Barry Goldwater Quotes

I never thought I would see a President of the United States say on television that “I am not a crook.” The worst part of it was, Nixon couldn’t even look the camera in the eye.

He [Richard M. Nixon] told us he was going to take crime out of the streets. He did. He took it into the damn White House.

… a lying crook in the Presidency

Voters who disregarded Richard Nixon's involvement in the questionable ethics issue that led to his Checkers speech should not have been surprised when he orchestrated the Watergate cover-up as president.

You roll back the stones and you find the slithering things of the world of Richard Nixon.

Nixon's grand mistake was his failure to understand that Americans are forgiving, and if he had admitted error early and apologized to the country, he would have escaped.

[Referring to Richard Nixon:] Either impeach him or get off his back.

I’m positive that the President is innocent of any involvement in Watergate

I remember, as a kid, nothing struck me funnier than seeing Richard Nixon look into the camera and sincerely tell everyone he didn't know where the 18 minutes had gone from his tapes. But there was all this sweat on his upper lip. We knew he was lying. He knew we knew he was lying. But he was determined to tell the lie.

I don't believe President Nixon ordered a break-in, but people working for him were doing it. And then that dragged the president in. And then you have the cover-up. And before you know it, the president's gone.

There were no dead bodies in Watergate.

Even before Watergate and his resignation, Nixon had inspired conflicting and passionate emotions.

Only a cheap politician, greedy for political gain, would try to single out one individual for blame. The fault lies not with the individual but with the system, and that system is Richard Nixon.

The fact of the Watergate cover-up is not nearly as interesting as the step into making the cover-up. And when you understand the step, you understand that Richard Nixon lied. That he was a criminal.

Not a season passes without new disclosures showing Nixon's numerous attempts at criminal use of his presidential powers and in fact the scorn he held for the rule of law.

I was never for Richard Nixon until Watergate.

I’ve studied Nixon since the Kennedy campaign. I’ve no doubt that the trail will lead to the Oval Office.

What did the President know and when did he know it?

What is this "Watergate?

Compared to Nixon.

I don't believe Richard Nixon ... ever shall be totally exonerated. While it's true he's been pardoned for any Federal crimes he may have committed as President, he can't escape the judgement of history.

If I’ve done nothing else for the country, I’ve saved them from Dick Nixon.

Had matters gone as planned—and the [Watergate] tapes trickled out posthumously—[Richard] Nixon would have managed the extraordinary feat of committing suicide after his own death.

The Watergate burglary was both illegal and stupid

Reveal Richard Nixon … lay him and his motives bare … destroy him in his shot for the Presidency.