"I just don`t understand it, Bob." "I mean, l`ve logged a lot of miles, l`ve followed the sales textbook by the letter." "I mean, l`ve applied myself diligently." "I mean, I try and I try and I just cannot get in the door." "I mean, what am I doing wrong?" "Earl, sit down." "Sure,you`ve got a great product... but you have to remember what you`re really selling-- yourself." "So it`s not necessarily what I say as how I say it?" "That`s right, Earl." "A good salesman can sell anything." "And I remember when you were a good salesman in the beginning." "But something seems to have changed." "Now, I don`t want to pry, but is everything all right at home?" "Everything`s all right with Margie, right?" "Will there be anything else, gentlemen?" "Leave it." "Just leave it." " Yes, sir." "Now, what I have to point out to you..." "Thank you." "is that l`ve watched you walking back and forth in front of my desk... in an agitated manner smoking a cigarette..." " Thank you." " without having asked if you could smoke in my presence." "01 :21 , mark." "Okay, listen up." "Fire team discipline in there at all times." "Keep your radios on at all times during the entire penetration." "Check yourselves." "False l.D.s." "Jim." " No wallets, no keys." "We rendezvous where?" "The Watergate, room 21 4." "When?" "At 0300 hours." "Jawohl, mein Fartenführer!" "I swear to God, Frank, l`m gonna make you a new asshole." "Let`s get the fuck out of here, shall we, ladies?" "Years of decency and clean living are over." "If anything goes wrong, just sit tight, go to your homes." "You`ll hear from me or Howard." "Personally, if anything goes wrong, l`ll be calling the president of the United States." "And l`m not just gonna be a good salesman." "No, doggone it." "l`m gonna be a great salesman." " That`s the spirit." " Thanks." "And remember, Earl-- always look `em in the eye." "Nothing sells like sincerity." "Five men wearing white surgical gloves, business suits... and carrying camera and electronic surveillance equipment... were arrested early today in the headquarters... of the Democratic National Committee in Washington." "They were unarmed." "Nobody knows yet why they were there or what they were looking for." "Date" "Good evening, General Haig." "Good evening, sir." "JudgeJohn Sirica today sentenced the Watergate burglars... to terms ranging up to 40 years." "The White House continues to deny any involvement." "Presidential counsel John Dean testified before the Senate Watergate committee... that the scandal reaches to the highest levels." "Presidential aides Haldeman and Ehrlichman were ordered to resign today." "In a stunning announcement, White House aide Alexander Butterfield... revealed the existence of a secret taping system." "Vice President Agnew resigned today... after pleading no contest to a charge of income tax evasion." "The president has fired the Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox... provoking the greatest constitutional crisis in American history." "On Capitol Hill today, eight resolutions calling for the impeachment of the president... were referred to the judiciary committee by members of the House of Representatives." "It was disclosed toJudge Sirica that there is an 18-and-a-half minute gap... in theJune 20th, 1 972, taped conversation between the president and Bob Haldeman." "Reactions of shock and anger are coming from all sectors of the nation." "JudgeJohn Sirica has ordered the president... to turn over his tapes to special prosecutor LeonJaworski." "The tapes contain conversations between the president and his aides in the Oval Office... and are believed to include discussions of the Watergate scandal." "The White House has not yet responded toJudge Sirica`s order... and it is not yet known whether the president will comply." "Yeah." "These are the tapes you requested, Mr. President." "Okay." "Cocksucker." "Nixon`s never been good with these things, Al." "l`ll take care of it, sir." "Do you mind, sir?" "Oh." " Sorry." " Okay." "Go on." "You know, Al... if Hoover were alive... these tapes would never have gotten out." "I want the little shit back." " Mr. Hoover was a realist, sir." " Yeah." "Not like the others." "Dean, McCord, the rest." "We never got our side of the story out, Al." "People have forgotten." "Such violence-- the teargassing; the riots... burning the draft cards;" "the Black Panthers." "We fixed it, Al, and they hate me for it." "`Cause it`s Nixon." "They always hated Nixon." "You`re all set, sir." " l`m okay." " Good night, Mr. President." "Good night, Al." "Hey, Al." "Men in your profession give `em a pistol and then leave the room." "I don`t have a pistol, Al." "Oh." "Goddamn it." ""Pause."" ""Start."" " They did what?" "Evidently to install bugs and photograph documents." "It was just a fishing expedition." "Apparently it was their fourth attempt at the D.N.C." "O`Brien doesn`t even use that office." "lt`s possible they were looking for evidence... of an illegal Howard Hughes donation to the Democrats." "The Democrats could make an issue of your Hughes money." "It was a contribution." "It was a legal contribution." "Huh." "See, it`s just not clear the burglars even knew what they were looking for." "They were headed for McGovern`s office later that same night." "Jesus Christ." "Did Mitchell know about this?" "I don`t know." "Mitchell`s..." "out of his mind right now." "Martha put her head through a plate glass window." "Oh,Jesus." "Through a window?" "Yeah." "They`re taking her to Bellevue." "Maybe she`ll stay this time." "Yeah." "Martha`s an idiot." "She`ll do anything to get Mitchell`s attention." "If Mitchell had been minding the store instead of that nut Martha... we wouldn`t have this kid Magruder running some third-rate burglary." "We feel the bigger concern is Gordon Liddy." " Liddy?" "That fruitcake?" "What about him?" " Well, that`s just it, sir, isn`t it?" "H-He is a nut." "He used to work here with the Plumbers... and now he turns up running this Watergate caper." "Remember his plan to firebomb Brookings using Cubans as firemen?" " What`s Liddy got?" " Apparently he was using some campaign cash... that was laundered for us through Mexico; the F.B.l.`s onto it." " We could have a problem with that." " But that`s just a campaign finance violation." "So if" " Yeah, if Liddy takes the rap for Watergate... we can take care of him and that lets us off the hook." "I don`t have time for all this shit." "Just handle it, Bob." "Keep it out of the White House." "I gotta see Kissinger." "He`s throwing a tantrum, threatening to quit... again." "What else?" "Well, sir, it turns out... one of the people implicated is still on the White House payroll." "Who?" "Not another goddamn Cuban." "Uh, no, sir." "A guy named Hunt." "Howard Hunt, sir." "Hunt?" "Howard Hunt?" "Dumb bastard left his White House phone number in his hotel room." "He works for Colson." "He used him in the Pentagon Papers." "After the arrest, this guy dumped his wiretapping stuff into his safe." "We`re still trying to figure out when he officially stopped being a White House consultant." "Howard Hunt is working for the White House?" "Jesus Christ." "This is goddamn Disneyland." "Since when?" "Since Chappaquiddick." "You wanted dirt on Kennedy." "Colson brought him in." "You know Hunt, sir?" "Yeah, on the list of horribles." "I know what he is and I know what he tracks back to." " You say he was involved in the Plumbers?" " Oh, definitely." "Colson had him, uh, trying to break into Bremer`s apartment after Bremer shot Wallace... to plant McGovern`s campaign literature." "I had nothing to do with that." " He was in this Ellsberg thing too?" " Yes." "You approved it, sir." "I did?" "It was right after the Pentagon Papers broke." "They went in to get his psychiatric records." "That`s when we were, you know, working on China." "Fuck." "Fuck!" "What the fuck?" "You`re not supposed to take fuckin` pictures of me!" "You`re supposed to be taking pictures of the files." "Give me the fuckin` film." "Howard Hunt." "Jesus Christ." "You open up that scab, you`ll uncover a lot of pus." "What do you mean?" " Where`s Hunt now?" " He`s in hiding." " He sent Liddy in to talk to Dean." " And?" "He wants money." " Then pay him." " Pay him?" "I told him to get out of the country." "lt`s crazy to start a relationship" "What the hell are you doing,John, you know, screwing with the C.l.A.?" "I don`t care how much he wants." "Just pay him." "Well what are we paying him for, sir?" " Silence." " But, sir,you`re covered." "lt`s only this Ellsberg thing, and if that comes out, it`s national security." "I say we cut ourselves loose from these clowns and that`s all there is to it." "No, it`s more than that." "I want Hunt paid." "We`ve never done that before, sir." "How do we do it?" "We should set up a Cuban defense fund on this and, uh, take care of all of them." " Should we talk to Trini about paying these guys?" " No, keep Trini out of this." "And for God`s sake, keep Colson out." "lt`s time we baptize our young counsel here, Mr. Dean." "That meansJohn can never talk about it." "Attorney-client privilege." "So get to it." " Uh-huh." " And,John,you stay close to this now, okay?" " Don`t worry, sir." " Good." "Okay." "Did I approve the Ellsberg thing?" "Huh?" "You know, l`m glad we tape all these conversations, because... I never approved the break-in at the Ellsbergs`." "Oh, maybe I approved it after the fact." "Someday we gotta start transcribing these tapes." "You approved that before the fact because I went over it with you." "But l" "Yeah, but of course l-- No one`s gonna see these tapes, but" "That`s right." "And it`s really more of a problem for Ehrlichman." "He`s the one who fixed Hunt up with the phony C.l.A. l.D.s." "But what else does Hunt have on us?" "We gotta turn off the F.B.l., Bob." "You go to the C.l.A. and tell Helms that Howard Hunt is blackmailing the president." "Tell him Hunt and his Cuban friends know too damn much... and, uh, if he goes public-- if Hunt goes public-- it will be a fiasco for the C.l.A." " He`ll know what l`m talking about." " All right." "Play it tough." "That`s the way they play it and that`s the way we`re gonna play it." "Don`t lie to Helms and say there`s no involvement." "Just say this is, uh... sort of a comedy of errors-- bizarre-- without getting into it... and, uh, say the president believes... it`s gonna open up the whole Bay of Pigs thing again." "Now, tell Helms he should call the F.B.l., call Pat Gray... and say that we wish, for the sake of the country, that, uh" "Don`t go any further into this hanky-panky, period." "Bay of Pigs?" "That was Kennedy`s screw-up." "W-Why would that threaten us?" "Just do what I say, Bob." "The only problem with that, sir--it does get us into obstruction of justice." "lt`s got nothing to do with justice, Bob. lt`s national security." "How is this national security?" " The president says it is." "Now, this isn`t a moral issue, Bob." "My job is to protect this country from its enemies... and its enemies are inside the walls." "We gotta keep our enemies at bay,you know... or our whole program goes down the tubes." "Uh, Vietnam, China, the Soviet Union." "So when you look at the big picture, Bob,you`ll see that we..." " Damn!" "end up doing a hell of a lot of good in this world." "So let`s not screw it up with a shit-ass, third-rate burglary." "What should I tell Ziegler to tell the press?" "Well, tell `em what we always tell `em." "Tell `em anything but the goddamn truth." " Fuck!" "Say the president believes... it`s gonna open up the whole Bay of Pigs thing again." " Put me in this position." "Bay of Pigs?" " Expose me like this." " That was Kennedy`s screw-up." "W-Why would that threaten us?" "Why don`t they just fucking shoot me?" "In the election of 1860..." "Abraham Lincoln said the question was whether this nation could exist... half-slave or half-free." "In the election of 1 960, and with the world around us... the question is whether the world will exist half-slave or half-free... and I think, in the final analysis, it depends upon what we do here in the United States." "I think it`s time America started moving again." "Mr." "Nixon?" " When it comes to experience... through the years I have sat on the National Security Council... I have been in the Cabinet;" "I have met with the legislative leaders" " Relax, everybody, relax." "l`ve visited four countries... and had discussions with 35 presidents, 9 prime ministers... uh, two emperors and the Shah of Iran." "Jesus Christ." "Has he told them how many push-ups he can do yet?" "Let`s take hydroelectric power." " What the hell happened to him?" "He just got out of the hospital, Murray, and he hasn`t taken one hour off during this campaign, thanks to you." "When we consider the lineup of the world... we find there are..." "590 million people on our side... 800 million people on the Communist side..." " Should`ve slapped a little makeup on him." " You know what, Murray?" "lt`s not a beauty contest." "We`d better hope not." "and 600 million people who are neutral." "What are you doing to him, Murray?" "Look at him." "He`s not well." "He doesn`t have to debateJohn Kennedy." " The odds are 5-3 against us." " Pat, baby, listen." " When it comes to politics" " He can win without doing this." "Senator Kennedy,you have one minute for a rebuttal." " We don`t have a choice." "Castro is only the beginning of our difficulties throughout Latin America." " The big struggles that we have seen" " Oh, shit." "He`s gonna do it." "Here it comes." "We have seen Cuba go to the Communists." "Eight jet minutes from the coast of Florida." "We must attempt to strengthen the democratic anti-Castro forces in exile." "These fighters have had virtually no support from our government." " Son of a bitch." " What?" "What?" "Kennedy was briefed last week by the C.l.A. He`s using it against us." " He knows we can`t respond." "He welshed on the deal." "lf we had provided economic aid and supplies years ago..." " that we are now providing..." " lt`s a disgrace." "we might never have had Castro." "Why didn`t we?" " Mr. Nixon?" " Oh, man, he`s treading water." "Come on, Dick." "Dick, this is it." "All right, come on." "He violated national security, Dick." "Come on, attack the bastard." "...the Constitution of the United States, so help me, God." "Mr." "Nixon." " Yeah." "Uh" "Well, I think--l think that`s the sort of,uh..." " very dangerous and irresponsible suggestion..." " We`ve had it." " that`s-- - lt`s over." " Respond." "Helping the Cuban exiles..." " More coffee?" "who oppose Castro would, uh..." "not only be, uh, a violation of international law..." " That saws his nuts off." "it would be, uh," " He can`t respond." "an open invitation for Mr. Khruschev" "The popular vote column, by the way, th--lt`s still very close." "Uh, Senator Kennedy`s lead... is about, uh, 700,000." "You think maybe that son of a bitch Daley stuffed the ballot boxes himself?" "." "In Texas they had the goddamn cattle voting." "It was the closest race in history, Dick, and he stole it." "Son of a bitch." " He outspent us and he still cheated." " What did he expect?" "A guy who`s got everything." "I can`t believe it." "We came to Congress together." "We were like brothers, for Christ`s sake." "It all figures, Dick. lt`s an obvious fraud." "We ask for a recount." "Don`t be ridiculous." "Nobody has ever contested a presidential election before." "Who`s gonna do the counting?" "The Democrats control Texas." "They control Illinois." "We shift 25,000 votes in two states." " And how long will that take?" " lt`s not gonna be such a" " Oh." " Six months?" "Ayear?" "Meanwhile, what happens to the country, Herb?" " lf l`d called his shot on Cuba, l`d have won." " That`s what I say." "It made me look soft." " "l feel very sorry for Nixon..." " Coffee, sir?" " No." " because he does not know who he is."" "Do you believe this? "At each stop he has to decide which Nixon... he`s gonna be at the moment, which must be very exhausting."" "Jack Kennedy." " lt`s a disgrace." " "Nixon is a shifty-eyed, goddamned liar..." " Herb." " Herb." "and if he had to stick to the truth, then he`d have very little to say." "If you vote for Nixon, then you oughta go to hell." Harry S. Truman." "That`s what killed us, Dick." "Not Cuba." "It was the personality problem." " You gonna let the son-of-a-bitch Democrats get away with this?" " Herb, this is not the time." "Goes to Harvard." "His father hands him everything on a silver platter." "All my life they`ve been sticking it to me." "Not the right clothes; not the right schools; not the right family." "Then he steals from me." "He says I have no class, and they love him for it." "Dick,you`re only 47." "If you contest this election, you`ll be finished." "You gotta swallow this one." "They stole it fair and square." "We`ll get `em next time, Dick." "We`ll get `em next time." "What makes you think there`s gonna be a next time, Murray?" "Because if he`s not this Nixon... he`s nobody." " Good morning, sir." " Hi." " Hi." " Hi." "We lost." "I know." "I hate to lose." "It makes us human." "lt`s not fair, Buddy." "I can take the insults." "I can take the name-calling." "But I can`t take the losing." "I hate it." "We don`t have to put ourselves through this again, Dick." "We worked for it." "We earned it." "lt`s ours." "It is." "We know that." "And it`s enough that we know." "Just think of the girls." "They`re still young." "We never see them." "I lost my parents when I was young." "I don`t want them to lose theirs." "Maybe I should get out of the game." "What do you think, Buddy?" "I can go back to being a lawyer... end up with something solid, some money at the end of the line." "You know, I, uh... keep thinking of my old man tonight." " He was a failure too." " You`re not a failure, Dick." "You know how much money he had in the bank when he died?" "Nothing." "He was so damned honest." "But I miss him." "I miss him a hell of a lot." " Dad?" "Dad?" " l got the beets for him." " Dad." " ls she in there?" " Come on, give me a chance." " l don`t have time for you right now." " l`ve been saving for five months." "l`ve got work to do." "l`ll see you later." " How is thy son?" " Very well, thank you." " What`d he say?" " He said, "ln life, there`s no free ride."" " What`d you say?" " l told him I didn`t need a ride, I needed a suit." "Oh, no." "Harold." "He doesn`t respond well to humor." "Maybe if you talk to Mother she can help straighten it out." "l`d rather get a whipping rather than listen to another one of her talks." " Shh!" " Relax, Dick." " Donald, finish thy sweeping, then pick out the bad apples." " Yes, Mother." "l`m working." "Richard, come with me, would thee?" "Wh" " Why me?" "Because Harold tasks thy father`s will is no reason to admire him." "Let Harold`s worldliness be a warning to thee, not an example." "Yes, Mother." "Harold may have lost touch with his Bible, but thee must never lapse." "Now give it to me." "Do not tell a lie, Richard." "The corn silk cigarette Harold gave thee behind the store this morning." "I don`t have them." "Mother, l-- l promise I didn`t smoke." "I see." "Well, then, Richard, we have nothing more to talk about, do we?" "Please." "Please." "Mother, l`m sorry. lt was-- lt was just one time." "l`m sorry." "So am I." "Thy father will have to know of thy lying." "No, please don`t-- don`t-- don`t tell him." "l`ll never do it again." "I promise." "Please." "Richard, I expected more from thee." "Please, Mama. I shall never let thee down again." "Then this shall be our little secret." "Remember, I see into thy soul." "Thee may fool the world, even thy father... but not me, Richard." "Never me." "Mother... think of me always as thy faithful dog." " Thank you." " We`ll be saying grace in the next room." "Richard." "is it my turn?" " O Heavenly Father, we humbly thank You-- - l`ll do it." "There`s a couple of things I want to say." "Could thee at least remove thy apron, Frank?" "This blood pays the bills, Hannah." "l`m not ashamed of how I earn my money." "Heavenly Father..." "You told Adam in the garden, after that business with the snake... that man would have to earn his way by the sweat of his face." "Well, as far as I can tell, Father... what was true in Eden is true in Whittier, California." "So we ask You now to remind certain of our young people... that the only way to get a new suit to go to the promenade with Margaret O`Herlihy-- who happens to be a Catholic, by the way" "is to work for it." " Amen." " Amen." " Amen." " Amen." " Are we gonna pray now, Daddy?" " Oh, silly." "You think this is funny?" "Maybe a trip to the woodshed will straighten you out." "Pretty soon you boys are gonna have to get out there and scratch... `cause you`re not gonna get anywhere on your good looks." "Just ask those fellas." "Charity`s only gonna get you so far, even with saints like your mother around." "Struggle`s what gives life meaning." "Not victory, struggle." "When you quit struggling, they`ve beaten you... and then you end up in the street with your hand out." "My mother was a saint, but my old man struggled his whole life." "They could call him a little man, a poor man... but they never beat him." "I always tried to remember that when things didn`t go my way." "Come on." "Let`s really get fired up now." " Get on your stance, Nixon!" " Let`s get in there!" " Ready?" "28!" "44!" "Come on." "Get in there!" "What`s Nixon doing here?" "l don`t know." "He thinks he can make it." "Four years of being a tackling dummy." "Poor guy." " All right." " Come on, guys!" " Let`s go, Nixon!" "Worst athlete l`ve ever seen." "But he`s got guts." "Okay, let`s go." "Let`s do it." "In California`s gubernatorial race, Richard Nixon has returned to the political arena... in what is shaping up to be a long and acrimonious bid... against popular incumbent Edmund G. Brown." "Brown`s campaign has benefited greatly from the support of President Kennedy... while Nixon has had trouble convincing voters that this is not another run for the presidency." "With only a few precincts left unreported, all indications... are of another defeat for Nixon... are of another defeat for Nixon... who lost the presidency just two years ago by a paper-thin margin." "It seems his brief political comeback..." " You making a statement?" "is now in ruins." "Thank you, Fidel Castro." " You`re not going to blame this on Castro, are you?" " l sure am." "Goddamn missile crisis united the whole country behind Kennedy and he was supporting Brown." "People were scared, that`s why." "l suppose Castro staged the whole thing just to beat you." "Buddy, before you join the jubilation of my being beaten again... you should remember that people vote not out of love but fear." "They don`t teach that at Sunday school or the, uh, Whittier Community Playhouse." " l should go down and check in with our people." " l`m glad they don`t, Dick." "l`m glad they don`t, because life is tough and it is unfair... and sometimes you forget that in your self-pity." "Happy days are here again" " You forget sometimes, Dick..." "The skies above are clear again -that I had a life too, you know, before you..." " before California" "Let us sing a song of cheer again" "Cocksucker!" "Don`t you want to listen to Governor Brown`s victory speech?" "Nope." "Not going to listen to any more speeches ever again." "Amen to that." "lt`s over, Dick." " l`ll concede in the morning." " Not that." "Buddy?" "I have always stood by you." "I campaigned for you when I was pregnant." "During Checkers, when Ike wanted you out, I told you to fight." "This is different, Dick." "You`ve changed." "You`ve grown more bitter, like you`re at war with the world." "You weren`t that way before." "l`m 50 years old now, Dick." "How many millions of miles have I traveled?" "How many millions of people`s hands have I shaked that I just don`t like?" "How many thank-you notes have I written?" "lt`s as if I, I don`t know, just went to sleep a long time ago and missed the years between." "l`ve had enough." "What are you saying?" "What are you talking about?" "I want a divorce." "My God." "Divorce?" "What about the girls?" "The girls`ll grow up." "They only know you from television anyway." " lt`ll ruin us, our family." " No,you`re ruining us." "If we stay with you, you`ll take us down with you." "This isn`t political, Dick." "This is our life." "Everything`s political, for Christ`s sake. l`m political." "You`re political too." "No, l`m not. l`m finished." "Well, this is just what they want, Buddy." "Don`t you see?" "They want to drive us apart, to beat us." "We can`t let `em do it." "We`ve been through too much together, Buddy." "We belong together." "That`s what you said the first time we met." "You didn`t even know me." "Oh,yes, I did." "I asked you to marry me, didn`t I?" "On our first date." "I said it because I knew." "I knew you were the one." "So solid." "So strong." " So beautiful." " Hi. l`m Pat Ryan." "Uh, R-Richard Nixon." " lt`s a pleasure to meet you." " Pleasure to meet you." " Are you happy that I called?" " Well, in a way,yes." "Don`t tell me that you`ve been cutting my part." "Oh, of course, honey,you know I would never deceive you, don`t you?" "You were the most beautiful thing l`d ever seen." "I don`t want to lose you." " Ever." " Dick, don`t." "You really want me to quit?" "We can be happy." "We really can." "The girls and I love you, Dick." "And if I stop... there`ll be no more talk of divorce?" "l`ll do it." "No more." "Are you serious?" "Yeah. l`m out." "is that the truth?" "l`ll never run again." "I promise." "Yeah." "I love you, Buddy." "I love you." "I love you." " Where are they?" " Dick,you don`t have to make a statement." "Herb covered it for you." "No!" "Now, gentlemen, I can tell you this:" "Mr. Nixon is a man who is graceful in defeat... and if he was here with us" "Can I have some quiet, please?" "Give the--Just a second!" " Can I have some quiet, please?" " Right over here, sir!" "Quiet!" "Can I have some quiet for a minute?" "Thank you!" " Mr. Nixon!" " Uh-- l believe Governor Brown has a heart... even though he believes I do not." "Uh, I believe he`s a good American... even though he feels I am not." "l`m proud of the fact that I defended my opponent`s patriotism." "You gentlemen didn`t report it, but l`m proud that I did that." "And" " And I would appreciate it for once, gentlemen... if you would just print what I say." "Uh, for 1 6 years, uh, ever since the Hiss case... you`ve had a lot of fun, a lot of fun." "But recognize you have a responsibility... if you`re against the candidate, to give him the shaft." "But if you do that, at least put one lonely reporter on the campaign... who will report what the candidate says now and then." "I think... all in all, l`ve given as good as l`ve taken." "But as I leave you, I wa-- l want you to know" "Uh,just think what you`re gonna be missing." "Uh,you won`t have Nixon to kick around anymore." "Kick around anymore." "Uh" "Uh" "`Cause, gentlemen, this is my last press conference." " Thank you and good day." " Mr. Nixon, is this the end of politics for you?" "Are you staying in politics?" "Here in California we can now officially write the political obituary... of Richard Milhous Nixon." "A small-town lawyer like Lincoln, Nixon became a representative at 33... and a senator at 35... as part of the postwar Republican sweep of the congressional elections... that attacked F.D.R.`s big-government New Deal." "Running as a South Pacific veteran, his early victories... over CongressmanJerry Voorhis and Senator Helen Gahagan Douglas made it clear... that, to Nixon, politics was war." "He didn`t have opponents, he had enemies." "Why, she`s pink, right down to her underwear!" "Nixon became one of the leading lights... on the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee... questioning labor leaders, Spanish civil war veterans, Hollywood celebrities." "If I had my way about it, they`d all be sent back to Russia." "But it was the Alger Hiss case that made Nixon a household name." "One of the architects of the United Nations... intimate of F.D.R. and Oliver Wendell Holmes..." "Alger Hiss was a State Department diplomat... accused by freelance journalist Whittaker Chambers..." " of passing secret documents to the Soviet Union." " Mr. Hiss is lying." "Hiss claimed he was being set up by Nixon andJ." "Edgar Hoover... to discredit the New Deal`s policies." "I am not and never have been a member of the Communist party." "The case came down to an Underwood typewriter... and a roll of film hidden in a pumpkin patch." "I asked Hiss if he`d ever known Chambers before." "When he said "no," that`s when I knew he was lying." "That`s when I knew I had him." "After two trials, Hiss was convicted not of spying but of perjury." "To some Nixon was a hero and a patriot." "But to many he was a shameless self-promoter." "Eleanor Roosevelt angrily condemned him." "Nixon continued to tear into Truman,Acheson and the entire Democratic party... for losing mainland China in 1 949... and blamed the Korean War on a weak foreign policy." "I promise to expose and continue to expose... the people that have sold this country down the river." "His speeches, if more subtle than those of his Republican allyJoe McCarthy..." " All of`em!" " were just as aggressive." "You know" " You know the direct result ofTruman`s decision... is that China has gone Communist." "Mao is a monster!" "Why?" "Who in the State Department is watching over American interests?" "Who has given the Russians the atomic bomb?" "The Soviet Union is an example of a slave state in the ultimate development." "Driven by demons that seemed more personal than political..." "Nixon became Eisenhower`s vice presidential candidate in 1 952." "But then came the Checkers crisis." "Nixon was accused of hiding a secret slush fund." "About to be kicked off the ticket by Ike, he went live on national television..." " l`m going to use this time..." " in an unprecedented appearance." "to give to this television audience a complete financial history." " Everything l`ve earned..." " The list included their house..." " everything l`ve spent..." " their Oldsmobile..." " everything I own." "Pat`s Republican cloth coat... and lastly, in what was to become history... a sentimental gift from a Texas businessman." "You know what it was?" "It was a little cocker spaniel dog... in a crate that he`d sent all the way from Texas-- black and white, spotted." "Our little girl Tricia, the six-year-old, named it Checkers." "58 million people saw it." " And you know, the kids, like all kids, they love the dog." "lt was shameless." "And I just want to say this right now-  lt was manipulative." " regardless of what they say about him, we`re gonna keep him." "It was a huge success." "He stayed on the national scene, serving two terms as vice president under Eisenhower." " We`re on television." "Against Khrushchev at the kitchen debate in Moscow..." " and stoned by Latin mobs in Venezuela..." " Try and get through." "Nixon once again became a national hero." "But it all came to a crashing end against Kennedy in 1 960... and Pat Brown in California in `62." "And thus ends a great American political story." "The truth is, we never knew who Richard Nixon really was... and now that he is gone we never will." "Oh, poor little Tricia." "I told her her daddy couldn`t even get a damn job in the city when he got out of Duke." "Every white-shoe lawyer firm turned me down." "Didn`t have the right look." "Hell, I couldn`t even get in the F.B.l." "Hi!" "How are ya?" "Did you catch that picture of you..." " Huh?" " in the news last week, Dick?" " You were standin` in a crowd on Fifth Avenue..." " How are ya?" " Oh,yeah." " and you were lookin` straight ahead... and everyone else was lookin` the other way, like you just farted or somethin`!" "I can`t-- lt said-- lt said:" ""Who remembers Dick Nixon?"" "Unbelievable." "I was screamin`." "Yeah, that was hilarious, Martha." "There were looking in the other direction because they were waiting for the light to change." "You know, typical of the press in this country, they-- they wouldn`t correct it." "Dick, I think we oughta catch Rocky before he leaves." " Hi!" "How are ya?" " Oh, l`m sure it`s a little run of the bad luck, Mr. Nixon." " He can walk in this direction, can`t he?" " Oh, I don`t know." " l`ve-- l`ve read some very nice things about you." " Maybe where you come from." "But where l come from, Dick Nixon is as misunderstood as a fox in a henhouse." "And do you know why?" "Because, my darlin`, they all think that your smile and your face... are never in the same place at the same time." " You and me, we`re gonna have to work on that, sweetie." " Yeah." "Someone freshen Martha`s drink." "I think she`s down a quart." "Well, zip-a-dee-doo-dah!" " Well, l-- l just think he is frightened by my charms sometimes." " l know I am." " Pat can`t stand her." " lt`s a thing she does." " She talks at night." " Talks all day too." " How the hell can you put up with her,John?" " Well, l`m in love with her." "And she`s great in bed." "Well, if a Rockefeller can`t become president of the United States, then what is the point of democracy?" " Ah!" "Henry,you`re a wit." " Uh, the point of democracy... is that even the son of a grocer can become president." "And you came damn close, Dick." "How are you?" " Hi,John." "New York treating you all right?" " Yeah." "l`m sorry I haven`t been able to see you at all." " You`re looking happy, Rocky." " Happy." "Happy." "Dick Nixon." " You remember him." " Nice to see you again." " Well,you`re obviously making him happy." " Oh!" "Repartee, Dick!" "That`s marvelous!" "What you predicting?" "Your boy Goldwater gonna split the party?" " Some say you are, Rocky." " Let me tell you something, Dick." "Every time the Republican party is a home to extremism, we lose the goddamn election." " You oughta know that better than anybody." " Yeah." "This guy Goldwater is as stupid as McCarthy... and McCarthy never did you any good in the long run, now did he?" "That`s right." "I hate these cocktail parties." "John, l`m in hell." "l`ll be mentally dead in two years and physically dead in four." "Make some money, Dick." "Prove yourself to the Wall Street crowd." "Make Goldwater and Rockefeller take the fall against Kennedy." "I don`t know, l-- l miss making love to the people." "I miss entering a room." "I miss the pure acting of it,John." "I gotta get back in the arena." "Ladies and gentlemen, it`s show time!" "Come on up here." "Come on up." "Right this way, ladies and gentlemen." "lt`s for you, it`s for me, it`s Studebaker for 1 963." "Oh, amen." "Bless you for being here." " Hey, there`s a gentleman who loves Studebakers." " Mr. Nixon, can I get your autograph?" " Ladies and gentlemen, the ex-vice president..." " Mr. Nixon, I think you`re just great." "Please run again!" "of the United States, Richard M. Nixon!" " You throw a hell of a party,Jack." " Oh, the party ain`t even started yet, Dick." "l`ve asked these gals out to the ranch for a little private thing,you know." "Uh, we`re gonna have some fun, I guarantee ya." "And there`s some fellas l`d really like you to meet." "Well, Trini and I have got an early plane, uh" " We`re hoping to be back in New York in time for" " We love you out here!" "We love you!" " lt`ll be okay, Dick." " Take care." "We love you." " These guys are really interesting." " And quiet too." "The girls are too." "Don`t-- - l love you, Mr. Nixon!" "You know, it`s not often us Texans get an opportunity to entertain the future president of the United States." "Here." "Sure." "Like you said,Jack, l`m just a New York lawyer." " We`ll see about that." " Mr. Nixon, are you going to run again, sir?" " l don`t know about that." " He will. I guarantee it." "Thanks." "What do you think of that?" " Buy me a convertible?" " l`ll buy you a diamond, baby." " l`ll buy you a diamond" " Trini?" " Yeah." " Hello, baby." " Hey, wait, wait, wait." " Ohh!" " You`re not gonna" "This isJulie there, and that`s Tricia." "Oh,yeah." "See, she reminds me, uh, a little bit of you, Sandy." "Oh,yeah?" "She really is wholesome." "But, um, what about you?" "What do you like?" " Well, I like music and, uh-- - l like jazz." "Jazz,yeah." "Guy Lombardo." "How about rock and roll?" "Elvis Presley?" "Yeah, he`s good." "Yeah." "Decent guy." "Well, I guess, for me, it also, um, depends on... what l`m doin` to the music, Dick." " Yeah." " So, uh, what`s it like being so famous and all?" "A vice president." "Well, it`s, uh, not like that, Sandy." "Uh,you see, the reason I got into politics in the first place was... well, uh, to do something for the people." " Yeah." " So, how are you two doing?" "You know, Dick, there`s more privacy in the back of the, uh" " No, Trini." "We`re fine here." " Okay." "Hell, Kennedy just pissed Cuba away to the Russians.Just pissed it away." "And he doesn`t know what the hell he`s doing in Vietnam." "These are dangerous times, Dick, especially for business." " Agreed." " We know what you tried to do for Cuba, Mr. Nixon." "If you had been elected in `60, Castro would be dead now." "Gentlemen, I tried." "I told Kennedy to go to Cuba." "He heard me and he made his decision." "I appreciate your sentiments and l`ve heard them from many fine Cuban patriots... but it`s nothing I can do anything about." "Now, it`s a long drive back to Dallas and, uh, Trini and I have an early plane to catch tomorrow, so" " Dick, these boys want you to run." " Absolutely." " That`s right." " Now, they`re serious." "They can deliver the South and they can put Texas in your column... and they would`ve done it in `60." "Only if Kennedy dumpsJohnson, and that`ll never happen." "I don`t think you know how much people hate Kennedy down here." "Hell, he`s comin` to town tomorrow, and I guarantee you they will run his ass out of town on a rail." " Damn right." " lt`s true." " That we will." "Now, we are willing to give you a shit pot full of money to get rid of him." "More than you ever dreamed of." "Nobody`s gonna beat Kennedy in `64 with all the money in the world." "Suppose Kennedy don`t run in `64." "Not a chance." "Yeah." "Well, gentlemen, I promised my wife." "I, uh-- l`m out of politics." "You just came down here for the weather, is that right, Mr. Nixon?" "I came down here to close a deal for Studebaker." "What about `68, Dick?" "Five years, Trini." "In politics, that`s an eternity." "Dick." "Your country needs you." "Unfortunately the country`s not available right now." "President Kennedy`s due in from Fort Worth in about an hour." " Kennedy is due in from Fort Worth." " Yeah, I know." " Yeah, I got it!" " Okay." " Come on!" "Let`s go through here." "Excuse us." "Excuse me." "Coming through." "Excuse me." " Excuse us." " Excuse me, ma`am." " Thank you." " Could you step away from the gate there?" " Thanks." " Thank you." " There." " Go find the pilot." "Let`s get out of here." "Mrs. Kennedy safe." "Look, Edgar, these, uh, these guys were really strange." " l mean,you know-- extremists." " What do you mean by "strange`'?" " Right-wing stuff." "Birchers?" " Birchers,yeah." " This thing`s pretty straight, Dick." " Oswald`s got a Cuba connection?" " To Castro?" "...from a city jail to a maximum security facility." " Yeah?" "He`s a real Communist." "Mrs." "Kennedy and her children John and Caroline..." " Yeah, that makes sense." "attorney general Robert Kennedy and President Johnson..." "Okay, well, thank you, Edgar." "Senator Ted Kennedy, arriving early this morning... with his mother and sister Eunice." "Hoover says this Oswald checks out as a-- a beatnik, a real bum." "Dick,you should call Bobby." "Ah, he doesn`t want me at the funeral." " You don`t have to go." " DeGaulle`s gonna be there." "McMillan." "Adenauer." "We go now to the rotunda where the" "Nixon can`t not be there." "Then call him." "l`m sure it was an oversight." " Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of mourners..." " Yeah." " will pass through to pay their respects..." "Jesus, that`s-- to their fallen leader." "That`s awful." "lt`s an awful thing for this country." " Dick." " Huh?" "No, it`s his way, uh" "He hates me." "He and Teddy." "They`ve always hated me." "They lost their brother." "You know what that means, Dick." "...relaxed with his family in Hyannis Port." "These are perhaps the last images of him alive with his family." "Please make it stop!" "Hold him tighter." "Hold him tighter." "Hold him tighter." "Hold him tighter." "Daddy, please make it stop!" "Hold him tighter." "The infection`s spread to his spine." "Come on!" "Stop it!" "Get off!" "." "No!" "No, don`t." "If l`d been president, they never would`ve killed me." "Vice President Johnson, shown here being sworn in" " Dick, are you gonna call?" " Hmm?" " Bobby." "...has taken the reins of power in a smooth transition." "l`ll go through Johnson." "We`ll be invited." "This is a sad time for all people." "I ask for your help..." "...and are going to see Vietnam..." "and God`s." "through to an honorable peace... 5 years later." "to defend an honored cause... whatever the price, whatever the burden... whatever the sacrifice... that duty may require." "Accordingly... I shall not seek... and I will not accept the nomination of my party... for another term as your president." "Good night, and God bless all of you." "Johnson`s withdrawal resurrects Richard Nixon... as a strong Republican candidate with a secret plan to end the war." "His mother, Hannah Nixon, just before her death last year, commented on her son`s chances." "Mrs. Nixon, do you think your son will ever return to politics?" "l-l don`t think he has a choice." "He" " He has always been a leader." "Do you think he`d make a great president, Mrs. Nixon?" "If he`s on God`s side,yes." "You must be very proud of your son." "I have always been proud of all of my children." "Of course, no one can see into the future." "We didn`t know this day would come." " Where`d he go?" " Went in the side door." " ls that Mitchell?" " Shit!" "I thought that guy was gonna kiss your hand on the side." " Yeah." " Congratulations, sir." " Yeah, thanks." " Congratulations." "Jesus, Dick!" "l`ve never seen anything like it." "Even the goddamn Times is saying you`ve got it!" "Vietnam is gonna put you in there, Chief." "Yeah, we got the press this time." "We got the "big mo." We`re back." "So,you`ve decided." "Were you planning to tell me?" "We haven`t announced anything yet, but" "Jesus, uh" " Pat?" "Uh, wait in the living room, will you, fellas?" "What is it,John?" "We need her, Dick. ln `60, she was worth five, six million votes." "Yeah." "Don`t worry." "l`ll use the old Nixon charm." "In there." "Okay?" "Who could resist that?" "Buddy?" "You should be going." "Primaries are soon, aren`t they?" "New Hampshire." "I love you, Buddy." "I need you." "I don`t want them to love me." "But I need you, out there." "It won`t be like the last time." "The war`s crippled the Democrats." "I can win." "We deserve it." "lt`s ours, Buddy." "At last." "Nobody knows that better than you." "Frank Nixon`s boy." "Do you remember what Mom said?" ""We`re not like other people." "We" " We don`t choose our way."" "We can really change things, Buddy." "We got a chance to get it right." "We can change America." "It was our dream, Buddy." "Together, always." "Do you really want this, Dick?" " Yeah, this above all." " And then you`ll be happy?" "Yeah,you know I will." "Yes!" "I will." "Yeah." "Then l`ll be there for you." "And we are gonna win this time." "I can feel it!" "Yeah!" "You`re the strongest woman l`ve ever met, Buddy." "Can I just ask for one thing?" " Anything." " Would you kiss me?" "Yeah!" "l`m going to be president." "Hey!" "My thanks to all of you, and now it`s on to Chicago, and let`s win there." " Thank you very much." " l`ve never questioned, uh, Senator Kennedy`s patriotism." " Let`s get him in focus." "But going around the country promising peace at any price..." " Right there." " is, uh, exactly what the North Vietnamese want to hear." "Cue the crowd." "No, uh, uh, uh" " Go to him." "Oh, here, go to this bald guy." "Yeah, he`s great, isn`t he ?" "I, unlike Senator Kennedy... have a plan to end the war immediately." "But not for peace at any price, but peace with honor." "What do you think this plan is, Edgar?" "A nuclear attack?" "He`s lying, Clyde." "Always has." "That`s why Nixon`s always been useful." "Hold still." " Okay, who`s next?" " The Negro." " Hmm." "No, we gotta have a Negro." "This guy right here." " Negro, front row." " Mr. Nixon." "Sir." " Yeah." "We" " We all know that you have built your career... on smearing people as communists." "And now you are building your campaign on the divisions in this country... stirring up hatred and turning people against each other." " What the fuck`s he doing?" "He`s making a speech!" " Cut him off." "lf you want some real dialogue-- -l can`t cut him off." "This isn`t Russia." "He sounds like a Negro." "He`s saying all these Negro things." "What`s he doing?" " He sounded white when we screened him." " Well, he doesn`t sound white now." " He sounds like Angela Davis." " When are you gonna tell us..." " He sounds like H. Rap Brown!" " what you really stand for?" " Go to a commercial." " There are no commercials." " Go to a commercial." " You bought the whole half hour, baby." " When are you gonna take off that mask and show us who..." " Shit!" "you really are?" " Shut up and sit down!" " Okay." " Okay." " lt`s a high hard one, Chief." " Okay." "Okay." " Park it." " There are divisions in this country." " That`s because you created them." "I did not create them." "The Democrats did." "If it`s dialogue you want, you`re more likely to get it from me... than from the, uh, people who are burning down the cities." "Just think about that." "The great Dr. King said the same thing." " Oh, please." " Do you know,young man, who a great hero is?" " Abraham Lincoln." " Abraham Lincoln." " Lincoln. ls he beautiful?" "Huh?" "Because... he believed in common ground, he brought this country together." "I love that man." "I love him!" "I want the son of a bitch who got that agitator in here fired!" " Okay." " Mr. Nixon, I have another question." "I don`t know if you can see her, but there`s a little girl sitting over here." " A little girl sitting out here with a sign." " Bag the spook." " Go to the little girl." "Can you see the little girl?" " There she is, right there." "There are three simple words:" ""Bring us together."" "Now that is what I want, and that is what the, uh... great silent majority of Americans want... and that is why I want to be president-- to bring us together." " Give me a break, Mary." " Now,you all know me." "l`m one of you. I grew up here, a stone`s throw from here... on a little lemon ranch in Yorba Linda." "It was the poorest lemon ranch in California, I can tell you that." "The poorest lemon ranch in California, I can assure you of that." "My dad sold it before they found oil on it." "My dad sold it before they found oil on it." " But it was all we had." " But it was all we had." " My dad built the, uh-- with his own hands." " You`re new here." " What`s your name?" " lt wasn`t a big house." "Joaquin, Mr. Hoover." " And, uh" " Oh." "A father who sacrificed everything he had so that his sons could go to college." " A gentle Quaker mother, with a passion for peace..." " Oh, Christ!" " quietly wept when he went to war." " Turn this crap off, Clyde." " But she understood why he had to go over there." " lt`s giving me a headache." " A great future." " You may go,Joaquin." " l want to see him, Clyde." " Edgar." "He works in the kitchen!" "Not the boy,you idiot." "Nixon." "Did you hear what he said in Oregon about me having too much power?" "lt`s between Nixon and a Kennedy again, Edgar." " Who do you want?" " Kennedy?" "Never." "He`ll fry in hell for what he did to me." "But Nixon don`t know that." "Which is why l`m gonna have to remind him that he needs us... a hell of a lot more than we need him." "And they`re off!" "Oly`s Boy is in front" "Your boy`s on the way up." "You know, I met this guy years ago in Havana." "You know that." "Come on!" "He`s folding,Johnny." "Now, now, now." "You just wait a second now." "...going for the lead." "Oly`s Boy on the inside, number six." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "And a tragedy!" "A bit extreme, isn`t it?" "lt`s the drama." "Look, the crowd loves this shit." " May I have your autograph?" " Hey, there`s Randolph Scott over there." "Look at that." "Cash these for me, would you,Johnny?" " Easy!" "Easy!" " lt`s a two-dollar bet, Edgar." "You got thousands coming on this." "I mean, what the fuck?" "I told you,just cash it,Johnny, and don`t swear around me." "Come on." "Uh-huh." "Hello." "Edgar." "Wonderful to see you." " Clyde." " Mr. Nixon." " Hi." " Thank you for coming, Richard." " Okay." "Oh." "Winning?" "Actually, l`ve just had a bit of luck." "Are you gonna win?" "You should ask Bobby." " Little Bobby." " Yeah, Bobby Kennedy." " Yeah." " Would you, uh, walk with me down to the paddock?" "l`d like to look at the horses for the eighth." "Uh, can we talk here?" "l`ve got the police chiefs in San Diego." "Actually, l`m trying to spare you an embarrassment." "That wasJohnny Roselli you just passed." "He`s on his way back." "Roselli?" "Johnny Roselli?" "Yeah." "You know him, Richard." "No?" "From Cuba?" " Hey,Johnny Roselli." "How ya doin`?" " How ya doin`?" " Dick Nixon." " How are you?" " l never met the man." "Uh" " Well." "I know you`ve, uh, been very careful not to." "That`s why l`m so concerned." "Okay." "They`re off and running!" "You`ll win the nomination." "Yeah, it could be 1 960 all over again, Edgar." " Love you, Dick!" " Sorry, sir." "And Bobby`s got the magic like a goddamn rock star." "They climb all over each other just to touch his clothes." "He`ll ride his brother`s corpse right into the White House." "If things remain as they are, he`s got the antiwar vote." "Or he`ll steal it, like his brother." "Bobby`s a mean little son of a bitch, Edgar." "You know, he had the l.R.S. audit my mother when she was dying in the nursing home." " l know." " Yeah." " Somebody should shoot the son of a bitch." "I wanna fight just as dirty, Edgar." "His women." "Use his women." "Any information you have." "The son of a bitch is not gonna steal from me again." "Can you back me up on this?" "Can I count on your support?" "I look at it from the point of view that the system can only take so much abuse." " Yeah." " lt adjusts itself eventually." " Yeah." " But there are times there are savage outbursts." "The late Dr. King, for example." "A moral hypocrite." "Screwing women like a degenerate tomcat... stirring up the blacks, preaching against our system." "Sometimes a system comes very close to cracking." "We`ve already had one radical in the White House." "I don`t believe it would survive another." "Well, like I said, uh, Edgar" "You ask if you can count on my support." "As long as I can count on yours." "Yeah, the old queen did it on purpose." "You know, he wasn`t protecting me." "He was just putting me on notice." " What?" "That you knewJohnny Roselli?" " No." "Hoover knew a lot of gangsters." "Johnny Roselli wasn`t just any gangster." "Johnny Roselli was one of the gangsters who set up Track 2 in Cuba." "No, I know a man named Bob Engel." "Oh." "Well, I know all about that." "Yeah." "I don`t understand it." "Track 2 is Chile." "Yeah, Chile, Congo, Guatemala, Iran, Cuba." "Wherever there is need for, uh, an executive action capability, there`s a Track 2." "In Cuba, Track 1 was, uh, the Bay of Pigs invasion." "Track 2 was our idea." "We thought that the invasion wouldn`t work unless we got rid of Castro." "So we asked ourselves, uh, who else wants Castro dead... whether Mafia or money people?" "So we put together Track 2." "First assassination attempt was, uh, in `60." " Uh,just before the election." " Before?" "Eisenhower approved that?" "Yeah." "Well, he didn`t veto it." "I ran the White House side and... uh, the Mob contact wasJohnny Roselli." "One of the C.l.A. guys was this jackass..." "Howard Hunt." "Jesus." " Yeah." "Not just Howard Hunt, but Frank Sturgis and all those other Cubans." "All of them in the Watergate" "Uh, they were all involved in Cuba." "Yeah, Hunt reported to my military aide." "I don`t know how much Hunt knows, or, or the Cubans... but...you never know." "So you wanted Castro dead." "Everybody wanted Castro dead." "You know, if Hunt and the others are C.l.A.... why don`t we just dump this back in the C.l.A.`s lap?" " Let Dick Helms take the fall." " Because." "Because Helms knows, knows too much." "If there`s anyone in this country who knows more than me, it`s Hoover and Helms... and you don`t fuck with Dick Helms, period." "All right." "But why, if Kennedy was so clean in all this, didn`t he cancel Track 2?" "Because he didn`t even know about it." "The C.l.A., uh, never told him." "They just kept it going." "Like it had a life of its own, like it was some, uh... kind of a thing,you know?" "Doesn`t even know it exists." "Just eats people when it doesn`t need `em anymore." "Two days after the Bay of Pigs..." "Kennedy called me in and he reamed me out." " He`d just found out about Track 2." " You never told him?" "I didn`t want him-- didn`t want him to get the credit." "He said l`d stabbed him in the back and called me a two-bit grocery clerk from Whittier." "If I kissed you Fever if I held you tight" "Fever in the morning" " Fever all through the night" " That`s the last time I ever saw him." "Play it on a runway in Paris" " The models do a" " See, when I saw Bobby lying there on the floor... arms stretched out like that and his eyes staring..." "Stay back!" "I knew then l`d be president." "His death paved the way, didn`t it?" "Yeah." "Vietnam, the Kennedys... cleared a path through the wilderness just for me." "Over the bodies." "Four bodies." "You mean two." "Two bodies." "Four." "How many did you have?" "Hundreds of thousands?" "Where would we be without death, huh?" "Abe?" "Who`s helping us?" "is it God, or is it... death?" "Harold." "Harold, why don`t you sit down, huh?" "Here." "That was a whopper." "You`ll be able to do it now." " What?" " Go to law school." " Mom and Dad`ll be able to afford it now." " Harold." "Mama expects great things from you." "Can l" " Can I get you anything?" "Relax, Dick." "lt`s just me, huh?" "The desert`s so beautiful, isn`t it?" "I want to go home, Dick." "Time to go home." "You" "You`re not gonna quit on me now, are you, Harold?" "Down came the rain and washed the spider out" "Out came the sun and dried up all the" "The itsy-bitsy spider" "Richard." " l can`t." " Ye must." "This law school, it`s a gift from thy brother." "He had to die for me to get it?" "Something has to come of this." "lt`s meant to make us stronger." "Thee art stronger than Harold, stronger than Arthur." "God has chosen thee to survive." "What about happiness, Mother?" "You will find thy peace at the center, Richard." "Strength in this life, happiness in the next." "Now tell me you didn`t want this, Buddy." "Hey!" "When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down... for four years in a war in Vietnam with no end in sight... when the richest nation in the world can`t manage its own economy... when the nation with the greatest tradition of the rule of law... is plagued by unprecedented lawlessness... when a nation that has been known for a century for equality of opportunity... is torn by unprecedented racial violence... and when the president of the United States cannot travel abroad... or to any major city at home... without fear of a hostile demonstration... then it is time for new leadership for the United States of America." "As we look at America, we see cities enveloped in smoke and flame... millions of Americans crying out in anguish..." ""Did we come all the way for this?" "Did American boys die in Normandy and Valley Forge for this?"" "I pledge to you that the current wave of violence... will not be the wave of the future." "Now let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth-- to find the truth, to speak the truth... and to live the truth." "A new voice is being heard across America today." "It is not the voice of the protestors or the shouters." "It is the quiet voice of the majority of Americans who have been forgotten." "The non-shouters." "The, uh, non-demonstrators." "They`re the good people." "They work hard and they save and they pay their taxes." "Now, who are they?" "Let me tell you who they are." "They`re in this audience by the thousands." "They`re the white Americans and black Americans..." "Mexican-Americans and ltalian-Americans." "They`re the great silent majority... and they have become angry, finally." "Angry, not with hate, but angry, my friends, because they love America... and they don`t like what`s happened to America these last four years." "Let us understand, North Vietnam... cannot defeat or humiliate the United States." "Only Americans can do that!" "I say to you tonight-- l say to you tonight we must have a new feeling of responsibility... of self-discipline." "We must look to renew state and local government." "We must have a complete reform of a big, bloated federal government." " Fear!" " Those of us in public service know... we can have full prosperity in peacetime." "Yes, we can cut the defense budget." "We can reduce, uh, conventional forces in Europe." "We can restore the natural environment." "We can improve health care and make it more available to all people... and yes, we can have a complete reform of this government." "We can have a new American revolution!" "The whole world is watching!" "The whole world is watching!" "The whole world is watching!" "lt`d be a disaster." "There`s a lot of sympathy out there for Cambodia." "Tiny, little neutral Buddhist country?" "They`ll be rioting in the streets, on your front lawn!" "Building the Cambodian army up?" "My God, that would be harder than a Vietnamese army." "They have no tradition." " Mr. President, the government there will collapse" " So you`re saying, do nothing." " That`s what you`re saying." " No, sir." "Continue the bombing." "The same old horseshit." "Well, that`s not good enough." "l`m sick of being pushed around by the, uh, Vietnamese... like we`re some, uh, you know, pitiful giant." "Uh, they`re using our P.O.W.s to humiliate us." "What we need now is a, a bold move into Cambodia... and go right after their, uh, V.C. base camps... and, uh, uh, make `em scream, hit `em in the ass." " What do you think, Henry?" " Well, as you know... most of my staff have weighed in against this incursion." "They believe it will fail to achieve anything fundamental militarily... and will result in crushing criticism domestically." "I didn`t ask what your staff thinks." "What do you think, Henry?" "What I think is, they`re cowards." "Their opposition represents the cowardice of the Eastern establishment." "They don`t realize, as you do, sir... that the Communists only respect strength... and they will only negotiate in good faith if they fear the madman, Richard Nixon." "Exactly." "Unpredictability is our best asset." "We`ve gotta take the war to `em." "Hit `em where it hurts, right in the nuts." "More assassinations, right, Al?" "That`s what they`re doing, Mr. President." "See,your people in the State Department, Bill, they, they don`t understand." " You gotta" " Mr. President." "You gotta electrify people with bold moves." "I mean, bold moves make history, like, uh, Teddy Roosevelt." "T.R., rushing up San Juan Hill." "Small event but dramatic." "The people took notice." "Yes, well, they`ll take notice, all right." "If we sneak out of this war, another will start a mile down the road." "We bite the bullet here in Cambodia." "There." "We bomb the hell out of these people." "Tonight,American and South Vietnamese units... will attack the headquarters of the entire Communist military operation... in South Vietnam." "This is not an invasion of Cambodia." "We take this action not for the purpose of expanding the war into Cambodia... but for the purpose of ending the war in Vietnam." "All across the nation today, major student protest against the U.S. invasion of Cambodia... rocked college campuses." "At Jackson State, two Negro students were killed and ten were wounded." " Unanimously and united behind-- -ln the streets of New York City, student protestors... were attacked by construction workers supporting President Nixon`s policies." "ln Washington,protestors have barricaded the White House..." " You murderer!" "and are camping out at the Lincoln Memorial." "We don`t want your fucking war!" "See, when I think of those kids out there in Vietnam, doing their duty... uh, I bet they were scared." "l-l was when I was there." "Uh" "But when it comes down to it,you really have to look up to these men... because they`re the greatest." "No more war!" "No more war!" "I mean,you see these bums,you know, blowing up the campuses... burning books and so forth... and they call themselves, uh, "flower children."" "I call `em spoiled rotten, and I tell what would cure them." "A good old-fashioned trip to my Ohio father`s woodshed." " Yes." " Right,Julie?" " Right, Dad." "That`s what these bums need." "Well, Kurt, thanks, and congratulations." "That`s what these bums need." "Well, Kurt, thanks, and congratulations." " Thank you, sir." " Yeah, okay." " Thanks, everybody." "Bye." " No more war!" "Less than 24 hours after President Nixon called them "bums"... four students were shot dead at Kent State University in Ohio." "Enraged student groups across the country are calling for a general strike tomorrow..." "to shut down-- -l tell you, the soldiers were provoked." "Now stop this pussyfooting around." "Jesus Christ. I mean, dead kids." "How the hell did we give the Democrats a weapon like this?" "Well, one way or the other, Kent State is not good." " We have to get out in front of this thing." " Follow the money." "The money." " Follow the money." " Sir?" "These kids are being manipulated by the Communists, like Chambers and Hiss." " What`s the matter with you?" " This isn`t `48, Mr. President." "They`ll never buy it." "How do you know that,John?" "What`s Hoover found, for God`s sake?" "Well, he called the other day, sir." "He asked for President Harding." " Maybe we can have, uh, a national prayer day." " Never complain, never explain,John." "Come on." "These are not fraternity pranks,John." " This is anarchy. lt`s a revolution." " l wouldn`t go that far, sir." "Why not?" "Well, is it worth it, sir?" "I mean, is the war worth a one-term presidency?" "Because right now I think that`s what we`re looking at, sir." "I will not go down as the first American president to lose a war." "Going to Cambodia, bombing Hanoi, bombing Laos... buys us time so we can get out and give the South Vietnamese a fighting chance." " Exactly, sir." " Now, if we keep our heads, we`ll win this thing." " What, w-win Vietnam, sir?" " No." " No." "No, but what we can do is drive a stake through the heart of the Communist alliance." "Henry`s getting strong signals from the Chinese." "Oh, they fear the Vietnamese more than the Russians... and they`re worried about a united Vietnam." "Now, if we stick it out, we`ll end up negotiating separately... with both the Chinese and the Soviets... and we`d get better deals than we ever dreamed of from both." "That is triangular diplomacy, gentlemen." "Exactly, Mr. President." "That`s what geopolitics is about." "The linking of the whole world for self-interest." "So,you tell me, Ron, how the hell I can explain that on TV... to a bunch of simpleminded reporters and, uh, weeping mothers." "Uh,yeah, but what am I telling the press about Kent State?" "Ah, tell them what the hell you like. I don`t care." "They don`t understand anyway." "Excuse me, sir." "Are you saying you`re gonna recognize Red China?" "I mean, that would cost us our strongest support." "No, I can do this because I spent my whole career... building anti-Communist credentials." "If Kennedy orJohnson had tried it, they`d have crucified them, and rightfully so." "Damned risky, Mr. President." "Why don`t we wait until the second term?" " This`ll get us a second term,John." " This will get me a second term." "Damn it!" "Without risk, there`s no heroism, there`s no history." "Nixon was born to do this." "Give history a nudge." " Come on!" " Hear, hear." "I mean, if Cambodia doesn`t work... we`ll bomb Hanoi if we have to." "That`s right." "And if necessary, l`ll drop the big one." "We have to entertain the possibility." "Goddamn it!" "Who cooked this damn steak?" "Manolo, there`s blood all over my plate." "Take it away." "l`m sorry, sir." " You all right?" " Yeah." "My brother Harold was the same age as those kids,John." " Tuberculosis got him." " Come on. lt wasn`t your fault." "The soldiers were kids too." "They just panicked." "Yeah." "They were throwing rocks,John." "Just rocks." "They don`t think I feel, but I feel too much sometimes." "I just can`t let our whole policy be dominated by our sentimentality." "You`re doing the right thing." "Don`t let `em shake you." "No." "You know, it broke my heart when Harold died." "Oh, that was a long time ago." "Yeah. I think that`s when it starts, when you`re a kid." "The laughs and snubs and slights you get... because you`re poor or Irish orJewish or... just ugly." "Get off that." "That leads nowhere." "But you should offer condolences to the families of those kids." "Sure." "l`d like to. l`d like to offer my condolences." "But Nixon can`t." "Manolo?" " Manolo?" " Mr. President." " Yeah." " l-l`m sorry. l-- l was asleep." "What can I get you?" " Well,you know." " Of course." "Do you miss Cuba, Manolo?" "Yes, Mr. President." "We let you down, didn`t we?" "Your people." "That was Mr. Kennedy, sir." "Oh." "You don`t think he was a hero, do you?" "He was a politician." "Did you cry when he died?" "Yes, sir." "Why?" "I don`t know. l" "He... made me... see the stars." "How did he do that?" "Those kids." "Why do they hate me so much?" "He has loosed the fateful lightning" "Of his terrible swift sword" "His truth is marching on I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps" "They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps I can read his righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps" "His day is marching on" "I have read the fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel" "As ye deal with my contemner so with you my grace shall deal" " Let the Hero born of woman - l`m telling you, it`s the president." "Crush the serpent with His heel" "Hi. l`m Dick Nixon." "Hi there." " Hi." "Where you from?" " Syracuse." "Oh,yeah, the, uh, Orangemen." "Now there`s a football program." "Uh" "Jim Brown and that, uh, other, uh, tailback... the, uh, the one with the blood disease." " Ernie Davis." " Yeah, right, right, right." "I used to play a little ball myself at Whittier." "Of course, they used to use me as a, a tackling dummy." "We didn`t come here to talk about football." "Yeah, I understand that." "Uh, how old are you,young lady?" " Nineteen." " Yeah." "Well, probably most of you think l`m a real S.O.B." " l know that, and, uh" " That`s right." " Yeah." "I understand how you feel, but,you know, I want peace too." " But peace with honor." " What does that mean?" " This is all bullshit." " Well,you can`t have peace without a price." "Sometimes you have to be, uh, willing to fight for peace... and sometimes to die." "Yeah?" "Tell that to the G.l.s who are gonna die tomorrow in Vietnam." " What`s that got to do with Vietnam?" " What lets you kill women and children?" "What you have to understand, Mr. Nixon, is we`re willing to die for what we believe in." " That`s right." " Yeah." " lt`s the truth." "Yeah." "Look." "That man up there." "He lived in similar times." "Oh, he had chaos and civil war and hatred between the races." " This is all bullshit." " Sometimes I go to the Lincoln Room at the White House... and just pray." "You know, uh, liberals act like idealism belongs to them." "That`s not true." "No." "My family went Republican because Lincoln freed the slaves." "My grandmother was an abolitionist." "It was Quakers who founded Whittier, my hometown..." " What is this?" " uh, to abolish slavery." "They were,you know, conservative Bible folk... but they had a powerful sense of right and wrong, and, uh" "Well, 40 years ago, l-- l was like you." " Looking for answers, see?" " Come on." " Yeah, right." " Tricky Dick himself." "My mother used to feed hobos stopping over at our house." " Patrol, we got him." " Don`t push, pig!" " Clear the way." " Okay, Bob, we`re just rapping, my friends and I." "In fact, we agree on a lot of things, don`t we?" " No, we don`t." " Fascists." "You say you wanna end the war." "So why don`t you?" "Change always comes slowly." "I pulled out more than half the troops." "l-l`m trying to cut the military budget for the first time in 30 years." "I want a, a volunteer army, but it`s also a question of American credibility... our-- our position in the world." "Come on, Mr. Nixon." "lt`s a civil war between Vietnamese." "You don`t want the war." "We don`t want the war." "The Vietnamese don`t want the war." "So why does it go on?" " You should be going, Mr. President." " Okay." "Please." "You can`t stop it, can you?" "Even if you wanted to." "`Cause it`s not you." "lt`s the system." "The system won`t let you stop it." "That`s right." "There`s-- There`s more at stake here... than what you want or what I want." "Then what`s the point?" "What`s the point of being president?" "You`re powerless!" "No." "No, l`m not powerless." "Because" " Because I understand the system. I believe I can, uh-- l can control it." "Maybe not control it totally, but, uh... tame it enough to make it do some good." "Sounds like you`re talking about a wild animal." " Yeah, maybe I am." " We really must go, Mr. President." " Please." " Make way." " What about the war?" " Come on!" " When you gonna get us out?" " The old man`s moving." " Come on." "Move it." "Move it." "Get away." "She got it, Bob." "Nineteen-year-old college kid." " What?" "Who?" " She understood something... that`s taken me 25 years in politics to understand." "The C.l.A., the Mafia, those Wall Street bastards." " Sir?" " The beast." " Nineteen-year-old kid." "She called it a wild animal." " Yes, sir." "Called before His judgment seat" "Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him" "Be jubilant, my feet" "Our God is marching on" "Glory, glory, hallelujah" "Glory-- ln Washington, the size of the crowds have swelled... to over a quarter of a million demonstrators protesting the ongoing war in Vietnam." "What`s wrong?" "We`re just not going to buckle to these people." "No more war!" "Beautiful." "Yes, thank you." "Princess, may I?" "Thank you." "l`m very proud of you today, Princess." "Very." "Thank you, Daddy." "Yeah?" "Some very secret essays on Vietnam have been leaked to the New York Times." "I know!" "I know!" "Not now, Chuck!" " The New York Times." " Get Ron over here." "lt`s the happiest day of my life." "The New York Times began publishing today... the first in a series of 47 volumes of top-secret Pentagon tapes... relating to the war in Vietnam." "The papers, leaked by defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg... reveal a systematic pattern of government lies and American involvement in the war." "Mr. President, we are in a revolutionary situation." "We are under siege." "The Black Panthers, the Weathermen." "The State Department under Rogers is leaking like a sieve." "And now, this little insignificant little shit Ellsberg... publishing all the diplomatic secrets of this country... is destroying our ability to conduct foreign policy." "I wonder if there are many people here who wouldn`t think that ten years in prison... was very cheap if they could contribute to ending this war." "The man has become a drug fiend." "He shot people from helicopters in Vietnam." "He`s had sexual relations with his wife in front of their children." "He sees a shrink in L.A. The man`s all fucked up." "And now he`s trying to look good for the liberals." "And if he gets away with it, everybody will follow his lead." "This man must be stopped at all costs." "l`m as frustrated as you are, Henry, but don`t you think this is a Democrat problem?" "They started the war." "It makes them look bad." "But, Mr. President, the Russians, the Vietnamese-  lt makes you look like a weakling." " Goddamn it!" "How long have we had this jackass dog?" "Two years, and he still doesn`t come." "We need a dog that looks happy when the press is around here." "He`s photogenic.Just try new biscuits." "Aw, fuck it!" "He doesn`t like me,John." "lt`s your fault, Henry." " l beg your pardon?" " lt`s your people who are talking to the press." "Uh, this Ellsberg." "Wasn`t he a student of yours at Harvard?" "I mean, uh, he`s your idea, Henry." "So why are you running for cover?" "Well,yes, we taught a class together at Harvard... b-but you know these backstabbing Ivy League intellectuals." "They" " No, I don`t, Henry. I don`t." " We can prosecute the New York Times." "Go for an injunction." "Yeah, but it`s not, bottom line, gonna change a goddamn thing,John." "The... question is, how do we screw Ellsberg so bad... it puts the fear of God into all leakers?" "The other issue is, how the hell do we stop these leaks once and for all?" "Now, someone is talking to the press." "We gotta stop these leaks at any cost, Henry." "You hear me?" "Then we can go for the big pic" " China." "Russia." " Sir, if I might?" " Go, Chuck." "We can do this ourselves." "The C.l.A. and the F.B.l. aren`t doing the job." "Now, we can create our own intelligence unit right here, inside the White House." " Well, why not?" " Our own intelligence capability?" " To plug the leaks?" " Yeah." " Like plumbers." " Plumbers." "I like it." "I like the idea." "Yeah, but, uh, is it legal?" "Has it ever been done before?" "Hát persze." "Lyndon,J.F.K., F.D.R." "I mean, uh, Truman, uh, cut the shit out of my investigation... of the Hiss case back in `48." "And what he did was illegal." "You know, this kind of thing, you gotta be brutal." "A leak happens, the whole damn place should be fired." "Really. I mean,you do it like the Germans in World War ll." "If they went through these towns, and a sniper hit one of`em... they`d line the whole goddamn town up and say..." ""Now, until you talk, you`re all getting shot."" "Really, I think that`s what has to be done." "I don`t think you can be Mr. Nice Guy anymore." "You just whisper the word to me, Mr. President, and l`ll shoot Ellsberg myself." " We`re not Germans." " Yeah." "Ellsberg`s not the issue." "Pentagon papers aren`t the issue." "lt`s the lie." " Mr. Hiss is lying." " Yeah." "Remember,John, back in `48?" "Nobody believed Alger Hiss was a Communist except me." "Well, they loved Hiss like they love this Ellsberg character." "He was their kind." "Ivy League establishment." "I am not, and never have been" " Mr. Hiss is lying." " Mr. Hiss?" "I was dirt to them." "Nothing." "And Dick kicked the shit out of`em." "I wouldn`t have if Hiss hadn`t lied about knowing Chambers." "The documents were old and out-of-date, just like these Pentagon papers." "The key thing we proved was that Hiss was a liar." "Then people bought that he was a spy." "lt`s the lie that gets you." "All right, Henry, we`re gonna go your way." "Crush this Ellsberg same way we did Hiss." "There is no other choice, Mr. President." "We`re gonna hit him so hard, he`ll look like everything that`s sick and evil... about the Eastern establishment." "You and your plumbers,you`re gonna get all the dirt on this guy." "Let`s see him going to the bathroom in front of the American public." "And when we finish with him, they`ll crucify him." "Then we`ll get our second term." "The claws are out, Frank." " You seen the guys?" " They`re around." "Why?" "You got a customer?" "The White House." " You`re fuckin` me." " We`re gonna be Plumbers, Frank." "We`re gonna plug leaks." " Who we workin` for?" " Guy named Gordon Liddy." "Thinks he`s Martin Bormann." "He wants to meet you." "Gordon Liddy." "Frank Sturgis." "Hey, Frank." "Did you see the look on Hoover`s face?" "He was redder than a beet." "That little closet fairy`s got no choice." "He hates McGovern and Kennedy so much, he`s gotta love me." " And Lyndon?" " He looked old, didn`t he?" " Have you talked to Lyndon?" " Yeah, I asked him..." ""Lyndon, what would you do on a scale of one to ten?"" "And he said, uh, "Bomb the shit out of Hanoi, boy." "Bomb them where they live." Yeah." "Bob, tell Trini l`ll be in, uh, Key Biscayne at 4:00." " With Pat?" " No, alone." "Uh, Pat`s staying here with Mrs. Eisenhower." " Yes, sir." " Good." "Hi, Buddy." "What are you doing here?" "I missed you." "Why don`t we go down to Key Biscayne together?" "Because I have to relax." "You know, I was, uh, just thinking tonight." "Remember when you used to drive me on dates with other boys?" "Yeah." "You didn`t want to let me out of your sight." "Yeah." "Sure." "A long time ago." "Yes, it`s been a long time." "Now, look, Buddy." "I don`t need that." "And l`m notJack Kennedy." "No,you`re not." "So stop comparing yourself to him." "You have no reason to." "You have everything you ever wanted." "You earned it." "Why can`t you just enjoy it?" "I do. I do. ln my own way." "Then what are you scared of, honey?" "l`m not scared, Buddy." "You don`t understand." "They`re playing for keeps, Buddy." "You know, the press, the kids, the liberals out there." "They`re out there trying to figure out how to tear me down." " They`re all your enemies?" " Yes." "You personally?" "Yes!" "Listen." "This is about me." "Why can`t you understand that?" "I mean,you of all people." "lt`s not the war." "lt`s Nixon!" "lt`s not Vietnam. lt`s Nixon." "They want to destroy Nixon." "And if I expose myself just the slightest bit... they`ll tear my insides out." "You want that?" "You know?" "You wanna see that, Buddy." "lt`s not pretty,you know?" "Sometimes I think that`s what you want, Dick." "What the hell are you saying?" "Are you drunk?" "Jesus,you sound just like them now." "I gotta keep fighting, Buddy, for the country." "These people running things, the elite... they`re just soft, chicken-shit faggots." "They don`t have the long-term vision anymore." "They just wanna cover their ass and meet girls and tear each other down." "Oh, God, this country`s in deep, deep, deep trouble, Buddy." "I have to see this through, you know?" "Mother would have expected no less of me." "l`m sorry, Buddy." "I just wish you knew how much I love you, that`s all." "It took me a long time to fall in love with you, Dick." "But I did." "And it doesn`t make you happy." " You want them to love you." " No, I don`t." "N-No." "l`m notJack Kennedy." "They never will, Dick." "No matter how many elections you win, they never will." "History will never be the same." "We`re taking a step towards the future." " Oye, Liddy." "Aquí tengo folder." " We have changed the world." " Five, ten." " All right." "Let`s see what else." "What else you have?" "What else you got?" "I must say,you look, uh, very good, Mr. Chairman." "Looks can be deceiving." "We know what risks you`ve taken in inviting us here." "I took no risk." "I am too old to be afraid of what anyone thinks." "Don`t ever trust them." "They never tell the truth... or honor their commitments." "Vietnamese are like Russians." "Both are dogs." "Mr. Chairman, there`s an old saying in my country:" "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." " That has added virtue of being true." " Yeah." "Your writings have changed the world, Mr. Chairman." "Bullshit." "My writings mean absolutely nothing." "I want to know your secret." "My secret, Mr. Chairman?" "How a fat man gets so many girls." "Power, Mr. Chairman... is the ultimate aphrodisiac." "You know, I voted for you in your last election." "I was the lesser of two evils." "You are too modest, Mr. Nixon." "You are as evil as I am." "We are the new emperors." "We are both from poor families... and others pay to feed the hunger in us." "In my case, millions of reactionaries." "In your case, millions of Vietnamese." "Civil war is always the cruelest kind of war... but our two nations were forged by revolution." "The United States, China." "Peace?" "is peace all you`re interested in?" "The real war is in us." "History is a symptom of our disease." "In a surprise Christmas bombing of Hanoi..." "President Nixon today delivered more tonnage than was used at Dresden in World War ll." "It is without doubt the most brutal bombing in American history." "Newspapers are calling it a stone-age tactic... and Nixon a maddened tyrant." "Nixon`s response:" ""When the Vietnamese take the Paris peace talks seriously... l`ll stop.`'" "Penny for your thoughts." "Just think of the" "Think of the life Mao`s led." "In `52, l-- l called him a monster." "Now he could be our most important ally." "Only Nixon could`ve done that." "You`re a long way from Whittier." "Yep." "Yes, I am." " Congratulations, Dick." " Mr. Ziegler." "Mr. President, the press guys asked if you could come back for a minute." " To hell with them." " l`ll go back, Mr. President." "No, they" " They want you, Mr. President. l-  l think it would be a good move." " Oh?" " Who`s back there?" " Everybody." "Okay." "Gentlemen, I go now to discover the exact length... width and depth of the shaft." " Ladies and gentlemen, the president." " Oh, it`s the president." " Hi." " Hello." " Hi." " Hi." " Mr. President." " Congratulations, sir." " Bravo!" "Well done!" " You did a good job, sir." " Restored the confidence again." " Thank you, sir." " We`re proud of you, sir." " Thank you." "Well... it looks to me like we`re gonna lose a war for the first goddamn time." "Yep." "And you`re goin` right along with it, Dick." "Buyin` into this Kissinger bullshit... this... detente with Communists." "Detente." "Sounds like a couple of fags dancin`." "Jack, we`re not living in the same country you and I knew in `46." "Our people are just not gonna sacrifice in major numbers for war." "Can`t even get `em to accept the cuts in their gas tanks." "Now, the Arabs and thejapanese are draining the gold reserves" "And whose fault is that?" "If we`d won in Vietnam, we wouldn`t be having this conversation." "lt`s nobody`s fault,Jack. lt`s, uh, change. lt`s a fact of history." "Even that old cocksucker J. Edgar Hoover`s dead." "Now, who would`ve thought that possible?" "How`s the food over there in China, Mr. Nixon?" "Oh, it`s delicious if you`re president." "So, what are you gonna do about that Allende fella... nationalizing our businesses in Chile?" "You gonna send Kissinger down there?" "We`re gonna get rid of him" " Allende, I mean--Just as fast as we can." " He`s at the top of the list." " How about Kissinger along with him?" "Now, Kissinger`s misunderstood." "He acts like a liberal for his establishment friends... but he`s even tougher than I am." "So Kissinger stays." "Just like Castro, Mr. Nixon." "Yeah." "He stays." "And you are comfortable with that decision, huh?" "Desi`s got a point." "What the hell are we gonna do about the Communists right here in our own backyard?" "What do you really mean,Jack?" "I mean I got federal price controls on my oil." "And the ragheads are beatin` the shit out of me, Dick!" "And your E.P.A. environmental agency... has got his thumb so far up my ass, it`s scratchin` my ear!" "John, I think it`s about time for us to be" " Let him finish, Bob." "And I got a federaljudge ordering me to bus my grandkids halfway across this town... to go to school with some nigger kids." "Now, Dick-- Mr. President-- aren`t you forgetting who put you where you are?" "The American people put me where l am,Jack." "Really." "Well, that can be changed." "In a heartbeat." "Jack, l`ve learned politics is the art of compromise." "I learned it the hard way." "I don`t know if you have." "Well, let me tell you this,Jack." "If you don`t like it, there`s an election in November... and you can take your money out in the open and give it to Wallace." "How about it,Jack?" "You willing to do that?" "Hand this country over to some pansy poet socialist like George McGovern?" "`Cause if you`re not happy with the E.P.A. up your ass... try the l.R.S." "Goddamn, Dick." "You`re not threatenin` me, are ya?" "Presidents don`t threaten,Jack." "They don`t have to." "Good day to you, gentlemen." "Thank you." "With third-party candidate George Wallace out of the race... paralyzed by an assassin`s bullet..." "Richard Nixon has crushed George McGovern... in the 1 972 presidential election." " lt is the second biggest landslide..." " Four more years!" " in American history." " Four more years!" "Four more years!" "As the new term begins, it does not seem... the Watergate investigations have damaged Nixon politically... in any significant way." "Probably our biggest achievement as an administration, when it`s all said and done... isn`t China or Russia." "lt`s pulling out of Vietnam without a right-wing revolt." "I believe you`re right." "But even the presidency isn`t enough anymore." "Sir?" "The presidency by itself won`t protect us, Bob." "We`re beyond politics now." "Mr. Ehrlichman." "Yeah." "Sir,just in from Paris." " The Vietnamese have accepted Henry`s peace proposal." " Good." " The bombing worked, sir." "They`re caving." " Oh, congratulations." " Congratulations." " This is a great victory." " That`s wonderful!" "The mad bomber theory wasn`t so crazy after all." "And Henry is coming back to join us." "You know, he wants to be included..." " in all the photographs, of course." " There`s a surprise." " This could be it." "This could be it." " Yes, sir." "Four long years." "Geez." "Incidentally, sir, I don`t know if this is the right time, but you should know..." "Bill Sullivan over at the F.B.l. got back to us with his report on Kissinger." " l didn`t wanna bring it up right now because of the" " Go on." "Well, Sullivan... thinks he`s the one." "Henry`s the leaker." "Yeah, I knew it. I knew it from `69 on, and I said it all along, didn`t I?" " Yeah, I remember." " l didn`t, Bob." "Come on." "Looks like he talked to Joe Kraft and the Times." "Claims that he was dead set against the bombing... that you are unstable, and that he has to handle you with kid gloves." "That explains his press notices." "Working both sides of the fence." "Jew-boy Henry." "My God." "He talked to the New York Times?" " Yes, he did." " We oughta fire his whining ass right now, when he`s on top." "And you know what, sir?" "lt`d set the right example for the rest of this administration." "I would personally volunteer for that assignment right now." "No." "No." "No, he`s our only star right now." "He`d go crying to the press." "He`d... crucify us." "Son of a bitch." "Get someone on our staff on his ass." "Tap his phones." "I wanna know everyone he talks to." "Let`s see how long the Kissinger mystique lasts." "So,John, what about these Watergate clowns?" "This Sirica`s crazy." "Thirty-five year sentence." "The" " No weapons, right?" "No injuries." "There`s no success." "lt`s just ridiculous." "Sirica`s just trying to force someone to testify, but they`re solid." "What about this Washington Post crap?" "Woodwind and Fernstein." " Bernstein, sir." " Who the fuck are they, anyway?" "Bob,you working on revoking their television license?" " Yes, sir, I am." " Good." "Well, they`re trying to connect Bob and John with the secret fund." " But they don`t have much." " They don`t have anything." "The F.B.l.`s feeding me their reports." "I didn`t think you should lose any more sleep over it, sir." "Good man,John." "Good man." "Oh!" "I can therefore announce that... our long and tragic involvement in Vietnam is at an end." "Our mission is accomplished." "We have a cease fire... and our prisoners of war are coming back home." "South Vietnam has the right to determine its own future." "So, we have peace with honor." " The president will take some of your questions now." " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" " Dan." "Sir, isn`t it true that little has been achieved in this peace agreement... that the Communists have not been offering since 1 969... that in fact your administration has needlessly prolonged the war... and at certain stages escalated it to new levels of violence?" "I will try to..." " answer that question in some detail." " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" " What is your reaction toJames McCord`s statement... that high-level White House officials were involved in the Watergate break-in?" " Why, that`s the dumbest thing l`ve ever heard." " Sir." "Sir." " Stan." " The Washington Post is reporting that..." "Mr. Haldeman and Ehrlichman secretly dispersed up to $900,000 in campaign funds." " ls there any truth to that?" " Now, let me make this perfectly clear." "I will not respond to the charges of the Washington Post." "Nor will I comment on a matter that is currently before the courts." " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" " Sir!" " Sir!" " Here, sir!" "Sir, do you intend to cooperate with Senator Ervin`s committee?" "Will you agree to the appointment of a special prosecutor?" " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" " Mr. President!" "Mr. President!" "Thank you." "Thank you!" " Mr. President!" "Mr. President!" " Mr. President, shouldn`t you" "Ron, get in there and do something!" "I end the longest war in American history, and they keep harping on this chicken-shit" "God!" "You know who`s behind this, don`t you?" "Teddy Kennedy." "Yeah, he drowns a broad in his car, and he can`t run for president" "He did get pretty burned at Chappaquiddick." "Yeah, my point exactly." "Somebody had to die before he got his shit in the papers." "Fucking Kennedys get away with everything." "Goddamn `em!" "You see me screwin` everything that moves?" "And for Christ`s sake, I did what the New York Times editorial page seven... said for me to do!" "I ended the war!" "I got SALT I with the Russians;" "I opened China." "So why are these assholes turning on me?" "`Cause they don`t like the way I look." "They don`t like where l went to school." " Because they`re not Americans." " Yeah, right." "They don`t trust-- They don`t trust America." "Why would they?" "Huh?" "They just come here to stick their snouts in the trough." "Who are these people?" "Sulzberger." "Their parents are gold traders from Eastern Europe, with all due respect, Henry." "And they buy things." "They come here to "Jew" York City and they buy up things... and one of the things they buy, Mr. President, is the New York Times." "You know what?" "You should be proud, because they`ll never trust you, sir." "Because we speak for the average American." "You know why they`re turning on me?" "lt`s because they`re not serious about power, that`s why." "They`re playing with power." "They`re forgetting the national interest." "In the old days, people knew how to hold power." "How to set limits." "They wouldn`t have torn this country apart over a third-rate burglary." "For Christ`s sake... now all they care about is-- is their egos, looking good at cocktail parties." "Beating out other papers and chasing girls." "Wondering whether someone said something nice about them." "All short-term frivolous bullshit,you know." " Ben Bradlee worrying about Teddy Kennedy liking him." " Prick." " Get Mr. Dean in here, will you?" " Mr. President, I fear we are drifting towards oblivion here." "We are playing a totally reactive game." "We have to get ahead of the ball." "Now, we all know that you are clean." "Right?" "Then let`s take off the gloves." " Let`s do a housecleaning." " Housecleaning?" "No, it could be ugly, Henry, really ugly." "It must be done, sir." "Your government is paralyzed." "All kinds of shit could come out." "The Ellsberg thing." "Yeah, even you knew about that one, didn`t you, Henry?" "Well, I heard something." "It sounded idiotic." ""idiotic." Yeah, I suppose it was." "I thought it was your idea to expose Ellsberg as a sex fiend." "I guess somebody just took you too literally." "I never suggested that a bunch of imbeciles break into a psychiatrist`s office." "It doesn`t matter, Henry." "The point is you might lose some of your media darling halo... if the media starts sniffing around our dirty laundry." "Sir, I never had anything to do with that, and I resent the implication that" "Resent it all you want, Henry, but you`re in with the rest of us." "Cambodia." "Ellsberg." "The wire taps you put in." "The president wants you to know you can`t just click your heels and head back to Harvard Yard." "lt`s your ass too, Henry, and it`s in the wind, twisting with everyone else`s." " Sir." " Yeah." "There are times when even the president... can go too far." "Played it perfectly, sir." "That cocksucker`ll think twice before he leaks again." "Yeah." "He`ll be looking in his toilet bowl every time he pulls the chain." "Pardon them all." "Hunt and the Cubans have nothing to lose now." "Nobody`s gonna investigate a crime for which the criminals have already been pardoned." " Yeah, I like that. I like-- That`s a good solution." " Yeah, but it`ll never do." "Pardoning them means we`re all guilty." "The press, the people will go nuts." "What am I supposed to do,just sit here and watch them coming closer... eating their way to the center?" "Lyndon bugged; so did Kennedy." "F.D.R. cut a deal with Lucky Luciano." "Christ, even Eisenhower had a-- a mistress." "What`s so special about me?" "Huh?" "I don`t know." "I just know we`ve made too many enemies." "Now, there are... things I can say when other people say them, they`d be lies." "When I say them, nobody believes me anyway." "Then we`re going to have to give them Mitchell." "Mitchell`s family." "Either it goes to Mitchell, or it comes here." "John`s right, boss." "lt`s not personal." "lt`s just the way the game is played." "Sometimes you gotta punt." "Hey, he`s wrong,you know." " About Kennedy, L.B.J. and Truman." " How so?" "Well, I mean, sure, they did stuff, Bob, but nothing like this." "I mean, forget about the break-in, the, the, the enemies list." "The, uh" " You know." "You got the attempted firebombing of the Brookings Institution." "Planting McGovern`s stuff on the guy that shot Wallace." "Trying to slip L.S.D. toJack Anderson." "The old man plays politics harder than anybody else,John." "You think this is about politics?" "You think L.B.J. would ever have asked Hunt to forge a cable... implicating Kennedy in the assassination of the president of Vietnam?" " How long have you known him?" "About 20 years?" " This is the Roosevelt Room... named after our 26th president." "This is about Richard Nixon." "I mean,you got people dying because he didn`t make the varsity football team." "You got the Constitution hanging by a thread... because he went to Whittier, not to Yale." "And what is this Bay of Pigs thing anyway?" "Goes white every time you mention it." "lt`s a code or something." "Well, shit, even I figured that out." "No, I think he means" " The Kennedy assassination." " Yeah?" "They went after Castro, and in some crazy way it got turned back on Kennedy." "I don`t think the old man knows what happened." "But he`s afraid to find out, I can tell you that." "He`s shitting peach pits every time he thinks about it." " Created a Frankenstein with those damn Cubans." " Ohh!" "Eight words back in `72:" ""l covered up." "I was wrong. l`m sorry."" "And the American public would`ve forgiven him." "But we never opened our mouths,John." "We failed him." "Dick Nixon saying "l`m sorry"?" "That`ll be the day." "His whole suit of armor would fall off." " So...you tell Mitchell." " Yeah." "And,John,you do know that we`re next, don`t you?" "You`re early,John." "If you`d been that stealthy at the Watergate, we wouldn`t be in this mess." "I was... sorry to hear about your wife." "Yes." "I got the money." "The president would like to know if that was the last payment." " l`ll bet he would." " ls it?" "In Richard Nixon`s long history of underhanded dealings... he`s never had better value for his money." "If I were to open my mouth, all the dominoes would fall." "Can I ask you a question?" "How the hell do you have the temerity to blackmail the president of the United States?" "That`s not the question,John." "The question is, why is he paying?" " To protect his people." " l`m one of his people." "The Cubans are his people." "And we`re going to jail for him." "Howard,you will serve no more than two years." "Then he`ll pardon you." "Maybe." "Maybe not." "But you don`t leave your men on the beach,John." "You don`t make them beg for their money like thieves." "You don`t dump men with families who`ve served their country." "He didn`t know." "This thing has gotten outta hand." "He" "Do you think a man as controlled as Richard Nixon would`ve allowed a break-in... at the Democratic National Headquarters without knowing it?" "You really thinkJohn Mitchell or Bob Haldeman wouldn`t have run it by him at least once?" "The president`s men did nothing-- nothing without Richard Nixon`s permission." "John, sooner or later-- sooner, I think--you`re going to learn the lesson that`s been learned... by everyone who`s ever gotten close to Richard Nixon" "That he`s the darkness... reaching out for the darkness." "And eventually, it`s either you or him." "Your grave`s already been dug,John." "F.B.l. director-designate L. Patrick Gray... shocked the Senate by revealing that John Dean... has been secretly receiving F.B.l. reports on Watergate." " Crown, this is Echo Six." " How are you, sir?" "Gray also said that Dean lied when he claimed Howard Hunt... did not have an office in the White House." " How is he?" " He`s in a bad mood." "He`s running late." "Have a seat." "This is the sort of thing Mafia people can do, washing money and things like that." "We just don`t know about these things because we`re not criminals." "How much you need?" "I would say these people will cost... a million dollars over the next two years." " We could get that." " Uh-huh." "Get a million dollars in cash." "I know where it could be gotten." "l`m still not confident we can ride through this." "Some people are gonna have to go to jail." "Hunt`s not the only problem." "Haldeman let me use the $350,000 cash fund... in his safe to make the payments." "Ehrlichman had a role-- a big role-- in the Ellsberg break-in." "Oh, l-- l don`t know about that." "And" " And l`m-- l think it`s time we begin to think in terms of cutting our losses." "Yeah." "Are you saying" " You`re saying cut our losses,John, and all the rest." "And,you know, suppose the thing blows and they indict Bob and the others?" "Jesus,you`d never recover from that,John. I mean" "No, it`s better to fight it out instead and not let people testify." "Sir, l-- l still don`t think we can contain this anymore." "There`s a cancer on the presidency and it`s growing with every day that we" "Jesus,you know, every" "Everything`s a crisis among the upper intellectual types, the softheads." "But the average people don`t think it`s much of a crisis. I mean" "For Christ`s sake, this is not Vietnam." "No one is dying here." " l mean, isn`t it ridiculous?" " l-- l agree." " lt`s-- lt`s ridiculous, but-- - lt`s goddamn crazy!" "Goldwater was right when he said, for Christ`s sakes, everybody bugs everybody else." "We know that." "lt`s the cover-up,John, not the deed, that`s really bad here." "If only Mitchell could just step up and take the brunt of it,you know." "You know, give `em the hors d`oeuvre." "Maybe they won`t come back for the main course." "No." "You know, that`s the tragedy in all this." "Mitchell`s gonna get it in the neck anyway, so it`s time he assumed responsibility." "They`re not paying attention." "He won`t." "He`s told Ehrlichman he won`t." "You tell my good friend Dick... I got suckered into this thing by not paying attention to what these bastards were doing." "I don`t have a guilty conscience, and he shouldn`t either." "Yeah." "Well, he`s right." "Maybe it is time to go the hang-out route,John." "A full and thorough investigation." "We`ve cooperated with the F.B.l. We`ll cooperate with the Senate." " What have we gotta hide?" " No, we`ve nothing to hide." "No." "Nothing to hide." "You know, the only-- the only fault in the plan is... they`re not gonna believe the truth anyway; that`s the incredible thing." "I agree." "lt`s-- lt`s tricky." "Everything seems to lead back here." " People would never understand." " No." "John, I want you to get away from this madhouse. I want" " These reporters." "I want you to go up to Camp David for the weekend and I want you to write up a report." "Put everything you know about Watergate in there and say..." ""Mr. President, here it all is." Okay?" "You want me to put it all in writing over my signature?" "Well, uh, nobody knows more about this thing than you do,John." "And, uh,you know, the details." "And that stuff I don`t know." "But" " Heh." "Uh-huh." "Sir..." "l`m not going to be the scapegoat for this." "Haldeman and Ehrlichman are in it just as deep as I." "No, now,John,you don`t wanna start down that road." "l" " You know, I remember..." "Whittaker Chambers telling me back in `48" "And he was a man who suffered greatly,you know." "And he said, "On the road of the informer, it is always night."" "Now... it`s beyond you or even me,John." " lt`s-- lt`s the country." " Yeah." " lt`s the presidency." " l understand that, sir." "You know, l" " You know how I feel about loyalty." "l-- l`m not gonna let any of my people go to jail, that I promise you." "Now, the important thing is is just to keep this away from Haldeman and Ehrlichman." "And l`m trusting you to do this,John, and I have complete confidence in you." "Okay?" " l`ll work on it." " Okay." "Now you say hi to that beautiful wife of yours, will you?" " Yes, sir." " Good." "Shit." " lt happens." " This place is a shambles." " Yeah." " Hey!" "I was determined that we should get to the bottom of Watergate... and the truth should be fully brought out, no matter who was involved." "Today, in one of the most difficult decisions of my presidency... I accepted the resignations of two of my closest associates in the White House..." "Bob Haldeman andjohn Ehrlichman... two of the finest public servants it has been my privilege to know." "More light, Chief?" "." "No, Bob." " Six bodies." " Counsel to the president, John Dean, has also resigned." "I will not place the blame on subordinates... on people whose zeal exceeded their judgment... and who may have done wrong in a cause they deeply believed to be right." "In any organization, the man at the top must bear the responsibility." "That responsibility, therefore, belongs here in this office, and I accept that." "There can be no whitewash at the White House." "Two wrongs do not make a right." "Now, I love America." "God bless America, and God bless each and every one of you." "And we`re clear." "Out." "Thank you." "Are you going to Key Biscayne?" " Yeah." " When?" "Tomorrow." "Ron told me that, um..." "Bob Haldeman has been calling, but you won`t talk to him." "If he`s convicted, will you pardon him?" "No." "Why are you cutting yourself off from the rest of us?" " Can`t we discuss this?" " What exactly did you want to discuss, Pat?" "You." "What you`re doing." " What am I doing?" " l... wish I knew." "You`re hiding." " Hiding what?" " Whatever it is you`ve always been hiding." "You`re letting it destroy you, Dick." "You won`t even ask for hel" "Manolo, uh, Mrs. Nixon`s finished." "I am the only one left, Dick." "If you don`t even talk to me" "Brezhnev`s coming in three days." "I don`t wanna deal with them and him... and you." "How much more-- How much more is it going to cost?" "When do the rest of us stop paying off your debts?" "l`d like to finish my dinner in peace... if it`s not too much to ask." "No, it isn`t." "I won`t interfere with you anymore." "l`m finished trying." "Thank you." ""Thank you"?" "Dick, sometimes I understand why they hate you." "The committee will come to order, and counsel will call the first witness." " Thank you." " Mr.John W. Dean, lll." "After I departed the president`s office... I subsequently went to a meeting with Haldeman and Ehrlichman to discuss the matter further." "The sum and substance of that discussion was... the way to handle this now was for Mitchell to step forward." "It was a tremendous disappointment to me because it was quite clear... that the cover-up, as far as the White House was-- was concerned, was going to continue." " Why is he doing this?" "He`s our goddamn lawyer." " l recall the-- lf he had a problem, why didn`t he come talk with us?" "Just remember, the weasel`s got no proof." " l, for the first time, said-- - lt`s still an informer`s word against the president`s." "...were all indictable for obstruction of justice." "And that was the reason I was disagreeing with all that was being discussed..." " Give `em hell, General." " at that point in time." "Mao taught me in 1 963... if I have nuclear weapons... let 400 million Chinese die... 300 million will be left." " Mao." " Yeah." " You want to know what happened?" "I can tell you what happened." " Mao suffers from" "You want names?" "I can give you names." "I can give you Haldeman." "I can give you-- l`m talking about the president." "The president." " Mao." " We all know in our country-- l can give you the president." "...this man and his dog heart." "You want him to be your ally?" "Well, he was your ally for 20 years, Leonid." "Yes,yes, Dick." "Mr. Nixon." "Life is the best teacher, and therefore it must not interfere... with the building of the SALT ll treaty between our great countries." "Peace in our era is possible." " Excuse me, Leonid." " lt`s okay, Dick. lt`s okay." "He`s spilling his guts to the Ervin committee." "And unfortunately" "Did you, Daddy?" " What?" " Did you cover it up?" "You think l`d do something like that, honey?" "Well, then you can`t give up." "You just can`t." "You`re one of the best presidents this country has ever had." "You`ve done what Lincoln did-- you brought this country back from civil war." "You can`t let your enemies tear you down." "You`ve gotta stay and fight." "l`ll go out there and make speeches." "Nobody knows the real you, how sweet you are... how nice you are to people." "l`ll tell them." "You`re the most decent person I know." "I just hope I haven`t let you down, kitten." "They just don`t know the real you." "They just don`t know." "Tricky Dick always knew what was goin` on." "Every last goddamn detail." " And my husband is not going to take the rap this time." " Martha!" " Martha,just a few questions." " They know they can`t shut me up." "Probably end up killin` me." "She doesn`t know what she`s talking about." "She`s not well." "Stop bothering her." "Ah, hell, she`s nuts." "You bastards have seen to that." "Mr. Mitchell, are you and Martha gonna get back together again?" "Our marriage is finished." "Thank you very much." "Stick that up your keister, fella." "Now, were the visitors that went into the White House warned... their conversations with the president would be taped?" " Again, I am not aware of the technical details." " And on Friday... we have the high school students from Ohio." "...telephones is often times" " Saturday is the National..." " Women`s Republican Club." " ln a development that could break Watergate wide open..." " And Sunday you`ll be-- - former White House aide Alexander Butterfield..." " ...the west wing of the White House-- - testified today before the Senate select committee." "He revealed the existence of a taping system... that may have recorded conversations in the White House... the Executive Office Building, and even members of his own family." "You said also taped-- All calls to the White House... of whatever nature and character would be taped?" " Yes, the tape would not discriminate." " And none of them... had knowledge that their conversations were being taped?" " This is a stunning revelation." "No, sir-- lf such tapes exist, they could tell us, once and for all... what did the president know, and when did he know it." "I want Hunt paid." "Maybe it`s time to go the hang-out route,John." "lf they fear the madman-- -lt was a contribution." "It was a legal contribution." " Who the hell authorized this?" "Colson?" " Well, sir" " The Bay of Pigs?" " ...the C.l.A and you tell Helms that Howard Hunt- lt was Kennedy`s screw-up." " There`s a cancer on the presidency..." " and it`s growing with every day" " This thing we created" "Too damn much." "Whatever, it killed Kennedy." "If he goes public-- lf Hunt goes public" " This thing we created-- - it`ll be a fiasco for the C.l.A." "They`re like love letters." "You should burn `em." "Why didn`t you?" "They`re evidence." "You can`t legally destroy evidence." "You don`t expect me to believe that for one minute, do ya?" "Huh?" "Does it matter what`s on `em?" "Really?" "Murder, Dick?" "Sex?" "Your secrets?" "Your fantasies?" "Or is it just me and you and" "Don`t be ridiculous." "I remember Alger Hiss." "I know how ugly you can be." "You`re capable of anything." "You see, it doesn`t really matter at the end of the day what`s on them... because you have absolutely no remorse." "No concept of remorse." "You want the tapes to get out." "You want them to see you at your worst." " You`re drunk." " Oh,yeah!" "No one`ll ever see those tapes, including you." "And what would I find out that I haven`t known for years?" "What makes it so damn sad... is that you couldn`t confide in any of us." "You had to make a record for the whole world." "They were for me." "They`re mine." "They`re not yours." "They are you." "You should burn them." " What has changed in you, Richard?" " Ohh!" "Go away!" "These guys went after Castro seven times, ten times." "What, do you think people like that, they just gave up?" "They just don`t walk away." " What do you think-- Seven times, ten times." " l never said this." " Ten times." "Never." " What, do you think people like that, they just gave up?" "Castro." "These guys went after Castro." "If this got out, they`d blame me for everything." "Forget Kennedy orJohnson." "lt`s Nixon." "lt`s Nixon." "Whoever killed Kennedy came from this thing we created... this beast." "In the latest bombshell, the president`s lawyers revealed... that there is an 18-and-a-half minute gap... in a critical Watergate tape." "Reactions of disbelief and anger are being heard across the country." "My God!" "Pat!" " Pat!" " He was coughing." " l`m gonna need" " Has he had chest pains?" " He woke up coughing blood." " Clear the path!" "l`m in charge here!" " Has he been short of breath?" " No, and he`s sure that he has T.B." " Why T.B.?" " Because his family had it." "His brother had it." " Lie down on there." " l think it`s flooded." "Richard." "Okay, ladies, get those l.V.s started." " Please lie down, Dick." "They need you to lie down." " Sedate him." "Dick." " Richard?" " Mother." "Maybe a trip to the woodshed`ll" "Daddy, did" "Vice President Agnew has resigned today... pleading no contest to charges of income tax evasion." "This follows Watergate special prosecutor..." "Archibald Cox`s continuing investigation... into President Nixon`s finances." " Apparently, the president paid no income tax" " Please lie down, Dick." "in the years 1 970, `7 1 and `72," " They need you to lie down, Dick." "Dick!" "and may have used government funds to improve his residence in San Clemente, California." "Where`s the blood coming from?" "What`s wrong with him?" "Well, he`s got an acute viral pneumonia and a very serious phlebitis." " lf a clot were to break loose, it could go into his lungs." " Oh, no." "The president, recovering, has returned to the White House." "But Archibald Cox has declared war by issuing a subpoena for nine of the president`s tapes." "Never!" "Over my dead body!" "lt`s the president`s personal property." "l`ll never give up my tapes to a bunch of..." "Kennedy-loving, Harvard Democrat cocksuckers." "This could trigger the impeachment." "They`ll go to the Supreme Court." "I appointed three of those bastards, and l`ll never give `em my tapes." "Can the president afford to ignore a subpoena?" "Who the hell does Cox think he is?" "l`ve never made a dime from public office." "l`m honest." "My dad died broke.Jesus." "You know, that son of a bitch Cox, he went to the same law school asJack Kennedy." "The last gasp of the establishment." "Yeah, they got the hell kicked out of`em in the election... so they now they gotta squeal about Watergate... `cause we were the first real threat to them in years." "My God, Al, we would`ve changed it-- changed it so they couldn`t have changed it back in 1 00 years." "Yeah." " lf only the" " Mr. President." " Huh?" " Sir, Congress is" " No, over here, sir." " Sir." " Yeah?" "Congress is considering four articles of impeachment." " Yeah." "For what?" " They`re very serious charges, sir." " Huh?" " First, abuse of power." " Yep." " Second, the obstruction of justice." "Yeah, what else?" "Third, the failure to, uh, cooperate with the Congress." " Yeah." " And, uh, last, uh, bombing Cambodia, sir." "They can`t impeach me for bombing Cambodia; the president can bomb anybody he likes." " That`s true." " Well, we`ll-- we`ll win that one, sir, but the other three" "Hey,you know, Fred, they sell tickets." "lt`s Ron." "They sell tickets to an impeachment like a damn circus." "Okay, so they impeach me." "Well, fuck `em!" "Yeah, well, it`s just a matter of mathematics." "Yeah." " How many votes do we have in the Senate?" " About a dozen." "A dozen?" "Geez, I got half of`em elected." "Okay, so I got the South and, uh..." "Goldwater and his boys." " l`ll take my chances in the Senate." " Yes, we should." " This damn leg." " Well, then, sir, we`ll... have to deal with the possibility of removal from office... loss of pension, possibly-- possibly even prison." "Yeah, well, plenty of people did their best writing in prison." " Gandhi, Lenin." " That`s right." "What I know about this country, I could rip it apart." "So if they want a-- lf they want a public humiliation, that`s what they`ll get." " Yes, they will." " l will never resign this office." "Never." "Where the fuck am I?" "What`s in there?" " The P.O.W.s and their families." "The event, sir." " Oh, l`m supposed to be" " Compassionate, grateful" " Proud." " Sir?" " Proud." "Of them." " Oh,yes." "Yes, of course." " Fire him." " Who?" " Cox." "Archibald Cox." "Fire him!" "But, sir, he works for the Attorney General." "Only Richardson can fire him." "May I echo my concern here, sir?" "Really" "Then tell Richardson to fire him." "Well, Richardson won`t do that, sir." "He`ll resign." "The hell he will." "Then fire him too. lf you have to go all the way down to the janitor..." " of theJustice Department, fire that son of a bitch." " He`s asked for it." "Mr. President, may I just say something, sir?" " l think that you should welcome this subpoena." " Why?" "Well, sir, the tapes can only prove that Dean was a liar, right?" "That`s right, sir." "Well, there`s more." "There`s more than just me." "You can`t break, my boy." "Even though it`s ended." "You can`t admit, even to yourself, when it`s gone." "Do you think those P.O.W.s in there did?" "Now, there`s some people, and we both know them, Al... think you can go stand in the middle of the bull ring and cry "Mea culpa, mea culpa,"" "while the crowd is hissing and booing and spitting on you." "Well, a man doesn`t cry." "I don`t cry." "You don`t cry." "You fight." "Okay." "Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States!" "Good evening." "We interrupt this program for a special report from NBC News." "The country tonight is in the midst of what may be... the most serious constitutional crisis in its history." "President Nixon has fired the Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox." "Attorney General Elliot Richardson has quit... and his deputy William Ruckelshaus was fired when he refused to fire Cox." "Acting Attorney General Robert Bork... has executed President Nixon`s orders and fired the special prosecutor." "In an attempt to head off impeachment proceedings... the president has agreed to release transcripts of 46 taped conversations." "In a simple ceremony, Gerald Ford was sworn in as Vice President." "Citing White House wrongdoing, a judge has dismissed all charges against Daniel Ellsberg." "The grand jury has indicted former Nixon aides Haldeman, Ehrlichman-- l mean,you`re-- you`re a lawyer for God`s sake." "How" " How the hell can you let this shit go through?" "Look, this." "Nixon can`t say that." " Well,you did say it, sir." " Never. I didn`t say that." "I never said that aboutJews." "Makes me sound like an anti-Semite." " Well, we can check the tapes again." " No need to check the tapes!" "I know what I said." "Look at this." "Have you lost your mind?" "Nixon can`t-- Look, Al, Nixon can`t say this." " "Niggers." "Niggers." Niggers?" "It can`t say that." " Well, we could delete it." " We`re doing the best we can, sir." " Well, it`s not good enough!" "Well, would you have us black it out, sir?" "We could." "We could write "expletive deleted."" "Cut all these "goddamns" and "Jesus Christs" out." "Jesus." " Mr. President." "Don`t you see that all these deletion marks in the transcript... make it look as though you-- you do nothing but swear?" "It soils my mother`s memory." "You think I want the whole goddamned world to see my mother like this?" "Raising a dirty mouth?" " Well, we could start again, sir, but it means..." "Jesus Christ!" "we don`t really have the staff to do that." "Then start over!" "Just start over!" "The world will see only what I show `em!" "From page one, Al." "Page one, Ron." "Ron, get in there and do something." "All this stuff" "Five seconds, Mr. President." "And four... three, two" "Good evening, my fellow Americans." "Tonight, l`m taking an action... unprecedented in the history of this office." "I had no knowledge of the cover-up tillJohn Dean told me about it..." " Oh, I think l`m going to throw up." " on March 2 1st, a year ago." "...no payment to Hunt or anyone else be made." " He`s completely lost touch with reality." " Let me just say this." "l`ve made my mistakes." "But in all my years of public life, I have never profited" " Can you imagine what this man..." " l have never profited..." "would have been had he ever been loved?" "from public service." "l`ve earned every penny." "In all of my years of public life, I have never obstructed justice." " lt`s a tragedy, because he had greatness in his grasp." " l welcome this examination." "But he had the defects of his qualities." " Now, I made $250,000 from a book..." " They`ll crucify him." "Does anybody really care anymore?" "which many of you were good enough to purchase." "Also, in that period, I earned between $1 00,000..." " And what happens after?" "and $250,000 every year." "When I, in 1 968... decided to become a candidate for the president... I decided to clean the decks and to put everything in real estate." "And so, that`s where the money came from." "That`s all I own." "That`s what we have and that`s what we own." "Because people have got to know whether or not their president-- president`s a crook." "Well, I am not a crook." "l`ve earned everything I have" "Pat doesn`t have a mink coat." "Everything l`ve earned" "She does have a respectable Republican cloth coat." "And I always tell her that she`d look good in anything." "There has never been any feathering of nests." "Not in this administration." "Now, let me just say this." "And I want to say this to the television audience." "The Supreme Court ruled today eight to nothing that President Nixon`s claims of... executive privilege cannot be used in criminal cases and that he must turn over..." " all subpoenaed tapes." " The HouseJudiciary Committee..." "Firestorm on Capitol Hill-- -has voted 27 to 1 1... to recommend impeachment to the full House." "The deliberations now go to the House floor." "In its report, the Committee offers evidence... that Nixon obstructed justice on at least 36 occasions... that he encouraged his aides to commit perjury... and that Nixon abused the powers of his office." "In a separate report, the Senate select committee... details the misuse of the l.R.S.... the F.B.l., the C.l.A. and theJustice Department." "It denounces the Plumbers and it raises the question... of whether the United States had a valid election in 1 972." "Come in." "Victory At Sea, Al." "Henry." "The Pacific theater." "Christ,you can almost hear the waves breaking over the decks." "l`m afraid we have another problem, Mr. President." "Excuse me, gentlemen." "June 23rd, `72, sir." "Your instructions to Haldeman regarding the C.l.A.... and the F.B.l." "So?" "Your lawyers feel that..." "it`s the smoking gun." "That`s totally out of context." "I was protecting the national security." "Sir, the deadline is today." "Can we get around this, Al?" "lt`s the Supreme Court, sir." "You" "You don`t get around it." "lf-- lf you resign,you can keep your tapes as a private citizen." "You could fight them for years." "What if I stay?" "You have the army." "The army?" "Lincoln used it." " We`ll have civil war." " How do you see this?" "Oh, God." "We can`t survive this, sir." "They also... have you instructing Dean to make the payoff to Hunt." "There`s nothing in that statement the president can`t explain." "But, sir,you talked about opening up the whole Bay of Pigs thing again." " That`s right." " Three days before, on theJune 20th tape." " The one with the 1 8-minute gap." " l don`t know anything about that." "You mentioned the Bay of Pigs several times." "Sooner or later, they`re going to want to know what that means." "They`re going to want to know what`s on that gap." "lt`s gone." "No one will ever find out what`s on it." "They might..." "if there was another recording." "And we both know it`s possible." "I know for a fact that it`s possible." "l`ve spoken to Ford." "There`s a very strong chance that he`ll pardon you." "I don`t need a goddamned deal, for God`s sake. l" "This is something that you will have to do, Mr. President." "I thought you`d rather do it... now." "l`ll wait outside." "Sir." "May I say, sir, that if you stay now... it will paralyze the nation and its foreign policy." "You always had a great sense of timing, Henry." "When to give... and when to take." "How do you think Mao and Brezhnev will react?" "Do you think they`ll remember us, Henry... after all the great things you and I did together... as some kind of-- of crooks?" "They will understand." "To be undone by a third-rate burglary is a fate of Biblical proportions." "History will treat you far more kindly than your contemporaries." "Yeah." "It depends on who writes the history books." "l`m not a quitter." "Never have been." "And l`m not stupid either." "The trial would kill me." "That`s what they want." "They won`t get it." "Fuck `em." "If they harass you, I, too, will resign, and I will tell the world why." "Don`t be stupid." "The world needs you, Henry." "You always saw the big picture." "You were my equal in many ways." "You`re the only friend I got, Henry." "Do you ever pray?" "You know, believe in a... supreme being?" "Uh, not really." "You mean, on my knees?" "My mother used to pray a lot." "lt`s been a long time since I... really prayed." "Let`s pray, Henry." "Let`s pray a little." "Just you and me." "I hope this doesn`t embarrass you, Henry." "No, sir, not at all." "No." "This is not going to leak, is it?" "Don`t be too proud, Henry." "Never be too proud to go on your knees before God." "God." "How can a" "How can a country come apart like this?" "Wh" " What have I done wrong?" "I opened China." "I made peace with Russia." "I ended the war." "I did what I thought was right." "God, why do they hate me so?" "lt`s unbelievable." "l-lt`s insane." "Oh, M-Mom, l`m sorry." "God, please forgive me, God." "l-l didn`t mean it." "I didn`t know what to do." "I don`t know why this is happening to me." "I can`t believe it." "Al." "They smelled the blood on me this time, Al. I got soft,you know?" "That rusty, metallic smell." " l know it well, sir." " lt came over from Vietnam,you know." " Sir?" " That smell." "I mean, everyone suffered so much." "Their boys killed." "Uh, they need to sacrifice something." "You know, appease the gods of war." "Mars,Jupiter." "I am that blood, General." "I am that sacrifice." "In the highest place of all." "Yeah." "All leaders must finally be sacrificed." "Things won`t be the same after this." "No, I played by the rules." "The rules changed right in the middle of the game." "There`s no respect for American institutions anymore." "No, people are cynical." "The press-- Ah, the press is out of control." "People spit on soldiers." "Government secrets mean nothing." "I pity the next guy who sits here." "Good night, gentlemen." "Mr. President." "When they look at you, they see what they want to be." "When they look at me... they see what they are." "Dick, please don`t." "I can`t." "I don`t have the strength anymore." "lt`ll be over soon." "No, it`s gonna start now." "Oh, Buddy." "If I could just sleep." " lf l could just sleep." " There`ll be time for that." "Yeah." "You know, once when I was sick as a boy... my mother gave me this stuff and... she made me swallow it." "It made me throw up all over her." "l-- l wish I could do that now." "l`m so afraid." "There`s darkness out there." "I could always see where l was going." "But it`s dark out there." "God, l`ve always been afraid of the dark." "Buddy." "There are many fine careers." "This country needs good farmers, good businessmen... good plumbers, good carpenters." "I remember my old man." "I think that they would`ve called him sort of a-- sort of a little man, a common man." "Well, he didn`t consider himself that way." "You know what he was?" "He was a street car motorman first." "Then he was a farmer." "Then he had a lemon ranch." "It was the poorest lemon ranch in California, I can assure you." "He sold it before they found oil on it." "And then he was a grocer." "But he was a great man because he did his job." "And every job counts, up to the hilt... regardless of what happens." "Nobody will ever write a book, probably, about my mother." "Well, I guess all of you would say this about your mother." "My mother was a saint." "And I think of her... two boys dying of tuberculosis... and seeing each of them die." "And when they died" "Yes, she will have no books written about her." "But she was a saint." "Now, however, we look to the future." "I remember something, uh, Theodore Roosevelt wrote... when his first wife died in his 20s." "He thought the light had gone from his life forever." "But he went on, and he not only became president... but as an ex-president he served his country... always in the arena, tempestuous, strong... sometimes right, sometimes wrong." "But he was a man." "And as I leave, that`s an example I think all of us should remember." "See, we think sometimes when, uh, things happen... that don`t go the right way-- we think that when someone dear to us dies-- uh, when we lose an election... or when we suffer defeat, that all is ended." "Not true." "lt`s only a beginning, always... because the greatness comes not when things go always good for you... but the greatness comes when you`re really tested... when you take some knocks, some disappointments... when sadness comes." "Because only if you`ve been in the deepest valley... can you ever know how magnificent it is... to be on the highest mountain." "So, I say to you on this occasion... we leave,proud of the people who have stood by us and worked for us... and served this government and this country." "We want you to continue to serve in government, if that is what you wish." "Remember, always give your best." "Never get discouraged." "Never be petty." "Always remember, others may hate you... but those who hate you don`t win unless you hate them... and then, you destroy yourself." "And so we leave with high hopes... and good spirits and with deep humility." "And I say to each and every one of you... not only will we always remember you... but always you will be in our hearts... and you`ll be in our prayers." "And only then will you find what we Quakers call..." ""peace at the center.`'" "He gave of himself with intelligence and energy... and devotion to duty." "Richard Nixon was buried and honored by five presidents... on April 26, 1 994... less than a year after his beloved wife Pat had died." "Nixon always maintained that if he had not been driven from office... the North Vietnamese would not have overwhelmed the South in 1 975." "In a sideshow, Cambodian society was destroyed and mass genocide resulted." "The second half of the 20th century... will be known as the age of Nixon." "In his absence, Russia and the United States... returned to a decade of high-budget military expansion and near war." "Nixon, who was pardoned by President Ford... lived to write six books... and travel the world as an elder statesman." "For the remainder of his life, he fought successfully to protect his tapes." "The National Archives spent 1 4 years indexing and cataloging them." "Out of 4,000 hours, 60 hours have been made public." "Oh, Shenandoah I long to see you" "And hear" "Your rolling river" "Oh, Shenandoah I long to see you" "Way" "We`re bound away" "Across the wide" "Missouri l long to see" "Your smiling valley" "And hear" "Your rolling river I long to see" "Your smiling valley" "Way" "We`re bound away" "Across the wide" "Missouri" " `Tis seven long years" "Shenandoah" "Since last I seen you" "Shenandoah" "Oh, to hear" "Your rolling river" " `Tis seven long years" "Shenandoah" "Since last I seen you" "Shenandoah" "Way" "We`re bound away" "Across the wide" "Missouri" "The wide Missouri" " Oh, Shenandoah -l long to see you I long to see you" "And hear" "Your rolling river" "Oh, Shenandoah I long to see you" "Way" "We`re bound away" "Across the wide" "Missouri" "Missouri" "Oh, Shenandoah" "Oh, Shenandoah" "Oh, Shenandoah" "Oh, Shenandoah" "Oh, Shenandoah" "Oh, Shenandoah"