“Plot to take him down?”
The Nixon WH fostered an atmosphere that condoned illegal activity (ie the break-ins), and when Nixon found out about the Watergate break-in after the burglars were caught, he chose to try to cover up WH involvement by paying off the burglars and then by obstructing justice. The pickle he found himself in was 100% his own doing. Having as many enemies as he did, he needed to be “purer than the driven snow”. Instead, he handed them the tools they needed to remove him from office.
The US abandonement of SE Asia and the resulting genocide, the Democrat veto-proof Congress run amuk in 75-76 with insane laws and policies, and Jimmuh “Illnevuhlietoya” Carter, only came about because of Nixon’s CHOOSING to break the law.
THAT is the real “downside” of Nixon’s legacy (and believe me, no one was more aware of, or felt more guilt over the above events, than he did). He could have gone down as a very good president, maybe near-great, given his moves with China and if SE Asia had been shored up and saved from communism.
Instead, his own paranoia brought down not only him personally, but handed his enemies a “free pass” to wreak havoc in the USA and the world ....
...thankfully, our current President has committed no such actions .. nor is he likely to do so ... because he has a much higher moral compass than Nixon did ..
If Nixon had been 30 years younger and a Democrat, liberals would have loved him.
I thought he should have gathered the tapes called a press conference and burned them.
As crooked politicians go, Nixon was a piker.