December 19, 1998: President Bill Clinton Is Impeached

December 19, 1998: President Bill Clinton is impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. He will go on trial before the U.S. Senate.

There were 4 Articles of Impeachment drawn up by the House's Committee on the Judiciary, and 2 of them passed the full House:

* Perjury before a grand jury: 228 Yea, 206 Nay. All but 5 Republicans voted for it: Amo Houghton and Peter King of New York, Connie Morella of Maryland, Chris Shays of Connecticut, and Mark Souder of Indiana. All but 5 Democrats voted against it: Ralph Hall and Charles Stenholm of Texas, Virgil Goode of Virginia, Paul McHale of Pennsylvania, and Gene Taylor of Mississippi.

* Obstruction of Justice: 221 Yea, 212 Nay. The same 5 Democrats voted for it. The same 5 Republicans voted against it, and so did Sherwood Boehlert of New York, Mike Castle of Delaware, Phil English and John McHugh of Pennsylvania, Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, Jay Kim of California, Jim Leach of Iowa, and Ralph Regula of Ohio.

* Perjury before a deposition: 229 Nay, 205 Yea, so this one failed.

* Abuse of Power: 285 Nay, 148 Yea. Taylor was the only Democrat to vote for this one, and 81 Republicans voted against it, so this one never had a chance.

The case was based on Clinton's attempt to hide the fact that he had an extramarital relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. It had nothing to do with using the power of his office to commit election fraud, as was the case with Richard Nixon, who resigned in 1974 before the full House could vote on Articles of Impeachment; and with Donald Trump, who was impeached in 2019 and acquitted early the next year.

On February 12, 1999, with 2/3rds of the Senate, 67 out of 100, required to vote "Guilty" in order to remove him from office, Clinton was acquitted. The vote was 55-45 "Not Guilty" on perjury, and a 50-50 split on obstruction of justice.

The evidence against Clinton was so ridiculous, the Republicans, who held the majority, could not get a majority, 51 votes, to say that he had done it. Surely, there were some Senators who knew he was innocent, but voted "Guilty" anyway, because, like the leaders of the impeachment movement in the House, they hated him so much.

UPDATE: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who voted to impeach Clinton in the House and, as a newly-elected Senator, voted to convict him in the Senate, died on July 11, 2026. As of that date, of the 228 Congressmen who voted to impeach Clinton on at least 1 count, 5 are still serving in the House, 28 years later: Robert Aderholt of Alabama, Ken Calvert of California, Hal Rogers of Kentucky, Chris Smith of New Jersey, and Frank Lucas of Oklahoma. And 3 of them now serve in the U.S. Senate: John Thune of South Dakota, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Mike Crapo of Idaho. (That's pronounced CRAY-poh, although I wouldn't blame you if you thought it was CRAP-oh.)

They all stand by their votes to impeach Clinton, and not to do the same for Trump. The hypocrites.

*

December 19, 1998 was a Saturday. It was the off-season for baseball. There were no games played in the NBA, as the team owners had locked out the players, and they continued to do so until a new Collective Bargaining Agreement was accepted on January 20, 1999.

But there were 2 NFL games played, and one involved one of the New York teams. The New York Jets beat the Buffalo Bills, 17-10 at what was then named Ralph Wilson Stadium in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York. (UPDATE: As of March 29, 2021, it is named Highmark Stadium.) The Jets thus clinched the AFC Eastern Division Championship, for the 1st time since the Division began play in 1970.

In the other game, the team then known as the Washington Redskins beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-16 at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland. (The stadium would soon be renamed FedEx Field.)

There was also a college football bowl game played that day, the Las Vegas Bowl, at Sam Boyd Stadium, home field of UNLV. North Carolina beat San Diego State, 20-13.

There were 10 NHL games played that day: 

* The New Jersey Devils played he Montreal Canadiens to a tie, 1-1 at the Molson Centre in Montreal. (It's now the Bell Centre.)

* The New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-4 in one of the last games played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. (The last would be on February 13, 1999, the day after Clinton's acquittal.)

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. (It's now the Xfinity Mobile Arena.)

* The Boston Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the FleetCenter in Boston. (It's now the TD Garden.)

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo. (It's now the KeyBank Center.)

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 3-0 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at the National Car Rental Center in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida. (It's now the Amerant Bank Center.)

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2 at the Kiel Center in St. Louis. (It's now the Enterprise Center.)

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1 at the San Jose Arena. (It's now the SAP Center.)

* And the Nashville Predators beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-4 at General Motors Place in Vancouver. (It's now the Rogers Arena.)

December 18, 2019: Donald Trump Is Impeached -- the 1st Time

December 18, 2019: It was my 50th Birthday, and I got my favorite birthday present of all time: Donald Trump was finally held to some form of account for his crimes.

It wasn't for any of the crimes he committed before becoming President, including that of stealing the 2016 election. They were 2 specific charges:

* Abuse of Power: Trump tried to intimidate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine into giving him damaging political information on former Vice President Joe Biden, then believed to be the front-runner for the Democratic Party's nomination for President the next year; and into saying that it was Ukraine, not their threatening neighbor Russia, who had interfered in the 2016 American Presidential election.

The damaging information on Biden was supposedly connected to a business deal made in Ukraine by a company that employed Biden's son, Hunter. Zelenskyy refused to go along with this, in spite of Trump's known ties to President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Zelenskyy knew that none of Trump's accusations were true.

* Obstruction of Congress. Trump did everything he could to prevent Congress from investigating his abuse of power.

One of the lessons of Watergate, the scandal that forced Richard Nixon to resign the Presidency under the threat of impeachment in 1974, was, "It's not the crime that gets you, it's the cover-up." The biggest lesson that should have been learned is "Don't do things like this."

But, as Ronald Reagan proved in Iran-Contra, as George W. Bush proved in the Iraq War, and as Trump proved in all his scandals, the main lessons the Republican Party seem to have learned are "Don't get caught," "Deny everything," "Destroy the evidence," and "Point out that the Democrats have done worse things" -- even though they haven't.

On December 13, the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines, with 23 Democrats voting for and 1 not voting at all, and all 17 Republicans voting against, approving the 2 Articles of Impeachment.

On December 18, the Article alleging abuse of power passed by a vote of 230-197, with the 218th vote being tallied at 8:22 PM. There was 1 Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, voting "Present"; and not voting were 1 Democrat (Jose Serrano of New York, who was ill) and 2 Republicans (Duncan Hunter of California, who soon had to resign due to his own scandal; and John Shimkus of Illinois, who was visiting his son overseas and could not return in time).

All 229 Democrats voted Yea. So did Justin Amash of Michigan, formerly a Republican, by this point an Independent. There were 195 Republicans voting Nay. None switched sides to vote Yea. There were 2 Democrats voting Nay: Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey.

The Article alleging obstruction of Congress passed 229-198. The only member to change his vote for this Article was Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, who switched from Yea to Nay.

Trump joined Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 as the only Presidents ever to be impeached by the House. Nixon would have been, but he resigned before that could happen.

The next day, Van Drew announced that he was switching parties, becoming a Republican, devoted not to the Party's principles, but to Trump. Gabbard ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020, got nowhere, and left the Party to become an Independent.

There wasn't really a trial in the Senate. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky saw to it that no member of his caucus would support anything the Democratic "Impeachment Managers" wanted to do. A 2/3rds majority, or 67 out of 100 Senators, was needed to convict. That meant that as few as 34 Senators could sustain Trump. McConnell was never going to allow any member of his caucus to stray.

On February 5, 2020, Trump was found "Not Guilty" on abuse of power, 52-48. Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican nominee for President, joined all 45 Democrats and 2 Independents (Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont) in voting Yea. On obstruction of Congress, Romney stuck with his party, for a 53-47 vote.

Trump, of course, claimed complete vindication and exoneration. Of course, as his old friend O.J. Simpson found out, being found "Not Guilty" didn't mean the public thought you were innocent. Indeed, many of Trump's supporters knew he was guilty; some continue to support him in spite of this, while others approved of his actions, anything to keep the Democrats out of power.

It didn't work: After an early Primary threat from Sanders, who didn't even belong in the Democratic Primaries, Biden won the South Carolina Primary, and most of the other Democratic candidates dropped out to support him, showing Sanders that he could never, ever win the Democratic nomination for President.

As it turned out, Trump was right to fear Biden's candidacy. In a year dominated by the COVID-19 epidemic, Trump's heartless response to it, and Trump's other inhumanities, an opposition leader who was a compassionate human being as well as being thoroughly qualified for the post was exactly what the American people needed -- and, ultimately, decided they wanted. The election was close, but Biden won majorities in both the popular vote and the Electoral Vote.

Trump didn't handle this well, and that led to his becoming the 1st President ever to face a 2nd impeachment.

Let the record show: In every legal case against him, every witness willing to testify has been a Republican, and has testified that Trump is guilty of some crime or other.

In contrast: Everyone saying that Trump is innocent, or that he shouldn't be prosecuted at all, has not been willing to testify under oath.

*

December 18, 2019 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 9 games played in the NBA that night:

* The Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-104 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Wizards, 110-109 in overtime at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 100-98 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. In a losing effort for the Hornets, Terry Rozier led all NBA players on the night with 35 points.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-99 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 107-99 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 126-122 at what's now named the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks, 109-103 at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic, 113-104 at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors, 122-112 at the Moda Center in Portland.

There were 3 games played in the NHL that night, including my home-State team giving me another birthday present:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Anaheim Ducks, 3-1 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Former Devil Adam Henrique opened the scoring, but the Devils got goals from Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri and Sami Vatanen.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* And the St. Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

November 3, 1998: The Voters Tell the Republicans to Leave President Clinton Alone

November 3, 1998: The Republican Party was counting on this Election Day, to send a message to the leader of the Democratic Party, President Bill Clinton: Resign, because the people are against you. If you don't, we will impeach you in the U.S. House of Representatives, and convict you in a trial in the U.S. Senate.

There was reason to believe it would work out that way. Clinton had fallen into an ugly scandal, due to how he covered up his extramarital affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. They had spent almost the entire calendar year telling the country how the President was "immoral," while they, the Republicans -- the Party of Watergate and Iran-Contra -- stood for the Constitution of the United States and "the rule of law."

In addition, this was Year 6 of Clinton's Presidency. Off-year Congressional elections are usually bad for the Party in the White House, and Year 6 elections have, historically, been even worse than Year 2 elections. In the 20th Century, Year 6 elections were bad for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, for the Administration of FDR and Harry Truman in 1946 if you count FDR's 3rd election in 1940 as a restart, For Truman in 1950, for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958, for the Administration of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, for the Administration of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in 1974, and for Ronald Reagan in 1986.

So the idea that the Republicans, already in control of both houses of Congress, would increase their numbers at such a level to make it overwhelming for Clinton was strong.

Instead, the voters heard Clinton's self-defense -- claiming that it was a private matter, that no laws were broken, and that it was nobody's business but his and his family's -- and saw that Clinton was actually doing a very good job as President, and bucked the Year 6 trend. The Democrats actually gained 5 seats in the House, and broke even in the Senate.

Among the new Senators elected were Democrats Chuck Schumer of New York (a "promoted" Congressman who beat 3-term incumbent "Senator Pothole" Al D'Amato), Evan Bayh of Indiana (the outgoing Governor and the son of former Senator Birch Bayh) and John Edwards of North Carolina; and Republicans Jim Bunning of Kentucky (a promoted Congressman and a pitcher in the Baseball Hall of Fame) and George Voinovich of Ohio (a former Governor and Mayor of Cleveland).

This was a stunning result, and it sent a message not to the Democrats in general, or to Clinton in particular, but to the Republicans: The President is doing a great job, and his private life is just that, private, so leave him alone.

Did the Republicans listen? No: They doubled down, and impeached him, anyway. But they didn't come close to convicting him in the Senate, and he served out his term.

One other note: In Wisconsin, Republican Paul Ryan became the 1st person born after I was elected to Congress. The Republicans nominated him for Vice President under Mitt Romney in 2012, and in no way can Romney's loss be blamed on Ryan. He was Speaker of the House in the 2015-16 and 2017-18 terms, before resigning.

*

November 3, 1998 was, like all modern American Election Days, a Tuesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. And the NBA team owners had locked the players out, so the new season was not able to start on time.

There were 4 games in the NHL:

* The New Jersey Devils beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 3-1 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, intra-State rivals, played to a tie, 4-4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* And the Calgary Flames beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

August 17, 1998: Bill Clinton vs. Kenneth Starr

Time magazine's end of the year cover,

showing both men as Men of the Year

August 17, 1998: Special Counsel Kenneth Starr has been gunning for President Bill Clinton for 4 years, and he thinks he's finally got him, forcing him to go under oath and testify about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Republicans think they can now impeach him and remove him from office, due to perjury and obstruction of justice.

On February 7, still in the early stages of the scandal, he was at a White House press conference with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Great Britain, and a reporter asked him, "At what point do you consider that it's just not worth it, and do you consider resigning?" Defiantly, and seemingly definitively, Clinton said, "Never. I'm going to keep showing up for work. I'm going to do what I was hired to do."

But things had gotten worse, and on August 17, Clinton testified to Starr at the White House. That night, Clinton gave a nationally-televised speech. The word I used to describe his facial expression just before he began was "grim." My first memory of any President was of Richard Nixon announcing his resignation on August 8, 1974, when I was 4 years old. I watched that speech with my father. We watched this one together, too, and we both thought Clinton might actually resign, and turn the Presidency over to Vice President Al Gore.

Instead, he explained what happened, and was regretful over the relationship; but as to the charges against him, he was defiant: He denied committing any crimes, and said of himself and his family, "It's nobody's business but ours."

And people got it: His approval rating actually went up. Once again, the man who called himself "The Comeback Kid" during his 1992 campaign proved he was at his best with his back to the wall.

Starr soon presented his report to Congress. The House of Representatives drew up 4 Articles of Impeachment against Clinton, but the evidence was shaky, and they could only approve 2 of them. Still, they were approved, and Clinton was only the 2nd President, after Andrew Johnson in 1868, to be impeached. (Nixon would have been impeached, had he not resigned first.) In reflection of the fact that, between them, they had both been the drivers of the biggest news story of the calendar year, Time magazine named Clinton and Starr as joint Men of the Year for 1998.

In the ensuing Senate trial, Clinton was acquitted on both charges. In January 2001, in the final days of his Presidency, Clinton made a deal with Starr, temporarily forfeiting his law license to avoid prosecution -- not because he thought he might be convicted, because he almost certainly wouldn't have been, but because he simply wanted to put an end to it, and, forced out of office not by his conduct or any punishment for it, but by the 2-term limit of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, he would escape with a comparatively minor penalty.

In hindsight, it might have been better if Clinton had done what Vice President Spiro Agnew  had done in 1973: Make a deal with the prosecutor, and resign his office in exchange for a minor penalty. If he had done that, the Republicans would have immediately gloated that they had "beaten" him, getting revenge for Nixon being forced out 24 years earlier.

But it would also have made Gore the incumbent President, probably boosted Democratic turnout in the elections that November (the Democrats did remarkably well for a midterm election, especially a "Year 6 election"). And Gore would have gotten the benefit of the last 2 years of the Clinton economy, and, with all the advantages of incumbency, instead of only the disadvantages of it as he actually got, would have been elected to a full term in 2000.

He would have refused tax cuts for the wealthy, preventing the 2001-04 recession. He would have read his Presidential Daily Briefing, and could have stopped the 9/11 attacks. He could have kept Clinton's environmental policies in place. And he would never have gone to war for oil in Iraq.

Resigning in August 1998 would have ruined Clinton's reputation, but America and many other countries would have been better off in the end. It would, literally, have made all the difference in the world.

In 2007, Starr joined the legal defense team for accused pedophile-ring runner Jeffrey Epstein, proving himself a hypocrite on the issue of sexual misdeeds. In 2010, Starr was appointed President of Baylor University, a Baptist school in Waco, Texas. He resigned in 2016, because he had done exactly what he tried to accuse Clinton of doing: He covered up a sex scandal -- not as a result of his own misdeeds.

In 2020, he was part of Donald Trump's defense team during his 1st impeachment trial, proving that he was a man who put ideology over country.

UPDATE: Ken Starr died on September 13, 2022, 27 days after this post. His reputation was in ashes. Bill Clinton is remembered as one of America's better Presidents, despite having a sex problem.

*

August 17, 1998 was a Monday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. David Cone, pitching in his hometown against his former team, was the winning pitcher. Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez and Tim Raines hit home runs.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 4-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Paul Byrd pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken Jr. went 3-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 4-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum). Rickey Henderson went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 stolen bases.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

August 9, 1974: President Richard Nixon Resigns

August 9, 1974: Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States, due to the crimes he committed that fell under the umbrella term "Watergate."

We may never know for sure if Nixon authorized the break-in of the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate hotel and office complex on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. What we do know, thanks to the audiotaping system he had in the Oval Office at the White House, is that, on June 23, 6 days after the break-in, he told his White House Chief of Staff, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, to tell the FBI to back off on their investigation of the break-in.

That was obstruction of justice. On July 27, 1974, the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives approved an Article of Impeachment against Nixon, on the charge of obstruction of justice. On July 29, they approved another, on the charge of abuse of power. On July 30, they approved a third, for contempt of congress.

On August 5, in United States v. Nixon, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Nixon had to turn over all the tapes. This 8-0 vote included 3 of the 4 Justices that Nixon himself had appointed: Chief Justice Warren Burger, Harry Blackmun and Lewis Powell. Nixon had also appointed William Rehnquist, who recused himself, because he had worked in the U.S. Department of Justice for the 1st 3 years of the Nixon Administration.

And the tape of the June 23, 1972 order from Nixon to Haldeman was made public. It became known as "the Smoking Gun Tape." On August 7, Republican Congressional leaders visited Nixon at the White House, and told him they didn't have the votes to save from from being impeached by the House, or convicted in a trial by the Senate. He would be removed from office, unless he did it by himself, by resigning.

On August 8, at 9:01 PM Eastern Time, he addressed the nation in prime time, and spoke for 16 minutes, telling the nation what it was more than ready to hear:

I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of America first.

America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face, at home and abroad.

To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.

Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.

The next day, at 9:00 AM Eastern, Nixon gave a tearful Farewell Address to his staff in the East Room of the White House. After it, the President and First Lady Pat Nixon were escorted to a waiting helicopter, Marine One, by Vice President Ford and his wife Betty. Mrs. Nixon got in. Mr. Nixon got to the top step, gave a wave to his staff, and did one more "V for Victory" salute before boarding.

At 11:35 AM, a letter arrived at the office of U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, reading, in its entirety: "Dear Mr. Secretary: I hereby resign the office of President of the United States. Sincerely, Richard Nixon." As soon as Nixon received it, officially, Nixon was no longer in office, and Vice President Gerald Ford was now the President, regardless of whether there was an actual swearing-in.

At 12:05 PM, in the East Room, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States by Chief Justice Warren Burger. He told the nation, "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws, and not of men. Here, the people rule."

Nixon had been nominated at 5 different Republican Conventions: In 1952 and 1956 for Vice President; and in 1960, 1968 and 1972 for President. After 1972, he could never attend another. It would take until 2004, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, for a speaker at a Republican Convention, to even mention him again, so toxic was his name considered to be, even in his own Party.

By 2004, of course, the Republicans had lurched so far to the right that, not only was it possible for Nixon's name to be both spoken aloud and cheered at a Republican Convention, but for people in the Republican Party to come to a consensus that Nixon did nothing wrong, except get caught.

UPDATE: It took me until 2024 to think of this, but the 1970s were Schrödinger's Decade. There was too much Republican competence, and too much crimefighting; and, at the same time, not enough of either of those things.

Nixon's Presidential Library was built adjacent to his birthplace in Yorba Linda, California, 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Yorba Linda also has a Richard M. Nixon Parkway and a Richard M. Nixon Elementary School.

The Nixon Library opened on July 19, 1990, and its opening was attended by the 5 men then living who had been President: Nixon, Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and the incumbent, George H.W. Bush. Nixon died on April 22, 1994. Four days later, he was laid to rest at the Library, and his funeral was attended by the 5 men then living who had been President: Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and the incumbent, Bill Clinton; and also their wives. Both of Nixon's Vice Presidents, Ford and Spiro Agnew, attended. It was Agnew's last public appearance.

Comedians David Frye and Rich Little became famous for their impersonations of Nixon, among other political figures. Frye leaned on the phrase, "Let me just say this," while Little preferred, "Let me make this perfectly clear." Dan Aykroyd played Nixon as a bitter former President on Saturday Night Live, although he refused to shave the mustache he had at the time.

There appear to be only 2 statues of Nixon in the entire world. One is in the "Presidential City" display in Rapid City, South Dakota. The other is in Wakefield, on the Australian island of Tasmania, ordered by a local fan of his.

Rapid City

Nixon frequently features in time-travel and alternate-history pieces. These include Robert Wisdom as an alternate-history 5th-term Nixon in 1985 in the superhero film Watchmen in 2009, Stuart Milligan on Doctor Who in 2011, John H. Tobin in Transformers: Dark of the Moon the same year, Mark Camacho in X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014, and Paul Ganus on DC's Legends of Tomorrow in 2019. Two films have been made about Nixon's 1970 meeting with Elvis Presley: He was played by Bob Gunton in Elvis Meets Nixon in 1997, and Kevin Spacey in Elvis & Nixon in 2016.

Among the other actors to play Nixon have been Rip Torn in Blind Ambition (based on the memoir of John Dean) in 1979, Philip Baker Hall in Secret Honor in 1984, Lane Smith in The Final Days in 1989, Anthony Hopkins in Oliver Stone's film Nixon in 1995,  Dan Hedaya in the comedy Dick in 1999, Frank Langella reprising his Tony Award-winning Broadway role in Frost/Nixon in 2008, and John Cusack in The Butler in 2013.

Ford is the only President whose Presidential Library and Presidential Museum are in 2 different locations: The former opened on April 27, 1981 at his Alma Mater, the University of Michigan; while the latter is in his hometown, Grand Rapids, Michigan, opening on September 18, 1981. He has a statue in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, and a House of Representatives Office Building is named for him, due to his service as House Minority Leader.

Ford Statue, U.S. Capitol Building

Ford was born in Nebraska, but represented Michigan. He remains the only President with a significant connection to either of those States.

Despite looking and sounding nothing like Ford, Chevy Chase played him on Saturday Night Live. He was also played by Dick Crockett in The Pink Panther Strikes Again in 1976, Josef Sommer in The Betty Ford Story in 1987, Larry Lindsay in Hot Shots! Part Deux in 1993, Drew Snyder in Dark Skies in 1997, Jeffrey Ventimilia in That '70s Show in 1998, Corbin Bernsen in The Commission in 2003, and Bill Camp in Vice (about Ford's former Chief of Staff, Dick Cheney) in 2018.

The State where he was born, Nebraska, and the State where he grew up, Michigan, both have a Gerald R. Ford Freeway, and Interstate 70 in Eagle County in Colorado is the Gerald Ford Memorial Highway. In 2017, the USS Gerald R. Ford, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, CVN-78, was launched, and is the largest warship ever built.

So far, despite also having served in the Navy during World War II, Nixon doesn't have a ship named for him. Maybe he'll get a pirate ship.

As of August 9, 2022, Kissinger is the last surviving member of Nixon's Cabinet. (UPDATE: He lived until November 29, 2023, age 100.)

*

August 9, 1974 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played on this historic day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 7-1 at Anaheim Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, California. The ballpark is now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim. George "Doc" Medich was knocked out of the box in the 3rd inning, and Frank Tanana shut the Yankees down, other than Elliott Maddox and Lou Piniella, who each had 2 hits.

* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at Shea Stadium. Bob Apodaca outpitched Fred Norman. Don Hahn hit a home run for the Mets. For the Reds, Pete Rose went 0-for-3 with a walk, and Johnny Bench went 1-for-4, his hit a homer for the Reds' only run.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Veterans Stadium. Darrell Evans drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning. Hank Aaron did not start the game, but appeared as a pinch-hitter and drew a walk. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 7-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell went 2-for-5. Rennie Stennett hit a home run. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4 for the Padres.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 5-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Dick Allen, Pat Kelly and Jorge Orta homered for the South Siders, and Stan Bahnsen outpitched Gaylord Perry.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Jim Barr pitched a 6-hit shutout, and was backed by home runs from Gary Mathews Sr. and Dave Kingman.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Rod Carew went 2-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 13-3 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Mike Hargrove singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat Oakland Athletics, 6-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4, but Rico Petrocelli hit a home run. Joe Rudi hit a home run, and Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4. But Bill Lee outpitched Ken Holtzman.

And basketball star Derek Fisher was born.

August 7, 1974: The Republican Leaders Tell President Nixon the Truth

Senator Hugh Scott addresses the media after the meeting.

Behind him is Senator Barry Goldwater.

Facing Scott is Representative John Rhodes.

August 7, 1974: President Richard Nixon sees 3 leaders of the Republican Party at the White House: Representative John Rhodes of Arizona, the House Minority Leader; Senator Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, the Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott; and Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, the Party's 1964 nominee for President, and the unofficial leader of what had come to be known as "the conservative movement."

They had bad news for him.

On June 17, 1972, 5 men working for the Committee to Re-Elect the President had broken into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, at the Watergate hotel and office complex in Washington. Whether Nixon knew that this was going to happen, and approved of it, or not, only he knew for sure.

But, 6 days later, on June 23, he met with his White House Chief of Staff, Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman. The conversation was captured on an audiotape, in a system Nixon had installed in the Oval Office of the White House, for the purpose of historical records, because he didn't want anything to be distorted by outside historians. Ironically, this taping system would, instead, be his downfall, as it recorded these words, among others:

Haldeman: That the way to handle this now is for us to have Walters call Pat Gray and just say, "Stay the hell out of this… This is ah, business here, we don't want you to go any further on it."

Nixon: Just say this is sort of a comedy of errors, bizarre, without getting into it, "The President believes that it is going to open the whole Bay of Pigs thing up again. And, ah, because these people are plugging for, for keeps, and that they should call the FBI in and say that we wish for the country, don't go any further into this case, period!"

Haldeman: OK.

"Walters" was Vernon C. Walters, a former 3-star General in the U.S. Army, who was then the Deputy Director of the CIA. "Pat Gray" was L. Patrick Gray III, the Acting Director of the FBI following the death of J. Edgar Hoover on May 2, 1972.

In other words, Haldeman had suggested to Nixon that he tell the FBI to back off on investigating the scandal that had become known as "Watergate," Nixon had agreed to it, and Haldeman understood that Nixon had agreed to it. This was obstruction of justice. Given that there were two men discussing it, this was also conspiracy to obstruct justice. Each of these was a felony; and, in Nixon's case, an impeachable offense.

But no one else knew that at the time, and Nixon was overwhelmingly re-elected. But the scandal broke out at the start of his 2nd term, and the Senate began holding hearings. Alexander Butterfield, Director of the Federal Aviation Administration and a former Nixon White House aide, was asked by the Senate committee if he had installed a taping system in the Oval Office. He told the truth: He had.

The fight by Congress to get those tapes, and the fight by Nixon to keep Congress from getting them, went all the way to the Supreme Court. On August 5, 1974, the Court unanimously ruled that they had to be released. When the tape featuring Nixon agreeing to Haldeman's plan to get the FBI to back off was released, it was proof of felonious guilt. It became known as "The Smoking Gun Tape."

On July 27, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to approve 3 Articles of Impeachment against Nixon. All 11 voting against it were Republicans, On August 5, having heard the tape, all 11 of those Republicans said they would vote to impeach him when the Articles came to a vote before the full House.

And so, Rhodes, Scott and Goldwater went to see Nixon at the White House. Rhodes said he couldn't save Nixon from impeachment in the House, since only 30 Republicans were willing to vote against impeachment. Scott told him there might be half a dozen Senators willing to acquit, and that was with the remaining segregationist Democrats, a.k.a. Dixiecrats, being counted. And Goldwater told him the conservative movement, which had stopped trusting him during the 1960 Presidential campaign, wouldn't save him.

Upon leaving the White House, the three men then told the media that impeachment and conviction were a near-certainty, and that the only thing that could prevent it was if Nixon resigned the Presidency, and that they had told him this. They didn't tell Nixon that they thought he should resign, only that it was the only way to avoid impeachment and removal.

After talking it over with his family and his remaining loyalists the next day, August 8, Nixon spoke to the nation that night, and announced his resignation, effective at 12:00 Noon the next day, August 9.

Scott served out his term in the Senate, and left after the 1976 election. He died in 1994, 3 months after Nixon. Rhodes retired after the 1980 election, and lived until 2003. Goldwater was running for re-election in 1974, and won, and won again in 1980. He retired after the 1986 election, and died in 1998.

In 1998, when it looked like Bill Clinton might be impeached at the height (or depth, depending on your point of view) of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, there was speculation that Clinton might receive a similar visit: House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, and Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the Senate's leading liberal and the brother of Clinton's hero, President John F. Kennedy.

But that delegation never came together, because Clinton was never in danger of being removed from office: The Republican-controlled house had enough hatred to impeach him, but the Senate had neither enough evidence nor enough Republicans to convict him.

In 2019, Donald Trump was impeached. But there would be no Republican delegation of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and the leader of the conservative movement, whoever that was then believed to be, going to tell Trump he had to resign -- not for the good of the country, not for the good of the Republican Party, not for the good of the conservative movement, and not even for Trump's own good. There didn't have to be: McConnell had a hammerlock on the Senate's Republican caucus, and the Senate acquitted Trump.

*

August 7, 1974 was a Wednesday. British actor Michael Shannon was born. This was also the day that New York radio station WABC's classic "All-Americans" era came to an end, with their last broadcast of disc jockey "Cousin Brucie." I have a separate entry for this event.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at Shea Stadium. Pat Dobson outpitched Ross Grimsley. Bobby Murcer and Thurman Munson each went 2-for-3. Munson added a walk and an RBI. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 10-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell did not play.

* The Montreal Expos beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Jarry Park in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline, in his last few weeks as an active player, went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the California Angels, 2-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Jim Kaat outpitched Nolan Ryan. The Angels' run came on the 568th career home run of Frank Robinson. Ryan took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th. But with 1 out, Dick Allen singled, Carlos May reached on an error by 1st baseman Bruce Bochte, Lee Richard pinch-ran for May, Ken Henderson singled Allen home, and, after Bill Melton popped up, Bill Sharp singled Richard home.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 1-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Roger Moret allowed just 1 hit over 7 2/3rd innings, but needed relief from Dick Drago (who allowed a hit) and Bob Veale (who didn't). Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a walk. Rookie Robin Yount went 0-for-3.

* The Kansas City Royals swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 and 5-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Over the 2 games, rookie George Brett went 4-for-8 with an RBI. Rod Carew went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs in the opener, but 0-for-5 win the nightcap. Harmon Killebrew appeared as a pinch-hitter in the opener, but did not reach base. He went 1-for-4 with an RBI in the nightcap.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 8-4 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Reggie Jackson and Joe Rudi hit home runs for "The Swingin' A's."

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Hank Aaron appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Jack Billingham pitched a 6-hit, no-walk, 10-strikeout shutout, outpitching Andy Messersmith. Pete Rose went 0-for-4, but Johnny Bench drove in both Cincinnati runs with a home run.

* And the San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants were not scheduled.

April 4, 1988: The 1st Governor Removed Through Impeachment

April 4, 1988: Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial. He is the first Governor ever removed from office by a State through impeachment.

He was born on May 12, 1924 in Mountain Home, Utah, and raised as a Mormon. He became a fighter pilot for the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, was shot down on March 7, 1945, and was a prisoner of war for 3 weeks. He moved to Arizona, and became a Mormon bishop and a car salesman, selling Pontiacs and Ramblers with the motto, "If you can't deal with Mecham, you just can't deal."

He first ran for office in 1952, for the Arizona House of Representatives, as a Republican. He lost. In 1960, he was elected to the State Senate. In 1962, he ran for the U.S. Senate, with a typical Western Republican platform for the era, supporting the restoration of prayer in public schools and the withdrawal of the U.S. from the United Nations. He lost to Democrat Carl Hayden, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Arizona's other Senator was the pride of the conservatives, Barry Goldwater.

He ran for Chairman of the Republican Party of Arizona in 1963, for Governor of Arizona in 1964, for Governor again in 1974, for Governor again in 1978, and for Governor again in 1982. He lost them all, and only in 1978 did he even get the Republican nomination. Someone remembered the many Presidential campaigns of a former Governor of Minnesota, and tagged Mecham "the Harold Stassen of Arizona." In 1982, he published a book, titled Come Back America. ("Make America Great Again" was already taken -- by Ronald Reagan, in 1980.)

He ran for Governor again in 1986. Things had changed. Arizona had grown tremendously: Only about half of the registered voters in 1986 were living in the State in 1980. (This growth was reflected by the fact that, from just 1 major league sports team in 1987, the NBA's Phoenix Suns, the Phoenix area would have teams in all 4 major league sports by 1998.). In other words, there were many new voters who didn't know that Mecham's previous campaigns had rendered him a joke.

In addition, whereas, before, Mecham hadn't gotten support from the most conservative groups in the State, like the John Birch Society, this time, he got it. His main opponent in the Primary, former State House Majority Leader Burton Barr, didn't take him seriously, didn't spend enough campaign money, and ended up with over $1 million contributed but unspent, a huge amount in a State the size of Arizona. Then it rained on the day of the Primary, a rarity for Arizona, driving down turnout, and Mecham won with 54 percent of the vote.

Finally, the general election turned out to be a 3-way race: Mecham was opposed by the State Superintendent of Public Education, Carolyn Warner. Real estate developer Bill Schulz, who had nearly defeated Goldwater in 1980, had dropped out of the Democratic Primary because of a family illness, but got enough petition signatures to run as an independent candidate, splitting the anti-Republican vote. Goldwater's late endorsement gave Mecham 40 percent of the vote, to Warner's 34 and Schulz's 26, and Mecham was a plurality winner.

Right after taking office, Mecham angered Arizona's rising black population by canceling the Martin Luther King Day holiday for State employees, created by his predecessor, Bruce Babbitt, after the State legislature had refused to authorize it. Even worse, he justified it by saying, "King doesn't deserve a holiday," and, "You folks don't need another holiday. What you folks need are jobs."

Entertainers said they would boycott the State. The NFL, having awarded Super Bowl XXVII, for 1993, to Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University -- which Mecham had attended before dropping out -- took it away, the only time it has ever stripped a site of the game.

His bigotry was not limited to black people. He claimed that high divorce rates were caused by working women. He told a Jewish audience that America is a Christian nation -- which the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States specifically makes a lie. He said a group of visiting Japanese businessmen "got round eyes" after being told of the number of golf courses in Arizona.

In response to claims that he was a racist, Mecham put his foot in his mouth again, saying, "I've got black friends. I employ black people. I don't employ them because they are black. I employ them because they are the best people who applied for the cotton-picking job." In this case, the use of "cotton-picking" as a milder version of "goddamned" was worse than if he'd used the actual word.

Despite the legislature being controlled by fellow Republicans, Mecham had poor relations with them. His Cabinet choices turned out to be highly questionable, with some of them already under criminal investigation. He vetoed bills sponsored by key legislators. 

His proposal to cut the State's sales tax by 1 percent, his signature issue, failed, largely because he did not specify which programs would lose funding, thus preventing lawmakers from determining how their constituencies would be affected.

Mecham's political career had been a joke, but few people were laughing now. On October 9, 1987, Goldwater, having retired after the previous year's election, called for Mecham's resignation. This was followed by the same from Goldwater's Senate successor, John McCain, and Representative John Kyl, who would also later serve in the Senate.

Pursuant to the Arizona Constitution, a recall petition may not be circulated against an official unless he has been in office for at least 6 months, and one was filed against Mecham on July 9, 1987. The recall committee was led by Ed Buck, a registered Republican, and an openly gay businessman living in the Phoenix area.

Mecham claimed the recall supporters were "a band of homosexuals and dissident Democrats." He mailed 25,000 letters during September to conservatives nationwide requesting that they move to Arizona and support him in case a recall election were held. He went to an NFL exhibition game at Sun Devil Stadium, and the fans chanted, "Re-call! Re-call! Re-call!" A recall election was scheduled for May 17, 1988, and John Rhodes, the former U.S. House Minority Leader -- who had been through this before, having told President Richard Nixon that he would be impeached if he didn't resign, which he did, 2 days later -- agreed to run against him.

There would be no recall: Impeachment took priority. On January 8, 1988, a grand jury issued indictments against Evan Mecham and Willard Mecham, the Governor's brother and campaign finance manager, charging 3 counts of perjury, 2 counts of fraud, and 1 count of failing to report a campaign contribution.

On February 8, the State House impeached Evan Mecham by a vote of 46-14. This suspended his powers as Governor. Since Arizona has no Lieutenant Governor, the State's Secretary of State, Rose Mofford, became the Acting Governor, and thus the 1st female Governor in the State's history.

Naturally, a witness in Mecham's State Senate impeachment trial compared the proceedings to the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. A charge of filing a false statement was dropped, 16-12. But Mecham screwed himself by testifying that the legislature had no authority over him. On April 4, the Senate convicted Mecham on obstruction of justice by a vote of 21-9, and on misusing government funds by a vote of 26-4. The Senate then voted 17-12 to disqualify Mecham from holding State office again, but that was short of the two-thirds majority required for passage.

Upon the announcement of the vote, Mofford immediately and officially became the full, non-acting, Governor of Arizona. The recall election, no longer necessary, was canceled by the State Supreme Court.

The Mecham brothers' lawyers realized the best way to win was to keep their clients from testifying on their own behalf. On June 10, they were acquitted of all charges.

Evan Mecham didn't get the message. He became an Arizona Delegate to the 1988 Republican Convention. In 1990, he ran for Governor again. He got 24 percent of the vote in the Republican Primary, against a very similar candidate, crooked businessman Fife Symington, who ended up winning. Unlike Mecham, he got re-elected; but, also unlike Mecham, got convicted before a recall movement or an impeachment movement, and resigned the office.

In 1992, Mecham ran for the Senate, as an independent against McCain. He got 10 percent of the vote. In the same election, Arizona voters approved the MLK Day holiday, taking the decision out of the hands of the Governor and the legislature. The NFL awarded Super Bowl XXX, for 1996, to Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium).

In 1999, Mecham wrote a book, Wrongful Impeachment. In 2004, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, leading many people to ask how the doctors could tell. He died on February 21, 2008, at the age of 83.

Better to be remembered as a crook than as a bigot, I suppose.

UPDATE: In 2022, Arizona voters approved the creation of the office of Lieutenant Governor, to take effect with the 2026 election.

*

April 4, 1988 was a Monday. This was also the day that the University of Kansas, nearly with home-court advantage, beat Oklahoma to win the National Championship in Kansas City. I have a separate entry for htat event.

As they tended to do in the late 20th Century, this NCAA Tournament Final coincided with Major League Baseball's Opening Day, and these games were played:

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 10-6 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Dwight Gooden outpitched Dennis Martinez. Darryl Strawberry went 4-for-4 with 2 solo home runs and a walk. One of the homers was the longest ever hit at Le Stade Olympique, crashing into the right field roof, 535 feet from home plate.

Lenny Dykstra (3 RBIs), Kevin Elster and Kevin McReynolds (4-for-5 with 3 RBIs) also hit home runs. Former Met Hubie Brooks homered for the Expos.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Jack Morris and Roger Clemens both went 9 innings, but the game went to a 10th, where Lee Smith gave up a home run to Alan Trammell. Mike Henneman mopped up for Morris. Matt Nokes also homered for the Tigers. For the Sox, Wade Boggs went 2-for-5, and Brady Anderson went 3-for-5.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 12-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. It was a bad omen for the O's: They lost their 1st 21 games of the season, an all-time record, and 107 games over the course of the season.

Teddy Higuera outpitched Mike Boddicker. Dale Sveum went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Robin Yount went 1-for-4 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 1-for-4 with 2 walks. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Jeff Treadway led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a walk, and eventually scored on a single by Kal Daniels. Joe Magrane was the starting pitcher for the Cards, and hit a home run, but did not figure in the decision.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the California Angels, 8-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ricky Horton outpitched Mike Witt. Ken Williams, later to be the general manager who built the White Sox' 2005 World Series winners, went 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Jimmy Key outpitched Bret Saberhagen. George Brett went 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Pete O'Brien hit 2 homers, to make a winning pitcher out of Charlie Hough. He and the Indians' starter, Tom Candiotti, were both knuckleballers, but it would be Chris Codiroli who blew the lead for Candiotti.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Dave Dravecky outpitched Fernando Valenzuela. Brett Butler went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. The only Dodger run came on a home run by Steve Sax.

The Giants had won the National League Western Division the year before, and would win it the year after, and the Pennant, too. Not this year: The Dodgers went on to win the World Series.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Dave Stewart outpitched Mark Langston. José Canseco and Dave Henderson hit home runs for the A's.

Every other team opened the next day. Football was out of season. No games were played in the NBA. And the NHL was between its regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

February 12, 1999: President Bill Clinton Is Acquitted

February 12, 1999: President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the U.S. Senate in an Impeachment trial.

There were 4 Articles of Impeachment drawn up by the House's Committee on the Judiciary, and 2 of them passed the full House, with a 2/3rds' majority, of the Senate, 67 out of 100, required to vote "Guilty" in order to remove him from office:

* Perjury before a grand jury: 55 Nay, 45 Yea. All Democrats voted Nay. Republicans voting Nay: Ted Stevens of Alaska, Richard Shelby of Alabama, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, John Chafee of Rhode Island, Fred Thompson of Tennessee, Jim Jeffords of Vermont, John Warner of Virginia, and Slade Gorton of Washington. 

Specter had been a Democrat until switching parties as a young prosecutor in 1965, and would switch back in 2009. Shelby had been a Democrat until 1994, when the Republicans won the Congressional majority, and he cowardly joined them. Chafee died later in the year, and was succeeded by his son, Lincoln Chafee, who later switched parties. Jeffords switched parties in 2001.

* Obstruction of Justice: 50 Yea, 50 Nay. All Democrats voted Nay. This time, Stevens, Shelby, Thompson, Warner and Gorton voted to convict, while the other Republicans stayed consistent.

The case was based on Clinton's attempt to hide the fact that he had an extramarital relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern. It had nothing to do with using the power of his office to commit election fraud, as was the case with Richard Nixon, who resigned in 1974 before the full House could vote on Articles of Impeachment; and with Donald Trump, who was impeached in 2019 and acquitted early the next year.

The evidence against Clinton was so ridiculous, the Republicans, who held the majority, could not get a majority, 51 votes, to say that he had done it. Surely, there were some Senators who knew he was innocent, but voted "Guilty" anyway, because, like the leaders of the impeachment movement in the House, they hated him so much.

And yet, with Speaker Newt Gingrich having resigned before the impeachment, once the trial was over, things calmed down considerably. Over the last 2 years of Clinton's Administration, the White House and the Congress worked together much better, got some things done, and kept the good economy going. It can be argued that, by the end of the year, decade, century and millennium, America had never been in better shape. Maybe, it still hasn't.

UPDATE: As of February 12, 2026, of the 50 Republican Senators who voted "Guilty" on at least 1 Article of Impeachment, 3 are still serving in the Senate, 23 years later: Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and 1 who had been elected to the Senate just before the Impeachment vote, and thus voted to both successfully impeach Clinton in the House and unsuccessfully convict him in the Senate: Mike Crapo of Idaho. (And that's pronounced KRAY-poh, not CRAP-o, although confusion would be understandable.)

*

February 12, 1999 was a Friday. It was the off-season for both baseball and football. There were 3 games played in the NBA that night, none involving the Knicks or the Nets:

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 98-94 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. Allen Iverson, in a losing cause, led all the day's scorer with 46 points.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks, 100-94 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver.

* And the Utah Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors, 97-81 at the The Arena in Oakland. (The building at the Oakland Coliseum complex is now named simply the Oakland Arena.) Karl Malone scored 35 for the Jazz.

There were 6 NHL games played, and all 3 New York Tri-State Area teams were in action -- but all lost:

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the Continental Airlines Arena. The now-dormant building at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey is now officially named simply the Meadowlands Arena. Lyle Odelein and Denis Pederson scored in a losing effort for the Meadowlands Marauders.

* The New York Rangers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1 at Madison Square Garden. Brian Leetch scored the only goal for the Broadway Blueshirts

* The New York Islanders lost to the Nashville Predators, 2-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. Trevor Linden opened the scoring for the Isles, but the 1st-year expansion side took over the game after that.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Boston Bruins, 4-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Dallas Stars beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 3-2 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, in the suburbs of Los Angeles.