Killing Reagan by Bill O'Reilly Page B

to Pat,” Reagan concludes.
    The line goes dead.
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    Throughout 1973, the evidence that Richard Nixon funded acts of political espionage and engaged in a cover-up continues to grow. A brand-new cloud of scandal settles over the White House when it is revealed that Vice President Spiro Agnew has been taking bribes while in office. 6 In order to escape prosecution for conspiracy, extortion, and bribery, Agnew resigns on October 10, 1973.
    Richard Nixon is torn about a successor. He would like to nominate John Connally for vice president, but the lifelong Democrat switched political parties only five months ago. There is still animosity among Democrats about the defection, and Nixon feels that they will block Connally’s congressional confirmation.
    The second choice is Nelson Rockefeller, the liberal Republican governor of New York. Given their long-ago Treaty of Fifth Avenue, which led to a blending of their personal political views into a road map sending the Republican Party on a more moderate course, Nixon fears that this choice will alienate the conservative elements of the party.
    The third name on Nixon’s list is Ronald Reagan. He is extremely popular among Republicans, and, despite conservative philosophies that are far to the right of Nixon’s, Reagan has few enemies in Washington and should have little problem getting confirmed.
    Reagan has campaigned for Nixon during three elections. He has called to offer condolences at a time of hardship. Reagan and Nixon have exchanged correspondence for more than a decade. They should be friends.
    But because of envy on Nixon’s part, they are not.
    Nixon’s nomination for the vice presidency is an old friend: Congressman Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. of Grand Rapids, Michigan, the minority leader in the House.
    Ronald Reagan will not be coming to Washington anytime soon.
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    All through the 1973 Christmas season, and into 1974, Richard Nixon battles to stay in office. As prosecutors circle ever closer, he denies them access to tape-recorded discussions he had about the Watergate situation. The prosecutors are forced to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which rules unanimously on July 24, 1974, that Nixon must turn over the recordings of sixty-four conversations related to Watergate that occurred in the Oval Office. 7 It is a crushing defeat for the president, made all the worse three days later, when the House Judiciary Committee files three articles of impeachment against him. There is a chance that Richard Nixon will be not only forced out of office but also sent to prison.
    Every night throughout the crisis, comedian Johnny Carson performs a six-minute monologue of topical one-liners on The Tonight Show . Carson is “the most powerful single performer in television,” one critic says of the late-night talk show host, and it is true, as many in the media take their cues from him.
    Carson and other entertainers batter Richard Nixon, causing more and more Americans to believe that their president is indeed a crook. Cries for Richard Nixon to resign are relentless, and so is Johnny Carson: “Tonight’s monologue is dedicated to Richard Nixon. I’ve got a monologue that just won’t quit.”
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    Richard Nixon is not a quitter. But by August 7, 1974, it is clear that he has no other choice. He calls Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to explain his decision. The two men, who bonded over ending the Vietnam War, meet in the Lincoln Sitting Room, Nixon’s favorite room in the White House. Richard Nixon’s mental health has become an issue as the Watergate crisis has dragged on for more than two years. He has hinted at suicide. He drinks too much and often takes sleeping pills to allow himself at least a few hours of peace. But the pills don’t always work: Nixon has begun wandering the White House hallways late at night, engaging in loud