THE RESIGNATION: EXIT NIXON

Amidst a riotous swirl of banners and balloons Miami's cavernous Convention Hall, Richard Nixon strode to the microphones on Aug. 8, 1968, and, confident of victory in November, accepted the Republican nomination for President. It was the culmination, he said, of "an impossible dream" he had had all his life. Four years later, Nixon was renominated for what looked like—and proved to be—a push over of a campaign for a second term. On yet another Aug. 8, last week, Nixon announced his resignation, midway through his term, ruined by his own deeds....