General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I was politically active, aware, and THERE for Watergate... [View all]cyclonefence
(5,137 posts)and while I certainly agree with your conclusions, I want to point out that as far as I recall, Alexander Butterfield was the first witness to testify before the Ervin committee hearings, and he revealed the existence of the recording system in the Oval Office. A member of the committee asked him if there were such a system, and Butterfield said, "I was afraid you would ask about that" and proceeded to reveal that all conversations in the OO were taped. So the existence of the recordings were known early on, on day one of the hearings.
There was great distaste among the Republicans of that day for Nixon, not because they disagreed with his goals but because he was personally offensive. Repubs back then were dignified old guys who acted like gentlemen, at least where people could see them. Once they realized there was no saving Nixon (because of the tapes) they were not as protective of him as they might have been.