El presidente Nixon dimite: escándalo Watergate
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00:00Good morning, this is today in Washington, Friday, August 9th.
00:05The nation awaits the swearing in at noon eastern time of our 38th president, Gerald Ford,
00:12and the departure from political life of Richard M. Nixon.
00:16In a televised farewell last night, President Nixon acknowledged that because of the Watergate affair,
00:21he no longer has a strong enough base in Congress to continue with any effectiveness.
00:26He and his family are expected to leave by air for their home in California later this morning,
00:31and we expect to see their departure from the White House.
00:34I'm Barbara Walters with Jim Hartz.
00:37Good morning.
00:38Good morning, Jim.
00:39And we will have fuller details on this momentous story in just a moment,
00:44a story that many of us are still having trouble believing actually occurred.
00:48Later in this half hour, we will look back on film at that incident, that so-called caper,
00:53seemingly so minor at the time that led to the events which culminated last night.
00:59We're talking about the Watergate break-in and the widening cast of characters that swept the events along.
01:06Also in this hour, Edmund Newman will report on the background and character of Gerald Ford.
01:11We will speak with House Speaker Carl Albert, who for the second time in less than 10 months
01:15will become first in line to succeed a president, in this case President Ford.
01:20We will also look inside the White House at President Nixon and his closest advisers
01:24at the height of their power and prestige.
01:27But first, before any of this, this morning's news.
01:30At mid-morning today, the president will say goodbye to the White House staff in a rose garden ceremony,
01:35then leave Washington on an Air Force jet bound for his home in San Clemente, California.
01:40His resignation as the 37th president of the United States takes effect at noon today, eastern time,
01:46and at that moment, in the Oval Office, Vice President Gerald Ford will be sworn in as the 38th chief executive.
01:52There is here in Washington a great sense of relief and hope that the turmoil of the last two years is over at last.
01:58Here is part of what the president said in his resignation speech last night.
02:06I have never been a quitter.
02:10To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body.
02:17But as president, I must put the interests of America first.
02:24America needs a full-time president and a full-time Congress,
02:31particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad,
02:37to continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication
02:43would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the president and the Congress
02:50in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.
03:01Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.
03:08Vice President Ford will be sworn in as president at that hour in this office.
03:18The transition of power will be swift and it would seem on the surface relatively uncomplicated.
03:24Here is more on that from NBC News White House correspondent Tom Brokaw.
03:29It is overcast and raining in Washington as president and Mrs. Nixon prepare to leave the White House for the last time as the first family.
03:36The president is saying goodbye to his cabinet and White House staff in public ceremonies in the East Room of the White House this morning.
03:42That's at that end.
03:44For them, for the staff and for the cabinet, this is a bittersweet time.
03:48Many of them are sad, even angry that the Nixon administration is coming to an end in this fashion.
03:55Still others feel a certain sense of relief that the agony now is over.
03:59Mr. Nixon is leaving the White House as a president of the United States and he will arrive in California as a private citizen.
04:07But judging from his remarks last night, he does not intend to leave the public arena.
04:12Just what he'll do is unclear, however.
04:15Equally unclear is the president's standing within the prosecution position of this country.
04:22Whether he will be pursued by prosecutors still has not been resolved.
04:26Tom Brokaw, NBC News at the White House.