American Minute for August 8th:
AUGUST 8, 1974, televised from the Oval Office, 37th President Richard Nixon said: "Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office...To continue to fight...for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress...Therefore, I shall resign...If some of my judgments were wrong...they were made in what I believed...to be the best interest of the Nation." Nixon continued: "In the Middle East, 100 million people in the Arab countries, many of whom have considered us their enemy...now look on us as their friends. We must continue to build on that friendship so that...the cradle of civilization will not become its grave." Nixon continued speaking: "I have taken heart from what Theodore Roosevelt once said about the man in the arena, 'whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly...If he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.'...In leaving...I do so with this prayer: May God's grace be with you in all the days ahead." Privately to his Cabinet, President Nixon said: "Mistakes, yes...for personal gain, never...I can only say to each...of you...we come from many faiths...but really the same God...You will be in our hearts and...in our prayers."
www.AmericanMinute.com
