President Richard Nixon - Address Announcing Resignation — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:11good
2. 0:12evening this is the 37th time I have
3. 0:16spoken to you from this office where so
4. 0:19many decisions have been made that shape
5. 0:21the history of this
6. 0:24nation each time I have done so to
7. 0:28discuss with you some matter that I
8. 0:29believe affected the national
9. 0:31interest in all the decisions I have
10. 0:34made in my public life I have always
11. 0:36tried to do what was best for the
12. 0:41nation throughout the long and difficult
13. 0:43period of
14. 0:44Watergate I have felt it was my duty to
15. 0:47persevere to make every possible effort
16. 0:50to complete the term of office to which
17. 0:52you elected
18. 0:54me in the past few days however it has
19. 0:58become evident to me
20. 1:00that I no longer have a strong enough
21. 1:03political base in the Congress to
22. 1:05justify continuing that
23. 1:08effort as long as there was such a base
24. 1:12I felt strongly that it was necessary to
25. 1:14see the Constitutional process through
26. 1:16to its
27. 1:18conclusion that to do otherwise would be
28. 1:21unfaithful to the spirit of that
29. 1:23deliberately difficult process and a
30. 1:26dangerously destabilizing precedent for
31. 1:29the future
32. 1:32but with The Disappearance of that base
33. 1:35I now believe that the Constitutional
34. 1:38purpose has been served and there is no
35. 1:41longer a need for the process to be
36. 1:47prolonged I would have
37. 1:49preferred to carry through to the Finish
38. 1:53whatever the personal Agony it would
39. 1:54have
40. 1:55involved and my family unanimously urged
41. 2:00me to do
42. 2:02so but the interests of the nation must
43. 2:05always come before any personal
44. 2:08considerations from the discussions I
45. 2:10have had with Congressional and other
46. 2:12leaders I have
47. 2:14concluded that because of the Watergate
48. 2:16matter I might not have the support of
49. 2:19the Congress that I would consider
50. 2:22necessary to back the very difficult
51. 2:25decisions and carry out the duties of
52. 2:27this office in the way the interests of
53. 2:29the nation will
54. 2:33require I have never been a
55. 2:36quitter to leave office before my term
56. 2:39is completed is abhorent to every
57. 2:41Instinct in my
58. 2:44body but as
59. 2:46president I must put the interests of
60. 2:49America
61. 2:51First America needs a fulltime
62. 2:55president and a full-time
63. 2:58Congress particularly at this time with
64. 3:01problems we face at home and
65. 3:03abroad to continue to fight through the
66. 3:07months ahead for my personal
67. 3:10Vindication would almost totally absorb
68. 3:13the time and attention of both the
69. 3:15president and the Congress in a period
70. 3:19when our entire focus should be on the
71. 3:23great issues of Peace abroad and
72. 3:24prosperity without inflation at
73. 3:28home therefore
74. 3:31I shall resign the presidency effective
75. 3:33at noon
76. 3:35tomorrow Vice President Ford will be
77. 3:38sworn in as president at that hour in
78. 3:42this
79. 3:48office