Nixon and Ford: "Emergency Repairs" and "Damage Control"

By the time Nixon took the White House, Unger had ceased to be surprised by the mission he had in mind: strengthening the hold of the government on the nation, and thereby increasing the power of the Emergency State. What was surprising was the extent to which he took this mission, and how clumsily it was done.




Nixon was his own special kind of crazy, and also the only president to ever resign from his post. Essentially, he (and his administration) used the FBI and CIA (among other government agencies) to bug the offices of his political opponents, harass activist groups, and finally attempt to cover up the shady goings-on that surrounded the Watergate Scandal, when 5 men broke into the Democratic National Committee.




Upon investigation into the incident, the courts uncovered plenty of illegal activities in which the president had participated/had knowledge of and didn't reveal to the public. Facing a seriously awkward situation, and almost certain impeachment, Nixon resigned in an attempt to retain a small amount of his personal dignity.




I don't think I need to go into the clauses and amendments and rights that Nixon violated. It's pretty clear why bugging offices, ordering harassment of anyone, and/or covering up national crimes are generally a bad ideas when you're the president.




Ultimately, Unger thinks that in trying to tighten the emergency state, he actually accomplished the opposite, "discredit[ing] three crucial pillars of the emergency state--the White House, the CIA, and the FBI" (Unger).

Ford is a relatively minor character in Unger's account of American History. He mentions him long enough to say that he handled the aftermath of Watergate poorly, and like the rest of everyone ever in the White House, was over-obsessed with national security and the power of the president. He added to the illegitimate image that Nixon created for the FBI, CIA, and White House.