians. as soviet leader nikit nikita kruschev found out. >> there must be a free k3 change of ideas. >> capitalism versus communism. back and forth and back and forth, jabbing with the fingers. the words didn't matter. it was the images that mattered. he was presidential. >> he seemed ready for the white house. >> meanwhile, traveling through the bleak wisconsin landscape, there's another man who believes he's destined for the white house. he's young. he's inexperienced. and he's almost unknown. >> his name is john f. kennedy, and he aims to win the wisconsin democratic primary. >> you would go to a plant in >> how are you this morning? >> and you'd stand right there. my job would be, shake hands with jack kennedy. >> nice to see you. >> shake hands with teddy. >> nice to see you. >> bobby. >> bob kennedy. >> we worked hard. >> i come here today as a candidate in the wisconsin primary. >> kennedy is smart. he knows that if he can prove himself a vote winner here in the primaries

>> i again proudly accept that nomination for president of the united states. >> well, richard nixon promising to get america out of vietnam. ♪ all we are saying ♪ are you listening, nixon ♪ is give peace a chance >> but as the war dragged on, the anti-war movement exploded. as nixon campaigned for a second term, he feared vietnam might give his enemies the ammunition to defeat him. and so his men planned a series of dirty tricks to cripple the democrats. one of them was the watergate break-in. in 1972, nixon won re-election by a historic landslide. >> i, richard nixon, do solemnly swear -- >> but the watergate story was still growing. so just weeks after the election, inside the oval office, richard nixon declared war on the press. >> the press is the enemy. the press is the enemy. >> sound familiar? >> you are the enemy of the people. go ahead. >> i call the fake news the enemy of the people. >> there are other reminders of the present day. donald trump directs particular anger at certain news organizations. >> it's like the failing "new york times," which is like so bad. or cnn, wh

that would have been an impeachment count against richard nixon if richard nixon did that. because the congress that moved against richard nixon had not lost its collective mind and stopped caring about the rule of law. donald trump has publicly dangled a pardon in front of paul manafort saying he's thinking about it. it's not off the table. the president is obviously hoping that paul manafort dudoe not tell robert mueller anything incriminating he knows about donald trump. count 9 of article i of the impeachment articles against president nixon said the president should be impeached from office for quote, endeavoring to cause prospective defends and individuals duly tried and convicted to expect favored treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony. donald trump is guilty of that beyond a reasonable doubt. and so the question is has america lost its mind? has america lost its legal mind, as the united states congress lost its mind? that is what donald trump is counting on, that he has driven america and the congress crazy to the point he can co

which he -- >> president ford's pardon of richard nixon stunned the nation. t does it, that means it is not illegal. >> by definition. >> exactly. >> the former president was still not accepting responsibility. >> three years after resigning, nixon was paid to participate in an historic interview with the british television journalist david frost. at the very end the inevitable question came up -- >> do you feel that you ever obstructed justice or were part of a conspiracy? to obstruct justice? >> he would not, he wouldn't really admit anything. not even mistakes or whatever. he was really stonewall completely and he was beginning to look like the haunted nixon of the actual watergate hearings rather than the californian ex-president. so once you go further in the mistake. >> what word would you use. >> that was a real gobsmacking moment. >> i threw aside my clipboard and i said well i think there are three things you've got to say. the first is that in fact you did go to the very verge of criminality and secondly that you let down your oath of office and thir

. >> facing certain removal, richard nixon is moments away from resigning as president. >> now. okay. all secret service. any secret service in the room? out. >> there can be no greater fall from no greater height. ♪ i used to rule the world ♪ ♪ seize and rise when i gave the word ♪ ♪ now in the morning i sleep alone ♪ ♪ sweep the streets i used to own ♪ >> five men at the democratic national headquarters. >> nixon was desperate. >> wight water. >> i have nothing to say about it. >> andrew johnson's impeachment was over policy. he did not deserve to be president of the united states. >> i am not a crook. >> one thing leads to another. >> a great and profound crisis. ♪ the minute i held the key next to walls that closed on me ♪ ♪ >> you are in the office of the president of the united states. how can you talk about black mail and keeping witnesses silent. >> i did not have sexual relations with that woman. >> the impeachment effort against him failed with a single vote in the senate. >> president nixon? aye. >> he's a fallen leader. >> for high creams and misdemeanors. >> i have

so when we look back at richard nixon's almost one and a half terms in office, we can see a number of things that he did that people now on the liberal side say, good for him. >> i would call nixon a progressive republican. he inherited the vietnam war after five years, and as you say, there were 31,000 dead when nixon came into office. but the gentleman said he was for nixon although he didn't vote for him. the american people agreed with the gentleman. he won 49 states in 1972, over 61% of the vote, i believe. against senator mcgovern who was an antiwar candidate. so his policy of getting out of vietnam and giving the vietnamese a fighting chance to survive as a free and independent country. by and large, even though it was protested by hundreds of thousands in the streets, it was a policy that was supported by the american people and obviously rewarded in 1972 with that landslide. >> you mentioned ronald reagan, a first-term governor elected in 1966, traveling to iowa in the fall of 1967. here is what he said back then. >> the one way to make sure that crime doesn't pay, let govern

i think richard nixon will be recorded. but his presidency will always be sullied by the finality of the why of watergate. -- lie of watergate. you got the china job after watergate. in between that, there is talk about you being vice president. tom dooley suggested to nixon -- i had only been in congress for two years. some of my colleagues in congress thought this would be a good idea. there was a campaign to be vice president. it did not happen. richard nixon left office and gerald ford had to pick a vice president. poll.asked to take a embarrassment, there was some speculation in the columns that had my name involved. pick,y ford announced his he walked into the east room to announce who he wanted. my phone rang. watching. said, this is a hard call for me to make. he was one of the most considerate men i have ever met. he was calling me because he didn't want hurt feelings. i didn't expect that. brian: had you thought about running for president? my real thinking about it began after. i didn't want to waste any time on

> our guests are pat buchanan, nixon's ked on richard presidential campaign in 1968. and barbara parry, presidential study director at the university of virginia direction center. a look at lyndon b oval office address, when he surprised the nation with an announcement that he would not run for re-election. finally with the reassuring presence of his family seated president was ready to deliver one of the most important speeches of his life. e a speech that would alter the history.of world >> good evening my fellow americans. to speak to you of peace in vietnam and asia, no other our tion so preoccupies people. absorbs the en so 250 million human being who of the world.part no other goal motivates policy in south-east asia. >> first addressing himself to the continuing problem of vietnam, the president outlined unilateral american de-escalation of that conflict. >> tonight i have ordered our aircraft and naval vessels to attacks in north vietnam except in the area demilitarized zone where the continued military threatensal lied positions and where the post of are clea

the environmental legacy people talk about of richard nixon, signed legislation creating the e.p.a. and signed legislation creating the clean air act, signed legislation creating the clean water act. he did amazing stuff for a republican president with respect to the environment. not as much have been made of george herbert walker bush's environmental record but i have notes to refer to to help refresh my memory and maybe expand a little bit on what others know. i remembered in the house of representatives when we were working on clean act amendments of 1990, i had the opportunity to co-author a couple little pieces of legislation and sense of ownership which he signed into law the clean act amendment of 1990. i want to mention a couple things. on the friday after thanksgiving, this goes back to a couple weeks ago here in our nation's capital, 13 federal agencies released a major report laying out the alarming impact the climate change is having on our environment or economic growth and our weather. i never thought i'd see the day measuring rainfall by the foot instead of the inches

and much has been made of the -- of late of the environmental record of richard nixon. and i never thought i would be extolling the virtues of richard unemployment compensation as our president, but i have quite a bit in the last several years as the senior democrat on the environment and public works committee. i'm the only democrat i know who quotes richard nixon. nixon said, among other things, he used to say -- what did he used to say -- the only people who don't make mistakes are people who don't do anything. isn't that good? the only people who don't make mistakes are people who don't do anything. and we all make mistakes. i have probably learned more from my mistakes than the things i have done right. but the environmental legacy -- people talk about the environmental legacy of richard nixon. signed legislation creating the e.p.a., signed legislation creating the clean air act, signed legislation creating the clean water act. he did do some amazing stuff. for a republican president with respect to the environment. and we -- not as much has been made of george herb

bush: i think richard nixon will be recorded. but his presidency will always be sullied by the finality of the why of watergate. -- lie of watergate. brian: you got the china job after watergate. in between that, there is talk about you being vice president. pres. bush: tom dooley suggested to nixon -- i had only been in congress for two years. some of my colleagues in congress thought this would be a good idea. there was a campaign to be vice president. it did not happen. richard nixon left office and gerald ford had to pick a vice president. i was asked to take a poll. with some embarrassment, there was some speculation in the columns that had my name involved. the day ford announced his pick, he walked into the east room to announce who he wanted. my phone rang. we were watching. ford said, this is a hard call for me to make. he was one of the most considerate men i have ever met. he was calling me because he didn't want hurt feelings. i didn't expect that. brian: had you thought about running for president? pres. bush: my rea

and obstinate man but also richard nixon in terms of viewing the power of the presidency with the abuse of power but nobody has the same disregard for institutions at that fundamental level that we have seen richard nixon challenged but deep down he served in world war ii he was vice president eight years as a distinguished senator he still love the united states even if he could manipulate for his own benefit and that same level of service is certainly different in the background of this president. >> it seems in recent history only to have failed to win reelection jimmy carter and george h.w. bush had strong primary challengers. it seems donald trump is not likely to have that type of challenge so is he therefore the prohibitive favorite? . >> let me go back to your premise it does seem now it is unlikely he would not be the republican nominee again. remember a few months before richard nixon resigned predictions were that the party was sticking by him too much so we are foolish about any judgment about what would happen in a year and a half from now. it's hard to imagine a primary ch

democratic party after 1968 that made them incapable of mounting such a fractured challenge to richard nixonr years later? can you summarize what was going on within the party that they were not able to put together reasonable challenge to nixon by 1972? thank you. >> thank you. >> well, i would say, i mean, the problem is the party was hopelessly divided. it was divided when not just on the war, but between sort of its establishment and sort of activist wings. so you had a situation in which george mcgovern ends up being the nominee in '72, several of the unions refused to endorse him. a lot of moderate, conservative democrats didn't support mcgovern's candidacy. huge divides in the party. and i shouldn't minimize. it was obviously important. mcgovern was a strong anti-war candidate and a lot of democrats didn't support that position. but i think also you had this huge divide between southern democrats and northern democrats, particularly over civil rights. mcgovern was much more liberal on civil rights issues and a whole host of cultural issues. that ended up creating huge divisions within

he would be pardoned in 1974 by richard nixon. the image of the lieutenant. the middle, this is a fascinating photograph. this is a photograph of president lyndon johnson and first lady, lady bird johnson. they are watching tv screens in the oval office. johnson has just given a national address. it was march 31, 1968, with two surprises. the one surprise was that he was prepared to accept a peace in be vietnam instead of outright victory. the second surprise was he announced he was no longer a candidate for the presidency. he would not run for a second term. this shocked his political base. they were dismayed. it shocked the nation. it was a surprise. so much of a surprise that lady bird johnson did not believe she -- he was going to say that until he said it. i willall not seek and not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. james: to begin with vietnam. unfortunately, vietnam would linger well into the next administration of richard nixon. let us move on in our exhibition. this wall talks about civil rights, which was another

he would be pardoned in 1974 by richard nixon. an image of lieutenant cal ley. this is a photograph of president lyndon johnson and first lady lady bird johnson, watching tv in the oval office. given ahas just national address, march 31, 1968, with two surprises. one surprise was that he was prepared to accept peace in vietnam, instead of outright victory. the second surprise was that he announced he was no longer a candidate for the presidency, he would not run for a second term. this shocked his political base. and itre dismayed, shocked the nation. it was a surprise.

and richard nixon i write in the book was really an impeached president. it didn't get to impeachment, it didn't get to a vote of conviction in the senate he would not have resigned if that were not about to happen and it was. he left office before it could happen like you low confidence in predictions of what could happen in six months or 12 months , mostly because of what you started with which is the special counsel investigation. there is so much integrity and credibility in the person of bob mueller and overall in terms of the special counsel investigation that if credible evidence comes up of crimes, a conspiracy related to the election itself or of obstruction of justice afterwards, i think that will turn some heads. once the tide starts starting, it's amazing how fast the first lower create an effect where it gets over that two thirds i will not rule that out. right now it's hard to imagine read ask me again in a year. >> one last question before we open this up to all of you. that is his cia officer, you use your daily briefings through robert mue

among the many of things that took place, the election of richard nixon. library reflecting back on the life of the nation's 37th president. what did you found out? >> they've done a remarkable job at the library. he won by a record, a record margin. just four years later. george mcgovern only won one state that time. already watergate had occurred and for the next year of his second term, richard nixon was embroiled in watergate and eventually forced to leave. how did the library handle it? at the beginning, not very well, but they went in, retooled it and i must say i was astonished and very impressed. >> reporter: the revamped nixon library is a collection of elegant structures in yorba linda, california. the orange county village where nixon grew up in a small house made from a sears and ro s and kit. a review of this complicated man. the only president forced to resign. >> the new exhibit is much more integrated, much more honest. it acknowledges nixon had his problems to put it mildly, but also shows the many positive sides of richard nixon. >> report

he would be pardoned in 1974 by richard nixon. an image of lieutenant cal ley. this is a photograph of president lyndon johnson and first lady lady bird johnson, watching tv in the oval office. given ahas just national address, march 31, 1968, with two surprises. one surprise was that he was prepared to accept peace in vietnam, instead of outright victory. the second surprise was that he announced he was no longer a candidate for the presidency, he would not run for a second term. this shocked his political base. and itre dismayed, shocked the nation. it was a surprise. in fact, so much a surprise that lady bird johnson did not believe he was going to say that until he said it. president johnson: i shall not seek and i will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. host: unfortunately, vietnam would linger well into the next administration, that of richard nixon. about anothers defining issue of the 1960's, and would begin with a photograph of dr. martin luther king. let me explain these images. we tried to focus on what was in ou

from 2000 to 2011 he directed the richard nixon presidential library. he has co-authored several books, most notably for our purposes today, "john f. kennedy: the great crisis" and in 2017 a book on george h.w. bush. and katherine algore is a noted american historian and specialized in biographies of american first ladies. most notably dolley madison. please enjoy this presentation on how different organizations, institutions and individuals are being changed and incorporating different perspectives and moments into the narrative of presidential history. thank you so. >> thank you. >> thank you for the kind introduction and to the whole team for including me and including all of us here. this has been a terrific few days already. and a lot of great programming. it's hard to follow john meacham and judy woodruff, but we have a great team here. one of the great things about this team, everyone on this panel has been a scholar and everyone also has run important historic institutions. and i want to get at that in the conversation, so i'm going to start --

across the country, richard nixon was in los angeles, probably even more exhausted than kennedy. he had promised perhaps foolishly to visit all 50 states before the election. so in the last weekend he basically had to fly to alaska, touch toes, get the hell out of alaska and get back the states he knew are were going to decide the presidential eselection he was exhausted. votes in los angeles, outside of los angeles, on election day, and his wife and two daughter goes off to shopping and nixon is restless so he does what any good california guy would do is he hits the road, drives down with his security detail, down to pacific highway, stop at a town called oceanside to fill up with gas, filling station was called back then, he gets out of the door watch the guy pump gas and introduces himself, richmond nixon, please vote for me. gets back in they drive down to mexico and he has lunch at a german restaurant in mexico. on election day. i think it's safe to say -- apparently good mexican food, i've read. i think he will be the only presidential candidate who on election day spends

he would be convicted of a number in 1974 by richard nixon. so the lieutenant, this is a fascinating photograph, this is the photograph of lyndon johnson, and 1st lady lady bird johnson, and they are watching tv screens in the oval office, johnson has just given a national address, it was march 31, 1968, with two prizes. the one surprise was he was prepared to accept a peace in vietnam, instead of outright victory. the 2nd surprise was that he announced that he was no longer a candidate for the presidency. he would not run for 2nd term. this shocked his political base, they were dismayed at this, and it shocked the nation. it was a surprise. so much of a surprise, that lady bird johnson did not believe that he was going to study that until he said it. i shall not seek, and i will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. >> we begin with vietnam, unfortunately, vietnam would then go on well into the next administration, of richard nixon. let's move on here, in our exhibition, and this wall talks about another de

richard nixon getting 301 compared to 191 for then vice president humphrey.ernor strom, the 1968 election and the politics of election. joining us from west palm beach, florida, kathleen kndy townsend the eldest daughter of robert f. kennedy. thank you for being

of impeachment against richard nixon.ed nixon to be the only person to resign from the presidency of the united states. so what happens to donald trump, now that he's the third american president to be accused by federal prosecutors of committing crimes, will he now be the first american president accused by federal prosecutors of committing crimes whose crimes are then ignored by congress? joining our discussion now democratic congressman steve corn of tennessee. your reaction to what we learned today about the president of the united states in the michael cohen case. >> i think that what we've learned today is what many of us have known for at least two years and some for many 10 or 15, that donald trump is a criminal enterprise. the trump family is criminal enterprise and that most of the people he's involved with like michael cohen and manafort are shady folks. and it's astonishing they've taken the white house in the contrast george herbert walker bush, a man of distinction and class and this man so manifest. >> as t

beneath the low concrete richard milhouse nixon descended the steps of the capitol's east end of repeated the oath administered to him by the chief justice earl warren taking office president of the united states. the peace we seek is not victory over any of the people that the peace that comes with healing in its wings as our eyes catch the dimness of the rays of the dawn let us not curse the remaining dark with a scatter the light. the administrations chief speechwriter that helped spearhead the campaign the rebranding effort sought to repackage nixon as a stabilizing unifier america so desperately needed. they been writing for nearly a decade they understood what it was that made this particular politicians are dangerous. it is the unabashed used-car salesman tenure and somehow mistaken for entirely different trades and ambition. nixon said at the end of the address the government will listen in new ways and then he got into his bulletproof magazine and kicked off the parade from the capital of the white house have taken within a literal stones throw. it's the corner of pennsylvania an

a good man in many ways, richard nixon, brought down because of an ugly cover-up. brian: and then the vice presidency came along. how did that happen? pres. bush: i came second running for president to ronald reagan. i saw that i was defeated even though we won a couple of big primaries. iowa, new hampshire and all of that, new hampshire which i didn't win. so i went out and paid off a huge debt. i went across the country, mississippi was the last stop, jackson, mississippi. i say i want to go to michigan, to the republican convention and not owe a dime. you have helped me, and i hate asking you. i don't like to own money, or cheat -- oh money or cheat people out of what they are entitled to by going money. , successfulckson fundraiser, paid off every dime we have, half $1 million debt, went to michigan, head high, not expecting anything. there were rumors floating around president reagan would invite gerald ford to be his running mate. somehow that blew up. i was sitting in the hotel room, the telephone rang, and it was ronald reagan asking if i would be his runni

richard nixon served in the military. he had been more clear than donald trump. rump stands. >> without drawing any conclusions in this case, it's worth noting that both the nixon articles of impeachment and ken starr's proposed articles of impeachment of bill clinton identified lying to the public as an impeachable offense. democrats said today they're not convinced that's what donald trump has done, even according to the filings. does it rise to the level of impeachment? who is right on this? >> it is wide open, alex, because impeachment is whatever the house of representatives says it is. it is only defined in the constitution to have impeachable offenses of treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors. that latter category is so wide open, it can be anything they define it to be. >> is it an interpretive ability to look at that as to whether republicans are controlling the house or democrats are controlling the house? isn't it definitively established it should rise above political partisanship when looking at the definition of these things? >> it's both

alan: the two smartest got andached, bill clinton richard nixon.ould say, on a strictly iq had other flaws obviously. david: do you have any regrets about your career and you you regret not going into private equity? alan: i am an economist making money has never been my interest. it was never my real purpose. want tof you ever reinvent yourself as a private equity person, let me know. you could be good at it. alan: after a run of economics. my problem is that the economy keeps fascinating me. david: thank you very much for taking the time. ♪ ♪ >> from bloomberg headquarters in new york and london, here are tom keene and francine lacqua. tom: good day to all of you are on the bloomberg world. tom keene new york, francine lacqua in london. one of our favorite moments of the year, talking about the year past and looking forward to next year.

not with richard nixon's impeachment. but there was another impeachment of william jefferson clinton. but the standard for impeachment in the constitution -- it's not in the statute books, it's in the constitution. it's high crimes and misdemeanors. and that comes from some ancient formulations from england and it does not necessarily always mean pure, criminal felonious offenses. it could mean breach of trust in a monumental way that you've broken trust with the american public and things like that. that wouldn't be the basis of an indictment but it could be the basis of an impeachment. i don't think historically that would happen. in this day in age that would keep to criminal offenses. could i say one last irony? >> she's going to get the last question. >> i want to hear her. >> are you sure? >> tell us your name. >> hi, i'm sarah mishe. thank you so much for being here. sincerely, it's amazing and honor for iowa state so have you -- to have you here. we've talked about partisanship and i know we all feel it in the cou

that turned out to be the beginning of the end for richard nixon.chard nixon was under siege. watergate and more. >> good evening. it is an all-out war. >> the war in the middle east was the risk of a u.s./soviet confrontation. the resignation of vice president spiro agnew who had been taking bribes and not paying his taxes. >> mr. agnew was direct, quote, i hereby resign the office of the vice president of the united states effective immediately. >> i will have nothing more to say at this point. >> reporter: the naming of a new vice president. >> congressman gerald ford of michigan. >> reporter: and that same day, a fateful court ruling. >> u.s. court of appeals has ruled decisively against mr. nixon's position on his secret white house tapes. >> reporter: the white house tapes, potential evidence of a watergate cover-up. for months nixon had been fighting to keep them secret. now a federal court ordered him to turn them over. saying the president was not above the law. but nixon had other plans. >> president nixon announced he will neither appeal

there is no one who quite has the same disregard richard nixon certainly challenge the institutions of the united states government but here is a man who served in world war ii and vice president for eight years and a distinguished senator. he still loved the united states even if he was willing to manipulate things for his own benefit. and that same level of service that you see them presidents are different in the background of this president. >> it seems in recent history only two presidents have failed to win reelection and each with carter and george h.w. bush had some primary challengers who laid before the general election but donald trump is not likely to have that challenge. therefore is he the prohibitive favorite to win reelection in 2020 quick. >> let's go back to your premise. it does seem now like it is unlikely he would not be the republican nominee again but remember a few months before richard nixon resigned predictions were it could not happen. so we are foolish if we have high confidence of any judgment about what will happen in a year and a half from now. it's hard

acknowledges nixon had his problems, to put it mildly, but it shows the many positive sides of richard nixonh russia. he went to china, a stunning diplomatic coup that changedrl e order overnight. he took on vietnam, ending the draft, reducing troop levels. but he also escalatedombing ain trying to aorce peace talks set off a national anti-war crusade. he claimed a silenrity was thwiim h a, wndonma re-electiony a historic landslide. but nixon's presidencyas consumed by watergate. a clumsy break-in at t democratic party headquarters. >> nixon was a funny mixture o mixture and strategic ability and deepened security. deepened security. a >> reporter: nixon's watergate cover-up set off a constitutional crisis that went on for more than a year. >> let others wallow in watergate. we are gonna do our job. >> reporter: then came t saturday massacre. nixon firing theig watergate special prosecutor and the attorney general. demanding that the investigations end. >> one year of watergate is enough. >>eporter: but the investigation went on. impehment was inevitable. in the summer of 19co the supremt ru

in 1971, richard nixon appointed him ambassador to the united nations. in 1973, he became chairman of the republican national committee, at the height of the watergate scandal. in that role, bush urged nixon to resign for the good of the party. >> i shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. >> bret: president gerald ford sent bush to china as a chief of the u.s. liaison office. a short time later, he called him home to be director of the cia and bush was credited with bringing morel back to the agency. bush last and left in 1977 on president carter entered the white house. by 1979, he was ready to get back into the political ring. >> ladies and gentlemen, i am a candidate for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] >> bret: bush was seen as a moderate alternative to ronald reagan, but dropped out of the presidential campaign after a poor primary performances. a short time later, he accepted reagan's offer to be his running mate. reagan won in a landslide. during his eight years as vice president, bush was credited with softenin

you voted for impeachment for richard nixon. believe the house should take this up in 2019? >> i don't think impeachment is inevitable. but what's impeachment? in watergate and in the impeachment process. it was investigations. that was -- those who carried out by the committee which did an amazing job which covered the white house taping system. they brought witnesses in front of the committee. the public had a chance to examine the demeanor of john dean, the top aids. they understood what was happening. it was a huge public education process. i was a huge investigation process. that's what's going to happen now. it could lead into impeachment because the president could wind up fighting this tooth and nail and look as though he has something to hide, which is how he looks right now but there could be other factors that could come out. the republicans tried to do that. they didn't have public hearings. people couldn't see the demeanor of donald trump junior or kushner. everybody had to testify in front of the camera. right here

. >> so in 1968, richard nixon and spiro agnew are like in an overwhelmingly again in 1972. history intervenes when vice president you resigned and all of a sudden nixon has to nominate a vice president. now, you knew your dad was on the short list here there was a list of about 10 names circling around in your college at this point. do not graduate school, yeah. >> did you really think her father was going to be named as vice president? >> not at all. i did not think it was going to happen. my mother did not either. she was not feeling like that was in the future they are. as you remember back then, the name that was being circulated was john connolly from texas. everyone saying he's going to be the news vice president and lo and behold richard nixon because it any chooses gerald ford for michigan and rockstar worlds. >> so yes, all of the sudden we go into depth about how this all happened in a phone call and everything. that he is overwhelmed because she didn't expect this. in december of 1074 -- a make it in the years right? he is confirmed as vice president. what does h