Nixon Library Opens a Door Some Would Prefer Left Closed

[Gerald]

YORBA LINDA, Calif. — Most presidential libraries are as much celebrations of a president as historical repositories. They are packed with official papers, photographs, limousines, proclamations and baby shoes representing the president’s life and times; dark chapters are traditionally ignored or at least understated.

That tradition was exploded Thursday as the Watergate Gallery opened here at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. The unveiling ended a nearly yearlong struggle between national archivists and the Richard Nixon Foundation, a group of Nixon loyalists who controlled the former president’s papers until ceding them to the National Archives four years ago. The fight was over how to portray the scandal that led to Nixon’s resignation.

From the first words a visitor sees entering the gallery — a quotation from Nixon, “This is a conspiracy” — the exhibit offers a searing and often unforgiving account of one of the most painful chapters of the nation’s history. The timeline methodically chronicles the stream of misdeeds leading up to the Watergate break-in, followed by the attempts to cover it up, which led to Nixon’s resignation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/us...on.html?ref=us

Note: March 31, 2011

[Platapus]

Watergate is part of the Nixon history. Glad the library is addressing this.

I remember lieing on the floor in Kalamazoo Michigan, off Stadium Drive watching the hearings.

Nixon certainly made mistakes, but he at least had the personal honor to resign. If only a few Democratic presidents had the same honor........

[Bakkels]

Two posts and already the word 'Republican' or 'Democrat' is mentioned.
Political preferences aside; he broke the law. As a president. He lied about it and covered it op. Republican or democrat, I call somebody like that a crook.

[vienna]

Nixon certainly made mistakes, but he at least had the personal honor to resign. If only a few Democratic presidents had the same honor........

He hardly did an honorable act. He persisted in maintainig his position long after his activities in the planning of illegal acts and the subsequent attempts to abuse the powers of his office to conceal his and his accomplices' acts and to intimidate critics and investigators. If he had been at all honorable, he would have immediately owned up to his crimes, resigned and manfully faced the consequences of his actions. Instead, he struggled to cling to his power all the whille compounding his guilt. When he did resign, he did so only after a deal had been secured to pardon him for his crime while he left his most loyal accomplices and supporters to face prosecution and prison ("twisting slowly in the wind" is the phrase I recall Nixon once used to describe a similar situation regarding one of his enemies). As current news illustrates, petty cowards, political tyrants, and just plain empowered bullies are prone to overstay their welcome... or, as Gerald Ford put it "a long national nightmare"...

It is indeed a contrast to Nixon that his predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, who faced with growing opposition to his policies, rather than put the nation through a even further divisive re-election campaign, chose instead to let the people of the U.S., through the ballot, to decide the course of their future. Sadly, they made an ill choice. I recall seeing an interview Johnson did after he left office (and during the beginnings of the "America, Love It or Leave It" fervor) where the interviewer asked why he didn't just hold out and make his policies "America's Policies". He responded that he could have wrapped himself in the Flag and probably would have won re-election, but it would have been wrong. He said his policies were just that -- his policies. If the people of the U.S. were so opposed to his ideas and actions, they deserved the chance to effect a change.

He was an honorable man...

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'Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.' Ben Franklin

"When fascism comes to America, it will be win the wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." --Sinclair Lewis

Lyndon Johnson. I think you are the first fella I've known to defend him as a honorable man. You may be right for the reason you put forth, this place is bad, get out (like Sarah Palin). I have to think on Lyndon Johnson more.