THE ADMINISTRATION: Cutting Back on Candor

It was a sad end to a bad year for Richard Nixon. He had launched Operation Candor in the final few months to try to regain credibility by revealing information about himself and his activities. There were the inconclusive chats with groups of Congressmen about his role in Watergate, the televised press conference at Disney World with managing editors, and the release of information about his income tax returns. But the operation was too little, too late; each move only seemed to raise more questions. Finally, the President decided to cut back on Candor.

During his talks with the...