Word: resignations
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...approached by many concerned people urging me to bring matters to a head by threatening to resign unless Nixon did so; a few even suggested I invoke the 25th Amendment and declare the President incapacitated. It was unthinkable. It was not only that a presidential appointee had no moral right to force his President to resign; it would also be an unbearable historical burden for a foreign-born to do so. I was convinced that Nixon would do the right thing and that it was important for the nation that he be perceived as having come to this conclusion...
...Republican National Committee, took up the theme. The Republican Party, he said, was in a shambles; the forthcoming congressional election threatened disaster. Watergate had to be brought to an end expeditiously. Everyone in the room knew the corollary: the only way Watergate could end quickly was for Nixon to resign immediately...
Around 12:45 p.m., I returned to the Oval Office unannounced. I owed it to the President to say that his best service to the country now would be to resign. An impeachment trial would preoccupy him for months, obsess the nation and paralyze our foreign policy. It was too dangerous for our country and too demeaning to the presidency. He should leave in a manner that appeared as an act of his choice. Nixon said he appreciated what I said. He would take it seriously...
Nixon turned. He seemed composed, almost at ease. He had decided to resign, he said. The Republican leaders had reinforced his instinct that there was not enough support in Congress to justify a struggle. The country needed repose. He could save our foreign policy only by avoiding a constitutional crisis. He would speak to the nation the next evening, Thursday, Aug. 8; he would resign effective at noon Friday, Aug. 9. He hoped I would stay on to continue the foreign policy of which he was so proud...
Thursday Morning, Aug. 8, resignation was transmuted from the tragic to the routine. Haig told me that Nixon would see Ford at 11 a.m. to tell him formally of his plan to resign. Some Cabinet members called, asking whether they should publicly announce their readiness to continue in office. I counseled against it; they should not deprive the new President of options...