The Abandoned Leader
The president of the United States represents the people of the nation, reflecting the mood of the masses with the tone of their leadership. Yet not every president maintains their popularity due to bad decision making or events that they cannot control. No president had ever resigned until August 8, 1974, when Richard Nixon announced that he would be passing on the presidency to Gerald Ford. The resignation resulted from research by the House Judiciary Committee and exposure by the media of corruption in the executive office; yet while Nixon preached moving on to focus on continued prosperity in his resignation speech, his fall from power rippled out to allow the passage of a series of legislative bills and push his ‘silent majority’ over to the Democratic party for next election, but it could not prevent future corruption.
Nixon’s loss of popularity came after an investigation into an information leak crossed legal boundaries as it went down the chain of power, eventually, turning into a massive cover-up that would incriminate the president. When Daniel Ellsberg published the Pentagon Papers in 1971, Nixon ordered the creation of the ‘plumbers’ who would investigate leaks. These men began wire tapping and investigating certain persons considered politically dangerous to Nixon and at one point broke into Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office to look for information that could discredit him. This methodology would continue to be used during Nixon’s re-election campaign in 1972 by CREEP, eventually leading to the break-in of the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate hotel. Five men were caught trying to wire tap party leaders, and two others with White House ties were later associated with the scandal. Yet, this event had no bearing on the election of 1972, where Nixon easily won the contest. As his second term went on though, some high-ranking advisors resigned after their roles in the affair became known. The trail was leading to Nixon, and the House Judiciary Committee began an impeachment investigation after he continually refused to cooperate with investigators. This became especially controversial when it became known that all conversations in the oval office were recorded and Nixon would not turn over the tapes until the Supreme Court subpoenaed them. On the tape that incriminated him, he ordered his aides to hinder the FBI investigation of the break-in and others showed his usage of vulgar language in presidential dealings. Nixon stayed in office long after initial calls for resignation, asserting that he would wait until the completion of the impeachment process. However, with support ebbing by the summer of 1974, he finally surrendered his post:
To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.[1]
Nixon understood that it would be better for the Americans to face a resignation rather than a trial. The new president, Gerald Ford, was the first person ever to become president without being elected to the presidency or vice-presidency by the people. Yet he seemed to be the right man to take over; before the Watergate affair had ever even happened, he had commented, "To maintain that the executive has the right to keep to itself information specifically sought by the very people the executive is supposed to serve is to espouse some power akin to the divine right of kings."[2] What started as a possibly justifiable investigation into a leak spiraled into a scandal that pervaded the White House and infected the president himself, whose personality had fostered the corruption. As orders travelled away from the president, the possibility of losing sight of right and wrong becomes more possible. In the various subcommittees and departments of the executive branch, actions are not analyzed as painstakingly as those by the executive are. This issue was not specific to Watergate; however, it manifested itself most clearly here.
The Watergate affair demonstrated how corruption could fester in the federal government and showed the country that the government could no go unregulated, creating a political climate where politicians needed to pass legislation to show their commitment to preventing another event like this. In 1972 before Watergate had become approached the impeachment phase, Democratic Rep. George E. Danielson from California remarked on the scandal, "I think the effect is going to be one of impairing the legislative process."[3] And although it did this while Nixon was still in office, as soon as he left, reform legislation poured out of Congress. The most controversial law that resulted from Watergate was Title VI of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which provide that a special prosecutor be appointed for investigations into high ranking officials. Some people though provisions of the act unconstitutional, and John Doar, the head of the House Judiciary Committee, called it unnecessary. [4] Other legislation was passed out of fear at how the Nixon administration had acted against its political opponents. The Privacy Act of 1974 (Federal Information Act) controlled the amount of information that agencies of the executive branch could have and what they could use it for. This law promoted confidence that the government would stay out of individuals’ personal lives after Nixon’s administration had collected files on specific people.[5] The Tax Reform Act of 1976 continue this ideal, ordering that the government could not use tax information for anything other than taxes, as during Nixon’s administration, this information had been used to target political enemies.[6] On the issue of election campaigns, in 1974 Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Nixon had avoided the stipulations for the original act, using illegal campaign contributions to fund illicit CREEP activities.[7] If it were not for Watergate, this legislation would have been passed so easily. However, the populous wanted to see reform as proof that they could move on from Watergate. Although some of the laws would require later amendments, they were steps towards a more open federal government.
After Republicans had expected to hold the White House for a long period of time, the magnitude of the scandal shook the conservative core of the party. After the Democratic Party had troubles in the election of 1968, Nixon took office with widespread conservative support from what he called the ‘silent majority.’ His popularity continued to grow with his foreign policy achievements, taking him easily through the next election with 60.7% of the popular vote until Watergate.[8] By early 1973, his approval rating had dropped to 50% and a majority of Americans did not think he was handling the corruption in the White House well and that he was hiding information.[9] In October later that year, his approval had plummeted even more and, according to an informal poll during a vote for a special prosecutor, more congressmen were moving towards impeachment. Many representatives’ constituents were even calling or sending letters urging the departure of the president.[10] Finally, despite his claim that “In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have always tried to do what was best for the nation,”[11] only 24% of Americans approved of him when he resigned.[12] His constant subversive attitude pushed away supporters, and tape recordings of his conversations proved that he might not be the most morally righteous person in politics. By the time of the election of 1976, despite Ford’s attempts to redeem support, he only captured 48% of the popular vote.[13] Nixon’s actions came to represent problems with the Republican Party, which had gained so much support from the conservative resurgence. However, these same conservatives that put Nixon in office believed in human virtue and felt repulsed by Nixon’s complete disregard for American integrity.
Despite the publication of corruption in Nixon’s presidency and safeguards put in place for the future, misconduct of this sort could not be stopped from happening again. In the post-Nixon legislation, new laws were also created to limit the president’s freedom to direct foreign policy. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 now forces the president to admit knowledge of and to tell Congress about troop deployments; also, it limits the amount of time troops can be deployed for so that the president must give a reason that satisfies Congress. However, foreign policy problems were not completely solved. During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the Iran-Contra Affair proved to have similar traits to Watergate, where subordinates of the president had too much freedom and made decided to disobey Congress. Although Reagan had wanted to give aid to the Contras in Nicaragua, Congressional mandate prevented him from giving any more help; yet, Oliver North and John Poindexter still brokered a deal to sell arms to Iran and then send money to the Contras from the profits. This scandal came to light, but did not bring down Reagan, as he appeared too far removed to have been complicit in it. When asked about how Watergate could have happened at a convention in Orland, Florida on November 17, 1973, Nixon stated,
'72 was a very busy year for me. It was a year when we had the visit to China, it was a year when we had the visit to Moscow and the first limited nuclear ban on defensive weapons...I didn't mange the campaign…People around me didn't bring things to me that they probably should have because I was frankly just too busy trying to do the Nation's business to run the politics.[14]
Although individuals erred in each of these scandals, no one person can be highlighted for complete culpability. Today in politics, individuals are scrutinized almost obsessively for markers of inability to hold office. During his 2009 presidential bid, John McCain’s health record was sought after and later used to call in to question whether the man was fit to serve. Now, it is much more difficult to overstep a positions’ boundaries, but people always have the question: do I know everything that my government does?
The Watergate scandal shook the confidence of the American people, and caused a legislative and party shift. The event highlighted issues with the republic and brought much needed reform that would continue to improve after Reagan’s presidency. Yet Nixon left with a hopeful message: “all of us, in the final analysis, have been concerned with the good of the country, however our judgments might differ.”[15] Nixon drastically overstepped his bounds as president, but his foreign policy successes cannot be ignored. He faced the highest approval ratings and the disappointment of millions of Americans, but always wanted a stronger United States. Even as he departed the White House, his legacy would survive, both from his formidable accomplishments and his significant failures.
