Statement by Ronald H. Walker,Chairman of the Board
The Richard Nixon Foundation
March 31, 2011
Nearly 40 years after President Nixon left office, Watergate remains a controversial and much-studied subject. It is however, just one chapter in the enormously consequential life and career of the 37th president of the United States.
The new Watergate exhibit at the Nixon Library represents one interpretation of the events that led to President Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Although it differs from the original Watergate exhibit, it shares something in common – it is still the largest exhibit devoted to one subject in the Nixon Library.
The Richard Nixon Foundation appreciated the opportunity provided by the National Archives to offer comments and suggestions about this exhibit and we are pleased that some of our suggestions were incorporated in this new exhibit.
We share the sentiment expressed by President Clinton when he eulogized President Nixon in 1994: “[M]ay the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close.”
We invite visitors to the Nixon Library to consider President Nixon’s life in full – the peaks and the valleys – that are all part of what Senator Bob Dole called the Age of Nixon.
The following, also a statement from Chairman Ron Walker, is included in a media advisory on the exhibit released by the National Archives on March 31.
“Once again, visitors to the Nixon Library will have the opportunity to evaluate a particular interpretation of Watergate. Watergate is one chapter in Richard Nixon’s long and consequential career. We hope that those who visit the Library to see the new exhibit will also explore the Library’s many other presentations — and visit our website at www.nixonfoundation.org — so they can gain a fuller understanding of the remarkable life and legacy of the 37th President of the United States. In the words of President Clinton at President Nixon’s State Funeral, ‘may the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close.