9. The Frost/Nixon Interviews
In 1977, attempting to rehabilitate his image, former President Nixon took the advice of famed agent "Swifty" Lazar and agreed to a series of Television interviews with chat show host David Frost. Frost, a British journalist, solidified his reputation as a journalist with these interviews that depicted Nixon as a penitent man. Perhaps the best indicator of such an attitude was in the Watergate section of the interviews, where he stated, "let down the country...I brought myself down. I gave them a sword and they stuck it in. And they twisted it with relish. And, I guess, if I'd been in their position, I'd have done the same thing." Nixon was paid $600,000 for his interview, as well as made a deal for 20% of any profit made. It was the most watched program of its time, and after the interviews, Gallop polls had the following numbers: 69% thought he was still trying to cover up, 72% found him guilty of Obstruction of Justice, and 75% thought he should have no further role in public life.