Richard Nixon has resolved his seventh and final
political crisis.
Responding to the insistent demands of Republican
congressional leaders, he resigned yesterday as President.
He acted with patriotism, foregoing his personal
desires for the general good. His decision was the best he could
have made for the country, although it does not resolve many
questions raised by the Watergate mess.
President Ford should now be able to restore the
country to . . . normal behavior such as has been impossible for
months. He deserves -- and we hope he will get -- the complete
cooperation of a nation that has been sorely tried.
President Nixon's tragedy is both personal and
national. . . . And yet we think history will show that many of his
arguments were sound. In a majority of cases, he was defending the
presidency. . . . His preoccupation with foreign affairs has
brought the world closer to peace than it has been for generations,
but his inattention to the affairs of his own office led to his
undoing.
