Sometimes I get those “Oh my God, Bush and Cheney have destroyed America!” feelings – or – “America’s been destroyed. That’s why Bush and Cheney got re-elected!” feelings. Like while I was writing the last post. But then I can always go to Youtube and remind myself how awful things really can be, by replaying a Nixon moment or two. This one is worth watching, as it will remind you of how much Bush and Cheney reincarnated the “Nixon Way.” Wait, what about the “Reagan Way?”
Okay, in my last post, I said that we’ve never had an Administration that didn’t believe in our form of government. I take it back…
John Dean of Watergate’s fame wrote a book that is titled “Worse than Watergate” and I strongly agree with his opinion on this subject.
Having recently seen the film “Frost/Nixon,” I was glad to see the real clip of that interview and Nixon saying the line: “When the president does it, it means it’s not illegal.” In the film, that line is delivered verbatim, but it cuts away and does not include his tortured explanation. The way I read it here, Nixon is saying, not only that the president can get away with anything himself, but that he can give immunity to those who carry out his orders. That is, the president said do it, so it is, by definition, legal. He doesn’t even address the question of whether HE is commiting an illegality. Which says, I think, not just that he is immune from the law, but that he can create the law.
It’s really something when reality trumps Hollywood!