Photo: "Richard M. Nixon Boards the White House Helicopter for the very last time, August 9, 1974."

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Richard M. Nixon Boards the White House Helicopter for the very last time, August 9, 1974.

Richard M. Nixon, following his resignation from the office of President of the United States on August 9, 1974, waves the victory sign with both hands as he boards the White House helicopter. President Gerald Ford's head can be seen at the bottom right corner.

http://www.historicaldocuments.com/RichardNixonFarewellSpeech.htm

[ddeclue]

1. I want to see the Bush version of that one...It's gonna become my wallpaper for at least a year. n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. In a just world, Bush would be forced to take a cab to National Airport....

and fly back to wherever he is going to go on a commercial airline.

Ground the 2 Presidential 747's and the Marine helicopters for fumigation.

[Oldtimeralso]

13. Actuality the Air Force was still using 707's at that time. n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. Um..yeah, I know. I was replying to the poster above who said he wanted to see the Bush version..

My version has Bush flying commercial and the current AF1's grounded in order to remove the stench of 8 years of a failed presidency.

Not to mention that numb nuts has put so many hours on them they probably both need a D check.

[liberalmuse]

2. I distinctly remember this.

I was 10 years old, and 'Nixon' is my first memory of a President. I started school in 1969, and clearly remember the 'Nixon' signs.

[NightWatcher]

3. come on, photoshoppers. get W's face on that pic for us

1/20/09

[TroglodyteScholar]

6. I suspect Bush's farewell will involve two birdfingers. n/t

[Pastiche423]

16. Just for you...

[Beregond2]

4. We had a big party in my dorm to celebrate.

We really thought that was the end of the evil right wing in America. How naive we were.

[MichiganVote]

5. I remember that moment...it was both a sad moment and a huge relief for american citizens.

[alsame]

8. I remember that day very well. That night, I went to a Crosby, Stills,

Nash and Young concert and Stephen Stills made a short speech about how we could all be proud of America again - and then they sang "Ohio".

[MgtPA]

9. August 9, 1974 - my 21st birthday! Boy, what a gift that was :)

[SheilaT]

10. I was a ticket agent at National Airport at the time.

The evening before, when he made his resignation speech, the entire airport came to a standstill that I had never seen before. Planes did not push away from the gates while the speech was occurring. All of us ticket agents with my airline were in out break room in back of the ticket counter, which was in the old Main Terminal, watching the speech. We had the door propped open, just in case a passenger should walk up and need to be waited on. No one walked up.

I can't quote it exactly, but after rambling a bit, Nixon said something about not being a quitter. I was so afraid that he'd go on to say something like, "Therefore I am not quitting the Presidency, but will stay and fight." Every time I see that speech replayed I'm afraid he'll refuse to resign, and all of a sudden everything will be changed. But he did resign. He should have died in prison. The only reason to attend his funeral or watch it on TV as I did, was to make sure that sonofabitch would stay dead.

For those of you too young to remember, or those of you who did not live in the DC area at the time, during the two weeks prior to the resignation, the federal government in many ways came to a standstill. Day by day Nixon's administration was unraveling, and it seemed that no one could think of anything else. I'm sure it was very different outside the Beltway, but inside it was a slow moving nightmare.

And yeah, in a just world he would have had to take a taxi -- better yet a bus. He could have walked two blocks and picked up the bus (I think at the time it was the #11 bus) in front of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing that would have dropped him off in front of the Main Terminal at National Airport. Either United or American would have had connections to Los Angeles, or he could have picked up the bus out to Dulles from DCA and taken a nonstop from Dulles to LAX.

[NBachers]

22. Sheila- That was excellent writing

You really captured that moment in time. There was fear of what Nixon could do as he descended into madness. Thanks for putting that out here for us.

I have an original "President Nixon- Now More than Ever" bumper sticker on my car. It's reflective of the depths that George W Bush has taken us to. I'd rather see my hated political nemesis Nixon in the White House than Bush.

The small print on the bumper sticker actually lists C.R.E.E.P., with John Mitchell as treasurer.

Nixon stayed dead, but the evil he represented didn't. It came back with a vengeance, with many of the same villains. We must drive a stake in the heart of this monster and make sure it never comes back from the grave.

Never. Again.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n03a7cLf0M

[arcadian]

11. Would like to see a combo of that and the Henry Blake farewell episode from MASH for Bush.

n/t

[Captiosus]

12. Here ya go. ;)

"Colonel Henry Blake's President Bush's plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan Potomac River. There were no survivors."

[Aristus]

15. Caption: Nixon's thought balloon - "Victory! Now Jerry has to deal with all this goddamned horseshit

B-)

[1awake]

17. I'll fix it...

[Pastiche423]

18. What a lovely day that was!

I remember it fondly.

[leftofthedial]

19. james taylor wrote a great song partly about this--Line 'Em Up

Line ’em Up

I remember richard nixon back in ’74
And the final scene at the white house door
And the staff lined up to say good-bye
Tiny tear in his shifty little eye
He said nobody knows me
Nobody understands
These little people were good to me
Oh I’m gonna shake some hands

Chorus:
Somebody line ’em up
Line ’em all up
Line ’em up
Line ’em all up
Line ’em up
Line ’em all up
Line ’em up
Line ’em all up

At that time my heart was all broke
I looked like ashes and smelled like smoke
And I turned away from my loving kind
Try to leave my body and live in my mind
But it’s much too much emotion
To hold it in your hand
They’ve got waves out on the ocean
They’re gonna wear away the land

- chorus -

Oh I’ve seen corn in kansas
And I’ve seen picket fences
And certain cowboy dances
I’ve gone lining up for shows
I’ve been safely placed in rows
Sure I know how it goes

Another day goes by
Little time machine
I’m breaking my brain
Over what it might mean
Just to claim the time
And to turn away
To make today today

Who waits for you
Lonely tired old toad
It’s your life laid out before you
Like the broken white line down the center of the road

- chorus -

Yeah, big moon landing
People all standing up
Smiles for the loved ones
They go walking on down the aisles
Each re-engages stepping into the sun
I watch them turn like pages
One by one by one

- chorus -

[Amerigo Vespucci]

21. Neil Young's Nixon song, "Campaigner," has always been one of my favorites...

I am a lonely visitor.
I came too late to cause a stir,
Though I campaigned all my life towards that goal.
I hardly slept the night you wept
Our secret's safe and still well kept
Where even Richard Nixon has got soul.
Even Richard Nixon has got
Soul.

Traffic cops are all color blind.
People steal from their own kind.
Evening comes to early for a stroll.
Down neon streets the streaker streaks.
The speaker speaks, but the truth still leaks,
Where even Richard Nixon has got soul.
Even Richard Nixon has got it,
Soul.

The podium rocks in the crowded waves.
The speaker talks of the beautiful saves
That went down long before he played this role
For the hotel queens and the magazines,
Test tube genes and slot machines
Where even Richard Nixon got soul.
Even Richard Nixon has got it,
Soul.

Hospitals have made him cry,
But there's always a free way in his eye,
Though his beach just got to crowded for his stroll.
Roads stretch out like healthy veins,
And wild gift horses strain the reins,
Where even Richard Nixon has got soul.
Even Richard Nixon has got
Soul.

I am a lonely visitor.
I came to late to cause a stir,
Though I campaigned all my life towards that goal.

:patriot:

[Amerigo Vespucci]

20. Just posted in LBN: Bush, at 23%, has dropped below Nixon's lowest-ever approval rating:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3541636&mesg_id=3541636

:patriot: