CBS NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: THE PRESIDENT RESIGNS {NIXON'S RESIGNATION} (TV)
Summary
Live coverage of the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Highlights include the following: Walter Cronkite recalls the Nixon comeback and shows a clip of Nixon's acceptance of the Republican presidential nomination; Dan Rather describes the White House mood and the indications of a Nixon resignation; Cronkite and Eric Sevareid discuss the expected resignation and the reaction of Congress, possibility of impeachment, pardons, and plea bargaining; Bob Schieffer interviews people in the crowd outside the White House; George Herman comments on the mood on Capitol Hill; Cronkite remarks on pro-Nixon sentiments; Roger Mudd interviews Sen. Charles Percy (R-Ill.) on the possibility of his becoming vice president under Ford, the Republican National Committee's meeting with Nixon, Nixon's taking responsibility for Watergate, and whether Nixon should receive the emoluments of an ex-president; Cronkite comments on Ford's preparations for a smooth transition, and Rather confirms that cabinet members Haig and Kissinger have been asked to stay on; Mike Wallace interviews Richard Neustadt on Lyndon Johnson's and Nixon's erosion of presidential credibility and delegating power; Robert Schakne reports from New York on anti-Nixon sentiment, and Bill Plante from Chicago on pro-Nixon sentiment; Cronkite comments on the release of tape transcripts which indicate that Nixon may have obstructed justice; and Bruce Morton discusses the character of Gerald Ford with Rep. Albert Quie (R-Minn.), Rep. Martha Griffiths (D-Mich.), and Rep. Donald Riegle, Jr. (D-Mich.). Additional highlights include the following: Dan Rather reports on the somber crowd at the White House; Walter Cronkite comments on the Watergate years; Roger Mudd interviews Common Cause chairman John Gardner; Connie Chung, Rather, and Cronkite discuss the mood of the Nixon family; and Daniel Schorr and Fred Graham comment on possible immunity for Nixon. President Nixon announces he will resign from office and that Vice President Gerald Ford will assume the presidency. He says he hopes America will heal its wounds, regrets that some of his judgments might have been wrong, urges continuation of initiatives in China and the Middle East, and notes his efforts in the cause of world peace.
Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, and Roger Mudd analyze President Nixon's resignation speech; Rather calls it "Nixon's finest hour," Mudd feels that Nixon did not address the issue of accountability for Watergate, and Cronkite discusses the possibility of reconciliation; Eric Sevareid talks about the difficulty of analyzing public opinion on the resignation; Bob Schieffer reports on crowd reaction in Lafayette Park across from the White House; Cronkite reports that Vice-President Gerald R. Ford will take the oath of office at noon on August 9th; former Secretary of State William P. Rogers discusses Ford with Mike Wallace; Fred Graham reads Leon Jaworski's statement about criminal proceedings; in Alexandria, Virginia, Phil Jones covers Ford's announcement that Kissinger will continue as Secretary of State; Cronkite profiles Ford; Bruce Morton interviews Sen. Henry "Scoop" Jackson (D-Wash.); David Dick talks with Gov. George Wallace (D-Ala.); Cronkite reports that Nixon announced his resignation at 9:04:15 p.m.; Bob Schieffer interviews Ford's assistant Steve Bull; Cronkite discusses Nixon's departure and his statement of regret for "errors of judgment," and discusses vice presidential possibilities with Jones; Sevareid discusses Melvin Laird as a vice presidential possibility; Morton interviews George Bush and Rogers Morton; Pappas talks with Ford's three brothers; and Daniel Schorr briefly mentions Nixon's financial woes. Next, various public officials comment on the resignation, the new president, and the kind of cooperation Gerald Ford can expect from Congress, among other topics. Speakers include the following: Rep. Carl Albert (D-Okla.), Speaker of the House; Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.); Gov. Ronald Reagan (R-Calif.); Rep. John Rhodes (R-Ariz.), House Minority Leader; Saul Friedman of the Detroit Free Press; Rep. Clement Zablocki (D-Wis.); and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). Also, Sevareid and Cronkite comment on Watergate as a prelude to the Bicentennial; Charles Collingwood in London solicits foreign reactions to the resignation speech; Cronkite outlines Nixon's political career and his rise to prominence as an anti-communist; former Sen. Helen Gahagan Douglas comments on Nixon's political tactics against opponents like herself and Jerry Voorhis, and the success of the checks and balances of government; and the segment concludes with Cronkite's summary and clips of Nixon's speech. Coverage is interrupted briefly and then resumes. Highlights include the following: a clip of Nixon's speech; presidential press secretary Ronald Ziegler bidding the press goodbye; Sen. Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn.), Sen. Edward Brooke (R-Mass.), Sen. Marlow Cook (R-Ky.), Sen. Jacob Javits (R-N.Y.), and Rep. John Anderson (R-Ill.) commenting on Nixon's speech; former Nixon aide Herbert Klein and former California Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown on the resignation; and Richard Threlkeld on public reaction in San Francisco. The program concludes as Sevareid, Roger Mudd, Phil Jones, Rather, and Cronkite discuss the need for stability in the U.S.
Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Eric Sevareid, Roger Mudd, and Phil Jones discuss possible vice-presidential candidates; Rather describes the "new mood" at the White House; Mudd discusses the "new accessibility" of Ford; Jones comments on Ford's relationship with Nixon's staff, especially Gen. Alexander Haig; and Cronkite concludes the program. Includes commercials.
(Coverage was interrupted from 11:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.)
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: August 8, 1974 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:45:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T79:0418
- GENRE: News
- SUBJECT HEADING: U S - Presidency; U S - Officials - Talk/Interviews; Watergate; Impeachment; Women's Collection - News/Talk/Docs
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1974
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Mr. Coffee
- TV - Commercials - Pledge
CREDITS
- Walter Cronkite … Reporter
- Dan Rather … Reporter
- Eric Sevareid … Reporter
- Bob Schieffer … Reporter
- George Herman … Reporter
- Roger Mudd … Reporter
- Mike Wallace … Reporter
- Robert Schakne … Reporter
- Bill Plante … Reporter
- Bruce Morton … Reporter
- Daniel Schorr … Reporter
- Fred Graham … Reporter
- George Herman … Reporter
- Phil Jones … Reporter
- David Dick … Reporter
- Ike Pappas … Reporter
- Richard Threlkeld … Reporter
- Charles Collingwood … Reporter
- Sylvia Chase … Reporter
- Bill Stout … Reporter
- George Montgomery … Talent, Pledge commercial
- Carl Albert
- John B. Anderson
- Edward Brooke
- Edmund Brown
- Steve Bull
- George Bush
- Marlow Cook
- Joe DiMaggio
- Pete Domenici
- Helen Gahagan Douglas
- Gerald Ford
- Saul Friedman
- John Gardner
- Martha Griffiths
- Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
- Hubert Humphrey
- Henry Jackson
- Jacob Javits
- Leon Jaworski
- Henry Kissinger
- Herbert Klein
- Melvin Laird
- George Montgomery
- Rogers Morton
- Richard Neustadt
- Richard M. Nixon
- Charles Percy
- Albert Quie
- John Rhodes
- Donald Riegle
- William P. Rogers
- Strom Thurmond
- Jerry Voorhis
- Ronald Ziegler