l just don`t understand it, Bob.
l mean, l`ve logged a lot of miles, l`ve followed the sales textbook by the letter.
l mean, l`ve applied myself diligently.
l mean, l try and l try and l just cannot get in the door.
l mean, what am l 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 l say as how l say it?
That`s right, Earl. A good salesman can sell anything.
And l remember when you were a good salesman in the beginning.
But something seems to have changed.
Now, l 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 l 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.
l 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.
lf 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.
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.
ln 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.
lt 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.
l 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.
l don`t have a pistol, Al.
Oh. Goddamn it.
''Pause.``
''Start.``
- They did what? -Evidently to install bugs and photograph documents.
lt 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.
lt was a contribution. lt 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?
l 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.
lf 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.
l don`t have time for all this shit. Just handle it, Bob.
Keep it out of the White House. l 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.
l know what he is and l 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.
l had nothing to do with that.
- He was in this Ellsberg thing too? - Yes. You approved it, sir.
l did?
lt 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?
l 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.?
l 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.
l say we cut ourselves loose from these clowns and that`s all there is to it.
No, it`s more than that. l 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 l approve the Ellsberg thing? Huh?
You know, l`m glad we tape all these conversations, because...
l never approved the break-in at the Ellsbergs`.
Oh, maybe l approved it after the fact.
Someday we gotta start transcribing these tapes.
You approved that before the fact because l 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 l 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 l 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?
ln the election of 1860...
Abraham Lincoln said the question was whether this nation could exist...
half-slave or half-free.
ln 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 l think, in the final analysis, it depends upon what we do here in the United States.
l think it`s time America started moving again.
-Mr. Nixon? - When it comes to experience...
through the years l have sat on the National Security Council...
l have been in the Cabinet; l 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 lran.
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, l 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?.
ln Texas they had the goddamn cattle voting.
lt 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. l can`t believe it.
We came to Congress together. We were like brothers, for Christ`s sake.
lt 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 lllinois.
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 l say.
lt 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.
lf you vote for Nixon, then you oughta go to hell.`` Harry S. Truman.
That`s what killed us, Dick. Not Cuba. lt 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 l have no class, and they love him for it.
Dick,you`re only 47.
lf 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.
We lost.
l know.
l hate to lose.
lt makes us human.
lt`s not fair, Buddy.
l can take the insults. l can take the name-calling.
But l can`t take the losing.
l hate it.
We don`t have to put ourselves through this again, Dick.
We worked for it. We earned it.
lt`s ours.
lt is. We know that.
And it`s enough that we know.
Just think of the girls.
They`re still young.
We never see them.
l lost my parents when l was young. l don`t want them to lose theirs.
Maybe l should get out of the game.
What do you think, Buddy?
l can go back to being a lawyer...
end up with something solid, some money at the end of the line.
You know, l, 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 l miss him.
l 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 l didn`t need a ride, l 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.
l don`t have them. Mother, l-- l promise l didn`t smoke.
l see. Well, then, Richard, we have nothing more to talk about, do we?
Please.
Mother, l`m sorry. lt was--
lt was just one time. l`m sorry.
So am l.
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. l promise. Please.
Richard, l expected more from thee.
Please, Mama. l shall never let thee down again.
Then this shall be our little secret.
Remember, l 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.
ls it my turn?
- O Heavenly Father, we humbly thank You-- - l`ll do it.
There`s a couple of things l want to say.
Could thee at least remove thy apron, Frank?
This blood pays the bills, Hannah. l`m not ashamed of how l 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 l 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.
- 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.
l 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.
ln 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...
who lost the presidency just two years ago by a paper-thin margin.
lt 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 l 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?
l have always stood by you.
l campaigned for you when l was pregnant.
During Checkers, when lke wanted you out, l 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 l traveled?
How many millions of people`s hands have l shaked that l just don`t like?
How many thank-you notes have l written?
lt`s as if l, l 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?
l 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.
lf 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, l did.
l asked you to marry me, didn`t l?
On our first date.
l said it because l knew.
l 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 l called? - Well, in a way,yes.
Don`t tell me that you`ve been cutting my part.
Oh, of course, honey,you know l would never deceive you, don`t you?
You were the most beautiful thing l`d ever seen.
l 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 l love you, Dick.
And if l stop...
there`ll be no more talk of divorce?
l`ll do it.
No more.
Are you serious?
Yeah. l`m out.
ls that the truth?
l`ll never run again. l promise.
Yeah.
l love you, Buddy.
l love you.
- Where are they? - Dick,you don`t have to make a statement. Herb covered it for you.
No!
Now, gentlemen, l can tell you this: Mr. Nixon is a man who is graceful in defeat...
and if he was here with us--
Can l have some quiet, please?
Give the--Just a second!
- Can l have some quiet, please? - Right over here, sir!
Quiet! Can l have some quiet for a minute?
Thank you!
- Mr. Nixon! - Uh--
l believe Governor Brown has a heart...
even though he believes l do not.
Uh, l believe he`s a good American...
even though he feels l am not.
l`m proud of the fact that l defended my opponent`s patriotism.
You gentlemen didn`t report it, but l`m proud that l did that.
And-- And l would appreciate it for once, gentlemen...
if you would just print what l 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.
l think...
all in all, l`ve given as good as l`ve taken.
But as l leave you, l 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--
`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.
lf l 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.
l 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.
l asked Hiss if he`d ever known Chambers before.
When he said ''no,`` that`s when l knew he was lying. That`s when l knew l 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.
l 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 lke, 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 l 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? lt 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 l just want to say this right now--
- lt was manipulative. - regardless of what they say about him, we`re gonna keep him.
lt 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.
l 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, l 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`!
l can`t-- lt said-- lt said:
''Who remembers Dick Nixon?``
Unbelievable. l 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, l 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, l 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. l 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 l 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 l 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.
l 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.
l don`t know, l-- l miss making love to the people.
l miss entering a room.
l miss the pure acting of it,John.
l 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 l get your autograph?
- Ladies and gentlemen, the ex-vice president... - Mr. Nixon, l 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, l guarantee ya.
And there`s some fellas l`d really like you to meet.
Well, Trini and l 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. l 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, l 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, l 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 l 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.
lf you had been elected in `60, Castro would be dead now.
Gentlemen, l tried. l told Kennedy to go to Cuba.
He heard me and he made his decision.
l appreciate your sentiments and l`ve heard them from many fine Cuban patriots...
but it`s nothing l can do anything about.
Now, it`s a long drive back to Dallas and, uh, Trini and l 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.
l don`t think you know how much people hate Kennedy down here.
Hell, he`s comin` to town tomorrow, and l 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, l promised my wife. l, uh-- l`m out of politics.
You just came down here for the weather, is that right, Mr. Nixon?
l came down here to close a deal for Studebaker.
What about `68, Dick?
Five years, Trini. ln 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, l know.
- Yeah, l 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.
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.
-ln Dallas, accused the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald-- - 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.
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.
lf 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.
l ask for your help...
-...and are going to see Vietnam... -and God`s.
through to an honorable peace...
to defend an honored cause...
whatever the price, whatever the burden...
whatever the sacrifice...
that duty may require.
Accordingly...
l shall not seek...
and l 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?
lf he`s on God`s side,yes.
You must be very proud of your son.
l 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!
l 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.
ln there. Okay?
Who could resist that?
Buddy?
You should be going. Primaries are soon, aren`t they? New Hampshire.
l love you, Buddy. l need you.
l don`t want them to love me.
But l need you, out there.
lt won`t be like the last time.
The war`s crippled the Democrats.
l 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.
lt 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 l will. Yes! l will. Yeah.
Then l`ll be there for you.
And we are gonna win this time. l can feel it!
Yeah!
You`re the strongest woman l`ve ever met, Buddy.
Can l 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 ?
l, 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.
- lt`s a high hard one, Chief.
- Okay. Okay. - Park it.
- There are divisions in this country. - That`s because you created them.
l did not create them. The Democrats did.
lf 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.
l love that man. l love him!
l want the son of a bitch who got that agitator in here fired!
- Okay. - Mr. Nixon, l have another question.
l 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 l want, and that is what the, uh...
great silent majority of Americans want...
and that is why l want to be president-- to bring us together.
- Give me a break, Mary. - Now,you all know me.
l`m one of you. l grew up here, a stone`s throw from here...
on a little lemon ranch in Yorba Linda.
lt was the poorest lemon ranch in California, l can tell you that.
The poorest lemon ranch in California, l can assure you of that.
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, l 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 l 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. l mean, what the fuck?
l 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.
l 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.
lf 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.
l 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 l count on your support?
l 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.
l don`t believe it would survive another.
-Well, like l said, uh, Edgar-- -You ask if you can count on my support.
As long as l 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, l know a man named Bob Engel.
Oh. Well, l know all about that. Yeah.
l don`t understand it. Track 2 is Chile.
Yeah, Chile, Congo, Guatemala, lran, Cuba.
Wherever there is need for, uh, an executive action capability, there`s a Track 2.
ln 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.
l 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.
l 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.
lf 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?
l 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.
lf l kissed you Fever if l held you tight
Fever in the morning
- Fever all through the night - That`s the last time l ever saw him.
Play it on a runway in Paris
- The models do a-- - See, when l saw Bobby lying there on the floor...
arms stretched out like that and his eyes staring...
Stay back!
l 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?
ls 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 l get you anything?
Relax, Dick.
lt`s just me, huh?
The desert`s so beautiful, isn`t it?
l 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?``
l 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.
lt is not the voice of the protestors or the shouters.
lt 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!
l 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!
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.
l didn`t ask what your staff thinks. What do you think, Henry?
What l 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.
l 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.
lf 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 l think of those kids out there in Vietnam, doing their duty...
uh, l bet they were scared.
l-l was when l 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!
l mean,you see these bums,you know, blowing up the campuses...
burning books and so forth...
and they call themselves, uh, ''flower children.``
l call `em spoiled rotten, and l 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.