[samtheman]

Nixon destroyed himself, by not having enough faith in himself. He should have been more confident in his ability to win the 72 election without resorting to extra-legal means.

But he allowed the left to rattle him and his self-confidence crumbled. And America paid a huge price for Nixon’s self-made vulnerabilities. Not to mention the price paid by Iran... and by extension, paid by the world.

If Nixon had just learned to breathe...

[pfflier]

I think the media in particular was out to get Nixon. He sent Agnew after the "Nattering nay-bobs of negativism" and that was the beginning of the end.

You may be right about his personality flaw but I think any Republican would have been subjected to the same viscious character attack. How they would have reacted we'll never know. But it is likely that carter would have remained in the backwaters of American politics and the Middle East would be very different right now.