Arms outstretched, fingers forming Vs for Victory, Nixon laps up the adoration at a rally in 1968 – the year he won the presidency. He adopted the same pose for his final departure from the White House in the wake of the Watergate scandal
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“I Richard Milhous Nixon, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
These were the words by which the 37th US President was sworn in on 20 January 1969. Five and a half years later, these words would ring hollow.