RICHARD NIXON and WATERGATE The Epilogue, The Re-Rise (Part 6) The Finale: The Age of Nixon

The Richard Nixon Experience

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This is the finale of our look at Richard Nixon, and our 145 episode look back at the most divisive era in American history other than the American Civil War, the Vietnam war and Watergate.
It all began with the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the President of South Vietnam , followed three weeks later by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (episode 29) and ends with this look back at the passing of President Richard Nixon. It encompasses three of the biggest traumas ever experienced by our nation, the assassination of a President, the war in Vietnam, and the removal of a President in a scandal. A scandal whose origins came as an outgrowth of a President trying to figure a way out of a war that was destroying the bonds of affection that held our nation together.
Richard Nixon left office in disgrace. His enemies in the Democratic Party and National Media still firmly in place and who have tried to make sure his legacy is held in contempt by the American people. But that failed during President Nixon's lifetime because the American people are a lot smarter than they are given credit, and they are also an understanding and forgiving people. As time marched on, the wisdom of the policies Richard Nixon championed became clearer as did the benefits of his extraordinary accomplishments.
Richard Nixon was one of us, a biographer once wrote, he did not come from privilege, or wealth, he came from the small town of Yorba Linda, California and he brought with him the hard work ethic of a depression era hardscrabble childhood followed up by the agonies of fighting a World War. He championed the values of America's common people, generous in spirit, but tempering their generosity with common sense. They understood Richard Nixon and when he fell they were still there to catch him and open the door back. When he passed away in April of 1994, they came by the the tens of thousands to pay their respects, as Bob Dole said "No longer silent in their grief"
This is that story. As we close the door to our epic look at Richard Nixon it is important for those among us who have only faint memories of this giant in the history of the World. That they see him as his contemporaries did and not as his enemies have tried to portray him . He was simply the largest figure of his age, the Age of Nixon.