Hillary Rodham Clinton and Watergate

So why was it easier for Hillary to repudiate Nixon in 1974 when she joined the House impeachment committee staff, than to repudiate Goldwater when NPR finally asked her to explain why she didn't in 1996? The Watergate scandal is only the tip of the iceberg. The impeachment committee looked extensively at Nixon's "incursion" into Cambodia. Goldwater had been the original non-interventionist, anti-Vietnam War candidate in 1964 with his advocacy of tactical nukes to end the conflict quickly. Johnson and Nixon, who ran as peace candidates, averaged 120 dead American service personnel per week between the two of them for eight solid years. Many Goldwater supporters felt vindicated, as there certainly were no Democrats opposed to escalating the Vietnam conflict in 1964 when Goldwater was almost alone. Some Goldwater backers had more in common with the anti-war isolationists who backed Gene McCarthy and George McGovern than the Nixon-Johnson Silent Majority war hawks.

Some thought it a war crime when Nixon expanded the war into Cambodia, and an Article of Impeachment was formulated based on this. Nixon allegedly responded, "the president can bomb whoever he wishes". In the ensuing legal arguments the law came down on Nixon's side and the Template:Wpl. The Template:Wpl and two standing Congressional Intelligence Committees were born out of these legal and constitutional debates. The impeachment committee settled on lesser charges based on a third-rate burglarly to pursue their pettiness and vindictiveness. Make no mistake, Hillary's involvement with the committee, and using it to promote her own career, was a big factor in bringing an impeachment inquiry against the Clinton's for their involvement in the Template:Wpl. But legal and constitutional questions over impeacheability for the Clinton's activities prior to taking office caused the committee to settle on lesser charges based on sex in the Oval Office.