Summer in August. Thirty-three years ago. President Richard M. Nixon peered out the window from the Oval Office in the White House. He saw a hostile nation and world.
Incriminating tapes and documents in his possession had been subpoenaed. The courts had refused to honor his claims of executive privilege. He was continuing to fight an unpopular war in Vietnam. There was in-fighting among his own staff. His polls had dropped precipitously, with approval ratings below 30 percent. Congressional members of his own party were turning against him. The contents of the subpoenaed material would soon appear in the nation's newspapers.
He talked to his wife, to Secretary of State Kissinger, to the Rev. Billy Graham.
He quit. Thirty-three years ago today, August 9, 1974. He delivered a one-sentence letter of resignation to his Secretary of State, walked out on the White House lawn, climbed into an armed forces helicopter, and left Washington, D.C.
President Nixon was gone.
That was then. This is now.
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