Nixon was seen as a Foreign Policy sage. When he died, all the president came out there to california to be at his too many or his bur l burial. September 7th, 1972, 10 32 a. M. Following the controversial shooting of candidate George Wallace whether they were candidates for the presidency or not were offered tem pouporary secret service protection. Youve got one u. S. Senator kennedy whose a secondary factor in the campaign. You give him secret Service Coverage throughout the campaign. He said, i understand. I dont like to give him something but at the same time if he gets shot its our fault. You understand what the problem is. If you the son of a gets shot theyll say he didnt furnish it. We buy his insurance. After the election he wont get a thing. If he gets shot, its too bad. Theres the tough thing. He cant stand ted kennedy. He trails kennedy around. He said i will get a secret service guy but i want him to be a spy for me. He even uses secret service guy not to use. After the election pull the secret service guy and who cares if he gets killed. Thats the kind of quote, parts of the tape that just damages nixons representation terribly because, you know, a dead kennedy is not talking about it in that kind of fashion after we experienced j. F. K. s death and Bobby Kennedys death for him to be that crude about it it doesnt look well. No mom or dad are going to say i want you to have that kind of attitude when you grew up. Thats the kind of talk that Ronald Reagan would have never taken part in or Franklin Roosevelt. Last call cam comes from sheryl in virginia. Caller yes, hi. Thanks a lot. Thank you dr. Brinkley. Ive was really glad to see you on today because i have been watching on cspan the hearings on congress about the impeachment and the attempt to impeach the president. I was struck, again, by how the demeanor during hearings basically there was so much more i guess you want to say people seemed to treat each other with a manner of respect versus what ive been seeing in congress. Iep im on older person. Ive been watching for a long time. The snideness that i see and the comments and behavior toward each other in Congress Seems to be such a change in demeanor or maybe perhaps it was just the times. Im not concern but considering how contentious this was, i was amazed. I h i h i had forgotten how well the members of congress could treat each otheri and respect each other. Thank you very much. Byebye. Wonderful observation. American history since world war ii, particularly, a lot of bipartisanship. The legislation of the Great Society and all of 96ons accomplishments get done, horse trading, wheeling dealing. Drinks here in town. It was less of a cut throat culture. You watch the water gate hearings and you watch everybody behave quite well. You look at people like howard baker, republican being very tough on nixon. Not tough but they are not taking a purely partisan view. These senators are concerned about obstruction of justice. Rightfully they should be. Today it would be much more of a circus and be for shrill and partisan. I mention once and ill say it again. I just say because he was the darling the conservative. Barry goldwater turns on nixon. This is not what were about. Im not backing my career and representation and my integrity on this kind of behavior. Today, i dont know. It seems to me that everybody saddles up to their party to such a degree that it sort of disgusts the American People and nothing gets done. Doug brinkley on the front of the book. The nixon tapes. Whose this third gentleman sitting on the opposite sofa from the president and henry kissinger. Do you know . Well id have to look but i think let me see. Sorry about that. We picked that just because its the nixon with kissinger and the king of jordan, king hussein. Our publisher bruce nickels picked it out. He went with the yellow. One of the problems is that nixon dont a lot of shots. They are all in suits, standing. It was very hard to find colorful photos from the white house like what youd get with a different president where you get the informal moments. Nixon was very uptight. In the case there with jordan and the middle east, in october of 1973, nixon very much backs israel and becomes a folk hero for abobacking them when syria egypt does the famous attack in 1973. Nixon prized himself in being very adept in middle east diplomacy. Carter said it was kissingers shutter diplomacy in the middle east that really paved the way to the camp david accord. A lot of the thing thats get accomplished with ford and carter had their beginnings in the nixon years. Anoted by, available now. Professor brinkley as always. Thanks for being on cspan. On the next washington journal, dion talks about the latest regarding u. S. Military strikes against isis forces in iraq. Well also hear from dave levonthol with the center of Public Integrity to discuss his six month investigation into the irss tax exempt division. A look at the u. S. Doctor shortage and the potential impact on Patient Health with a doctor who serves as chief Public Policy officer at the association of american medical colleges. Well also take your phone calls and look for your comments by facebook and twitter. Beginning live at 7 00 a. M. Eastern on cspan. This month, cspan presents debates on what makes america great. Evolution and genetically modified foods. Issued spot light with in depth veteran health care, campus 6 yule assault and student loan debt. New perspectives on global warming, Voting Rights and fighting Infectious Disease and food safety and our history tour showing sites and founds from americas historic places. Find our tv schedule one week in advance at cspan. Org and let us not that the programs youre watching. Join the conversation. Like us on facebook. Follow us on twitter e. 40 years ago, the president nixon announced he would be resigning from office. Marking the only time in u. S. History that an american president has resigned. The announcement came august 8th, 1974 in a televised address from the White House Oval Office. Next, 1974s cbs news special report with Walter Cronkite followed by president s nixons address to the nation. ci this is a cbs news special report. President nixon makes what 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 have been the fact for the last 9 1 2 hours since he called Vice President ford into the oval office in a 1. 10 hour conversation with him. He has reportedly decided and will announce tonight on his resignation. George herman is at capitol hill for the senate view on the question that is now being asked on whether theres some sort of immunityoffered to the president against prosecution. The discussion was of some interest because up here its not viewed so much as a legal question as it is of a political question. I think members of the senate that ive talked to were more concerned with what they would call the practical political realities of the situation. Some of them feel for example that if there was a sense of the Congress Resolution that the president should be granted immunity that most probably, most prosecutors, especially federal prosecutors under president jerald ford, most federal prosecutors would not prosecute not because but because of the practical politics of the situation. Some of the members of the senate see the question of immunity as part of what i guess my colleagues plea bargaining. I dont know whether you can call it resignation plea bargaining. On that i think its pretty clear they are doing old fashion ed style saying publically that if theres to be a successful resignation meaning a resignation that leaves the country happy, leaves the country united or compare tifat ub united it must be a resignation that admits some degree of guilt object part of the president. He cannot simply say i am bowing out because of the good for the country or im bowing out because leaders in congress have told me that i have to because im going to be impeached coo e convicted. So theyve been trying a little bit of the carrot and the stick. If he does not resign in that form that is to say with some admission of guilt, than the impeachment and the trial could conceivably could go on. In fact the senator thought it was too late. Things had gone too far. The trial should go on. The trial would have to go on. Thats not a view that is generally shared up here but a lot of senators appreciate it that senator mansfield and the assistant democratic leader of virginia were sending that message to the president. If you dont come up with a resignation that was acceptable we still have this alternative. We still could go through this. That is not widely agreed to in the house. On the other hand, the question of immunity as ive indicated has many dimensions. The speaker fills that is not the business of congress. As i mentioned earlier, the senator feels it would be kind to take this burden away from the oncoming president jerald ford so that he would not be forces to make the decision of whether the man who made him Vice President and subsequently making himself so that congress could take this decision away from jerald ford and make it for him not in a fully legal sense but in a political sense to set the scene, stage, emotion of the nation. None of this, of course, applies to the question which was discussed applies to a witness but only to immunity. I think what youve seen is 2 1 2 days of body epg linglish trying to extract from the president the kind of re resignation theyd like to see from him. The republican members wanted to get the word to the president that his chances were virtually nil on the other hand they certainly did not want to fall into the trap of urging him to resign. That could be very dangerous t. Would lead the president to say in his resignation speeches that he wanted to stay on, he believed he was innocent but he was urged and pressured by his own party. That is not something he wanted to do. What youve seen is a very careful maneuvering and sending of signals. Only time will tell whether they have succeeded or not. Hell just have to wait and see. Have to wait and see. Almost no way i can think of or have heard that i am muntd could be granted in this case, indeed it would be most unfair and highly equitiable to do so. And you couldnt legs late against the right of another citizen to sue, i should think. To the best of my knowledge here in any fashion, i dont think it has come up at all. Very legal possibilities have been discussed but almost all had to deal with forms of direct immunity. I dont think any group in Congress Wants to put itself out in on that particular limb which would be an awfully sticky one. Well continue to wait for the president to speak. Weve been around the country in a couple of our locations where they are waiting. And Sandy Gilmore in st. Louis is waiting with some of them. Shopping and Entertainment Center and one of anticipation relief and resentment. This is of course the show me state of missouri still say they need to be shown that the president is indeed guilty and not being railroaded out of office by democrats and also by the media. Weve been hearing comments. Mr. Nixon should stay and fight it out. I talked with a ward boss who owns a bar in st. Louis city and said the regulars in the bar feel a resignation will hurt the country and the country was falling apart. What will the russians think . They will think we are weak. Many people are still arguing indeed the president s guilt or innocence and if the president s statement tonight falls short of a confession, it it comes out to be as some people said another checkered speech, then many people here will still a say that president nixon has been unjustly ousted from the white house. This is Sandy Gilmore, cbs news in st. Louis. The man who president nixon defeated for the presidency in 1968, Hubert Humphrey, and burdened with the vietnam war as his principle difficulty, getting to the presidency himself of president nixon defeated him by 7 10 of one in a very close race. Hubert humphrey was interviewed in minneapolis by wcco tv. Wishing to keep it out of partisan politics and says resignation is the right choice for nixon and the nation. I believe the nation needs relief from the tremendous tension under which it has been under which its been for the last year, year and a half. Theres a need of getting our country back together again, getting on with the business of government, tremendous problems facing us. The nation needs to be brought back together. Weve simply got to get ourselves and restore our sense of confidence and trust in government. How do you feel history will judge the nixon presidency . In the field of Foreign Affairs judged well. In the field of domestic affairs, poorly. In the matter of the conduct of the office, particularly in these recent months, i think it will be judged harshly. Should mr. Nixon be granted immunity by criminal prosecution by congress . Thats a matter that has to have a very careful study. No need to hurry on this. The president will have suffered greatly simply by the resignation having to give up his office. Im not one that wants to pin somebody to the wall so to speak. This is rod challenger in minneapolis. Coverage continues throughout this evening. The president s speech due in 20 minutes from now. Well be back with more of that special report in a moment. With president nixons administration presumably on the hours you have to run, the reports being very strong that he will resign when he goes on the air 15 or so minutes from now. Weve had no con tra indications for the last 10 or 12 hours. What about this matter of president ial power . Has the lesson come through and with a balance between the executive and legislative be greater in the next administration . I think it will, its natural in human events in nature that a force going a certain direction keeps going that direction until it meets an obstacle and big one. This tide and high tide of the socalled imperial presidency has been going on since Franklin Roosevelt and carried to the ultimate extreme by mr. Nixon. Not no accident that his man said of course we have one man rule because hes the only nationally elected officer that was the state of mind. This has gone to the brink and over. I think youll get a new balance if mr. Ford now becomes president. He comes in with one great advantage that people will wish him well. Hell have the sympathy of the country. All of that will be the case as has been before. The great disadvantage will be hell be the first president not elected either as Vice President or president by the people. And the man he picks as Vice President the next few days presumably also will not have been elected. Weve never had a situation like this. And he of course will have the congress against him politically in party terms. Mr. Nixon was thehoqjq;ut man t take over the presidency in his first term with both houses against him, first man for over 100 years. Same will be true with mr. Ford and hell have maybe even a bigger democratic majority after the election in november. There will be a different kind of balance, at least for some time. Congress is already restricted the president ial war making powers. It is also arranged for much Greater Authority of its own over the budget making process as it goes along. That will make a big difference. It wants now to limit the size of white house staff, president ial personal staff and immunity from testifying before congress and all of that kind of thing. The courts have asserted once again their supremacy in the matters of law as to what the constitution means and what the law is. They say they shall determine it, whether its the president , whoever it is that tries to act or think otherwise. The congress will have to, exert more thorlt and lead has to find new ways to conduct its day to day business and be much more efficient. Well be talking about this much later on when we really know what happens tonight at the white house. We should emphasize, with all of this conversation were going on the assumption that the president is going to resign. That assumption is based on considerable fact from the day, the fact that House Minority leader john rhodes said early in the afternoon shortly afternoon that president nixon would announce his resignation today. High white house sources confirm that to newsmen at the white house. President nixon has been closeted this afternoon with his speechwriter ray price, Vice President ford after an 1 10 meeting with the president this morning and this afternoon met for two hours with secretary of state kissinger talking about Foreign Affairs and continuation of them as we understand it we have heard tonight that president nixon is planning to fly to san clem menty, and not in air force one but one of the vip planes made available to the white house staff. It all points to resignation tonight when the president goes on air about 15 minutes from now. Tonights events are being closely watched, not only here, of course, but around the world as well. Lets call in some of our foreign correspondents, bruce duning, for instance, in tokyo, japan. Most statesmen expert if nixon resigns, kissinger would remain as secretary of state for a few months and that continuity is the most important issue for asian governments. The most worried about mr. Nixons possible departure will be the Chinese Government in peking, a resignation could undermine the man who invited mr. Nixon to peking. No western observers agree on which direction this will take, they do no the man who led the turn towards the United States has been seriously ill. Some think the power is being eroded. The Chinese Government