QuoteProject
After Nixon resigned in 1974, he engaged in a very aggressive war with history, attempting to wipe out the Watergate stain and memory. Happily, history won, largely because of Nixon's tapes.
Bob Woodward
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on Nixon's struggle to reshape his legacy after the Watergate scandal, emphasizing the power of historical truth.

Bob Woodward's quote highlights the futile effort of Richard Nixon to erase the negative impacts of the Watergate scandal from his history. Despite Nixon's aggressive attempts to manipulate his narrative, the truth ultimately prevails, underscored by the existence of recorded evidence in the form of his tapes which preserve the reality of the events.

Themes

HistoryLegacyTruthWatergateNixonMemory

In practice

Example use cases

A speaker at a political rally might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of accountability in leadership.

More from Bob Woodward

I don't think there will ever be a permanent truce, but I believe the media needs to be more careful and be willing to count to 10 before rushing on the air or into print.
Bob WoodwardRead
There's hostility to lying, and there should be.
Bob WoodwardRead
Newspapers that are truly independent, like The Washington Post, can still aggressively investigate anyone or anything with no holds barred.
Bob WoodwardRead
The legislator learns that when you talk a lot, you get in trouble. You have to listen a lot to make deals.
Bob WoodwardRead
The central dilemma in journalism is that you don't know what you don't know.
Bob WoodwardRead
I'm not going to name some of my colleagues who are very well-known for their television presentation, but they wouldn't know new information or how to report a story if it came up and bit them.
Bob WoodwardRead

Similar quotes

He was what I often think is a dangerous thing for a statesman to be - a student of history; and like most of those who study history, he learned from the mistakes of the past how to make new ones.
A. J. P. TaylorRead
Palestine is our unforgettable historic home. The very name would be a force of marvelous potency for summoning our people together.
Theodor HerzlRead
The March on Washington was a defining moment in the history of this country and a great example of our nation truly living up to its creed.
Martin Luther King IiiRead
And in the absence of facts, myth rushes in, the kudzu of history.
Stacy SchiffRead
From the very beginning, history wasn't content simply to be nostalgic fairytales; it wanted to make you think.
Simon SchamaRead
Oftentimes, a history book in school will talk about the Underground Railroad as if it's one sentence. But thousands of people decided to run, and they single-handedly changed the trajectory of our nation. By running to the North, they put a face to slavery, which recruited a lot of abolitionists.
Jurnee Smollett-BellRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.