John Taylor: Nixon didn't need to hear Goldwater's warning to know it was time to go

In “No One Dares Tell [Hillary] It’s Over,” Robert Novak perpetuates the myth that Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater had to “bell the cat” by visiting the White House, with other congressional leaders, to “inform [Nixon]..he must resign the Presidency.” On Sunday, Aug. 4, 1974, the President told his staff he’d decided to resign; head speechwriter Ray Price resumed work on the address. On Tuesday evening, he told his chief of staff, Al Haig, that he would deliver the address Thursday evening. On Wednesday morning, the President began working on Price’s draft (which had come with a note: “God bless you; and He will”). On Wednesday afternoon, keeping a promise he’d made to his daughter Julie, he met with Bruce Herschensohn, who urged him not to resign, as did other family members. At 4 p.m., an hour before Goldwater and his colleagues were even due, Mr. Nixon wrote a paragraph into his speech saying that congressional leaders had advised him unanimously that if he stayed in office, he wouldn’t have the support in Congress to carry out his responsibilities. He learned nothing from the Republican leaders he didn’t already know. He heard them out for their sake and the country’s.