A reprint of an Art Buchwald column from 1973 about things Nixon supporters could (and did) say in response to attacks on Nixon during the Watergate crisis.
Stop me if these sound familiar …
…
6. The Democrats are sore because they lost the election.
7. Are you going to believe a rat like John Dean or the president of the United States?
8. Wait till all the facts come out.
9. What about Chappaquiddick?
10. If you impeach Nixon, you get Agnew.
…
Now to be fair, none of these are exclusive to defenders of Nixon or Trump … but the laundry list of kneejerk responses is remarkably similar to the present case.
Oh yeah? Well, what about Chappaquiddick?
A column written by the immortal Art Buchwald about Watergate-era Nixon defenders has a certain resonance as Robert Mueller’s investigation proceeds.
As to #10 above, the elimination of Agnew was pulled off first. THEN the Republicans convinced Nixon that he had no alternative but to resign.
+Jeanne Hannigan Though the "elimination of Agnew" was an independent thing. Agnew was not directly involved in Watergate; he was hoist by his on inept petard (though made easier by his pretty much torquing off everyone else).
+Dave Hill The point was Agnew wasn't acceptable to be president. Therefore, his corruption was exposed and he was forced to resign. Then, the GOP was able to select a suitable VP (Gerald Ford) who would be able to succeed to the presidency after Nixon was removed. I never said Agnew was part of the Watergate burglary and cover-up.
That said, today, Nixon would face no consequences. Times have changed.
+Jeanne Hannigan I infer you think Agnew was gotten rid of in order to pave the way for Nixon's removal. I don't believe that's the case, though I honestly haven't researched to that end.
+Dave Hill I was a young adult at the time. It's how I remember the sequence of events. Agnew was a rabid bulldog. He was used, it seemed to me, to reflect the right wing sentiment of the time. "…nattering nabobs of negativity…" was one of his gems. I left the country soon after Nixon's re-election (having seen that the investigation of the burglary and the unravelling coverup were being punted until after the election — therefore, proof in my then-young eyes that there was real illegality that was not being addressed). Fortunately, our population was more engaged, better educated, and still naive enough to believe that integrity mattered. I returned to the US, coincidentally, on the day Nixon departed the White House. My husband and I viewed the spectacle on a television broadcasting through the window of a Sears store. We celebrated while our fellow viewers simply watched somberly.
+Jeanne Hannigan We were on a family vacation in Lake Tahoe, and I recall watching the TV at the rental condo we were at, as NIxon gave his resignation speech.
I don't recall anything about Agnew's resignation.