Do you truly think President Nixon was a bad man?
831519
No I don't.  I think he had the misfortune of getting caught.  He did the right thing by stepping down.   He put the presidency first.  Clinton however put himself first.
599741
Yes! Under this Administration it is worse than the KGB. When is America going to wake up and demand accountability from George W. Bush, for his abuse of his office and the power bestowed upon him? We impeached Nixon for much less than this. How long are we going to sit back and take this kind of corruption?
756626
It's way too early to judge George W Bush but historically speaking  most rate U.S. Grant as the worst president.. Not so much because of Grant himself but because he  brought in friends and family into the executive most of which turned out to be of low character. The Grant admistration was wrackme by corruption , payoffs and scandal.\nso there YOu have it US GRANT
879242
Nixon has been one of the best president the US had together with Reagan in the last 50 years. Honorable peace? You think that by leaving the South Vietnamese helpless, it's a honorable peace that he has achieved? The pressure from the American public was too big and he had to withdraw. But, was the cause just? What did the North achieve? What were they fighting for? Communism? Where is that communism now? The American cause was a cause that was right and in the end it has proved that it were the North Vietnamese who have for something that they now do not believe... So many lives lost.... Is that honorable?
568179
Let's verify there was a massacre before we make any comparisons. Since Vietnamese villagers were not known for blowing themselves up to kill U.S. personnel and few if any of their women were ever combatants, shooting down civilians in that theater was a lot more difficult to take than anything that happens in a war zone where women and children routinely take up arms, put on disguises and attack both military and civilian targets.\n\nAs for Calley, I don't think Nixon went overboard in granting him clemency. He was being scapegoated.
895480
I think Nixon failed because he did not adhere to these principles.  A 'Prince' must be thought publically to be beyond reproach.  He may carry out underhanded dealing to acheive a purpose.   Machiavelli specified that the only acceptable end was the stabilization and health of the state; individual power for its own sake is not an acceptable end and does not justify evil actions.  In this way both Nixon and Reagan sought power for personal ambition, not the benefit of the country.
166564
Nixon tried the war bit as an excuse as well for wiretapping without a warrent and it didn't work for him so I think Bush has some trouble looming in the near future about that.  Add in other things done and I think we got a mess coming in the not so distant future!
259713
History and time will tell.  It's too early to answer that question.  It's hard to point to one President who was the worst - there were many rather insignificant Presidents.  Ulysses Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, and Cleveland all served during one of the most corrupt eras in U.S. history - I would probably start with one of these men.
199281
Just to correct an answer--Nixon was NOT impeached, but certainly would have been.  He resigned first.\n\nIt'd be nice of some of these responses would reach beyond the last 10 years.  We've had presidents around for close to 250 years now, and some of them were pretty awful compared to any recent ones.\n\nI understand Ulysses S. Grant was nothing more than a sentimental war hero choice and spent his term pretty much drunk.  Herbert Hoover presided over the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression, without being able to do anything to impact either.
557676
He pardoned Nixon, some things that was good, other think that it was a mistake.
48647
Yeah I think so! Not all Americans think that he's all bad...I mean the guy is practically a legand in his own right and we all have to admit that he is damn good!!! ;-)
440854
I agree with most of your comments.\n\nI agree that Truman was one of the best.  He, above all other things, accepted responisibility for his actions and wanted the President to be a man of unquestioned integrity.\n\nFor that reason, I believe the two Bushes to be the worst.  Neither has shown any desire to be a President that would make the American people proud.  All three of their combined terms have been marked by avoidance of responibility and the pursuit of personal interests over the good of the country.\n\nKennedy was overrated.  Didn't really do very many things well.  He relied almost completely on charisma.\n\nCarter was in way over his head and deserves to be among the worst, but has been a great ex-president.  I think he deserves some respect for his dipomacy and charity work since leaving office.\n\nRight on about Harding and Silent Cal.  I am torn on Clinton, although the country was relatively peace and prosperous during his tenure, I think much of the credit goes to Congress and gridlock rather than his own actions.  And he didn't have a strong sence of honour and integrity.\n\nI noticed you left off FDR and LBJ.  Both of whom were inexplicably popular.  FDR had good luck and charisma, JBL had bad luck and charisma.  I would put FDR on the best list, but not very high.  The circumstances surrounding his presidency would have made anyone look good.  Johnson belongs on the worst list in my opinion.  Although he did much good, he chose to sacrifice thousands of lives in Vietnam rather than make the unpopular decision to pull them out.
979349
Nixon indded was a strong leader.  I am 49 so I clearly remember the Nixon years.  When the recession became frightening he took the unprecedented step of a wage and price freeze.  A gutsy move that was not real popular.  It did help.  His quiet negotiations to China and the USSR were very impressive.\n\nOn the flip side Nixon did more than just lie.  His administrations use of the IRS to hound administration enemies was certainly criminal and his secret enemies lists were frightening.\n\nI hope history will eventually treat him as it should any president.  There were amazing strong points to his presidency and incredible weak points.  True historians usually give both sides and acknowledge that he was amazing with foreign policy and some internal policies while being a deeply paranoid one.  I do differ with some of those answering your question though.  He did indeed have to resign.  The votes for impeachment and removal for office were clearly there.\n\nIn short Richard Nixon was a human being.
1104494
He beat out Nixon for top honors, that's for sure. Let's see if He'll try to become Dictator for life. He' already has a head start with being appointed president once, and stealing it another time.\nViva La Resistance!!!
570381
I think the only differences is that we got Nixon out before he could do any real damage. But with this administration, we as the American people just don't seem to understand the hardship that they're leading us toward. So I say yes this administration is definitely more corrupt, and alot more sneaky..
685552
I think that more than political, it caused moral  problems.  I think that Watergate was one of the first events that caused the American people to see a lack of integrity in their leaders, and start to realize that even those we look up to are not always the good politicians and people we may have assumed them to be. \n\nI think that doubt has overflowed into mainstream society.  I think that Watergate, combined with Clinton's sex scandals and 9/11 have made us all very untrusting, witholding people.  And sadly, maybe that's for the better.
826274
No! I think he did very badly. I was really worried - he appeared cruel and mean. He needs to soften his image. I will never vote liberal while he is there.