<<As I said, things were a bit less partisan at the time, believe it or not. There was a certain degree of civility.>>
As I remember it, there was plenty of partisanship, but it was pushed into the background quite a bit by Congress once the hearings got going. It's mainly Congress that acted quite differently.
I think one of the differences is that people were really scared at the time. The main fear now is that the market could take a further tumble. Then there was really fear that our democracy was at at least some risk. There were some dark wonderings if it was possible that some Nixon loyalists in the military just might do something if it was felt he wasn't being treated fairly. There was, after all, the Saturday night massacure in which Nixon fired two successive attorneys general who refused to follow his orders to stop with the investigation, until he found one who would comply. The term "Constitutional crisis" had some real teeth in it then.
Now, thankfully, we have some solid precedent that even is this age of immediacy and swift military peril, the impeachment process can go on, and if merited, a President can be thrown out of office bloodlessly and more or less according to the Constitutional script.
Which, ironically, is leading to a lot less gravitas, and a lot more partisan carelessness of the other sides sensibilities, and less concern for due process. Very unfortunately. This needs to be corrected.
Doug |
