Presidents must and are held by the higher standards of morality and ethics, and as such, they mus be held accountable for violating them. Nobody should be above the law, not even the President.

A sad situation for our country. I do think it warranted his resignation but I wonder what greater offenses were committed by other presidents that were not discovered.

Is there any doubt here, except among the most gap-toothed revisionists, that Nixon had to resign or be impeached?

This was a crook, pure and simple. His crookedness only diminished his legitimate foreign policy acheivements.

Tricky Dick's actions defined high crimes and misdemeanors. I would have tossed him myself if I was around at the time.

When Richard Nixon realized he was in a hole, he should have done the smart thing and quit digging. His direct involvement in the attempts to cover up the doings of those working for him, from authorizing hush money to the "Saturday Night Massacre", were sufficient to bring down his presidency. What started out as the ill-conceived folly by minor campaign operatives, a third-rate burglary according to Nixon himself, could have been laid to rest the day they were reported in the Washington Post. Instead it took over the Whitehouse and the American domestic agenda for two years and left scars on the political system that resonated in the presidencies of Reagan, Clinton and Dubya.

At the time it seemed terrible,and it was,in fact,dishonorable-however,next to the foibles,deceptions and ineptitude of the Bush Administration,it looks like boyhood pranks!

Nixon proved he was prone to lying when he lost to JFK and announced he would never run for president again - then jumped at the first chance he got. Yes, what he did was wrong and he deserved what he got unlike so many of the other liars who came along before and since him.

Lying, covering up, disrespecting private property and illegally invading that Watergate Building is serious enough to warrant his resignation.

I think it was Nixon's inactions that were serious enough to warrant his resignation. The impeachment process is a political process, not a legal one. What on earth was Nixon's felony? And where is there any testimony or evidence of it? How ridiculous, at least in Clinton's case you have both evidence AND sworn testimony to his perjury. But, back to the political process. Nixon's failure to be forthright with truthful information and an investigation caused him to be forced to resign. The press (his lifelong enemy) smelled blood in the water, even if they didn't smell truth, and pursued him relentlessly. Nixon, although winning an enormous landslide in November, 1972, did not have strong allies in a democrat-controlled House, and the wich hunt made for some great TV, and several broadcasting and political careers were launched. When the process reached the Senate, it had so much momentum that Nixon, who probably would not have been convicted by the Senate, had no stomach for a repeat theatrical playing of the charges by those sterling orators of the left, threw in the towel, partially to save himself the ordeal, and partially out of respect for the office he held. If Clinton gets to use the defense, nobody swore under oath to that, then certainly so does Nixon. This is another example of Nixon not realizing the power of TV, to his ultimate destruction politically. A side point, Nixon was enormously more popular throughout the US than was Clinton during their respective impeachment hearings. Nixon won re-election 520-17 in 1972, Clinton won by 370-168. Clinton never got 50% of the popular vote, either. The similarities are unbelievable.

This comes down to basically double standards. As Ralph so vividly pointed out, Nixon did commit a felony and that does call for a resignation. However, Ralph, why don't you say this with me, Clinton committed a FELONY called purgery. It seems to me you consistantly forget to mention that presidential felony, a lot. Am I smelling a liberal double standard?

the cover-up of watergate is what did nixon in, not the break-in. i have great respect for president nixon, but his achilles heel was his paranoia. he should have known that the media would uncover the whole scandal.

Yes, perjury was big crime in this case; however, another crime I feel is more serious is obstruction of justice. Nixon told the FBI and the CIA to stop investigating Watergate. Because your're the president I feel that is more serious and yes serious enough to warrant his resignation. Think about how many presidents have have committed perjury then compare it to obstruction of justice. Also I feel tha obstruction of justice is the crime that made Nixon look guilty. By telling the FBI and the CIA to stop it was like admitting he was guilty.

Well, gosh. It says high crimes and misdemeanors in the Constitution but doesn't mention felonies, LOL. I can see the argument now: hey, perjury is a felony, but no way is it a 'high crime!' Maybe he could have overthrown a foreign democracy or two as well. Oh, wait a minute, he did.

Sadly and unfortunately, yes... they were.

I guess it would depend on just how much he himself was actually in on the whole thing; and if he was even the instigator of the scheme. I mean maybe it was just that some of his poeple got a little over-anxious.

The political dirty tricks that Richard Nixon engaged in were no worse than what Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, or FDR did. What distinguished Nixon was that he left a trail behind for the press to follow concerning his activities. The Watergate break-in was nothing more than a 3rd rate burglary. The big crime was perjury in this case; the cover-up was the main issue here and that was the grounds for impeachment. He more than likely would have been convicted, so he made the right choice in leaving office. Obviously, Nixon made some very big enemies throughout public life; when they smelled blood, they came after him. It didn't help that he promoted a stifling political atmosphere about him. The closed nature of White House decision-making only increased the veracity of Nixon's enemies in trying to get a conviction. While Nixon did do a lot of good things in public life, particularly on foreign policy, it can be said that he didn't trust anyone else but himself in making decisions. The result of this was a very hostile congress and press that would not give him what he wanted. The imperial president has never been a reality in this country, fortunately. In the final analysis, Nixon was his own worst enemy. He did many great things and he was one of the broadest thinkers who have ever served in high office, the problem was Nixon himself.

It was very serious enough to warrant his resignation ! Oh my God, what a loser deluxe ! And some of you people whine about President Bill Clinton? Bill Clinton is an angel compared to what this man was as president....totally sick...

No, his performance in office, even morally, wasn't as bad as that of some other presidents. He had to resign because he had hardly any friends in the Press or in Congress. It's a wonder he was able to take the harassment as long as he did.

I think Nixon's resignation was a clear example of how seriously he took the office of the President to be. He made a mistake and stood up for himself. He resigned for the good of the Presidency, since scandals of that sort should not be a part of the office. I don't think Nixon's spying on political rivals was as terrible as many people do, but he acted in a prudent manner once the scandal started. Too bad Bill Clinton didn't have enough class to resign after Whitewater, Paula Jones, perjury, taking foreign money, abuse of power, etc etc etc etc etc

More than serious enough. Watergate was just the tip of the iceberg. Nixon's campaign engaged in espionage against democratic and republican rivals alike. Destroying the electoral process and covering it up the way he did are something I would expect from Stalin, not from an American president.