Richard Nixon's White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler.

Ronald Louis Ziegler (May 12, 1939 – February 10, 2003) was White House Press Secretary during United States President Richard Nixon's administration, from 1969–1974, and Assistant to the President in 1974. Image File history File links Ronz. ... Image File history File links Ronz. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official with a rank one step below Presidential Cabinet level. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official with a rank one step below Presidential Cabinet level. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The Assistant to the President of the United States was created in 1946 to take charge of affairs in the White House. ...

Ziegler was born in Covington, Kentucky to Louis Daniel Ziegler, a production manager, and Ruby Parsons. He graduated from Dixie Heights High School in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. First attending college in Cincinnati, Ziegler transferred to the University of Southern California in 1958, and graduated in 1961 with a degree in government and politics. Downtown Covington has many wooded streets and historic buildings Covington is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. ... Fort Mitchell is a city located in Kenton County, Kentucky. ... The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California and incorrectly as Southern Cal[1]), located in the downtown district of Los Angeles, California, was founded in 1880, making it Californias oldest private research university. ...

He worked as a press aide on Nixon's unsuccessful California gubernatorial campaign in 1962. In 1969, when he was just 29, Ziegler became the youngest White House Press Secretary in history. He was the White House press secretary for the Nixon administration during the political scandal known as Watergate. In 1972, he dismissed the first report of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel as the discussion of a "third rate burglary," but within two years Nixon had resigned under threat of impeachment. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... The term Watergate refers to a series of events, spanning from 1972 to 1975, that got their name from burglaries of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington, D.C.. Though then-President Nixon had endured two years of mounting political embarrassments, the... The Watergate complex in Washington, DC. The Watergate Hotel is a luxury hotel in northwest Washington, D.C., best known for being at the site of burglaries that led to the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. ... Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ...

Particularly in the period following the resignations of such senior administration officials as Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Ziegler became one of Nixon's closest aides and confidants, defending the President until the bitter end, urging Nixon not to resign, but rather fight impeachment in the Senate. During the unfolding political scandal, Ziegler himself appeared at least 33 times before Congress. After Nixon's resignation in 1974, Ziegler remained very close to him; he was on the airplane that Nixon took to San Clemente as Gerald Ford was sworn into office. Harry Robbins (Bob) Haldeman (October 27, 1926 - November 12, 1993) was a U.S. political aide and businessman, best known for his service in the Nixon White House, and for his role in the Watergate scandal, for which he was convicted and imprisoned. ... John D. Ehrlichman as Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs, May 13, 1969. ... Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ...

In 1988, Ziegler became president and chief executive of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, living in Alexandria, Va. before retiring for health reasons in 1999. He later moved to Coronado Shores (Coronado, Ca.) where he died of a heart attack at age 63. A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ...

Notable quotes

• "Certain elements may try to stretch [the Watergate burglary] beyond what it is." –1972, referring to Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
• "This is the operative statement. The others are inoperative." –April 17 1973, retracting previous statements that had been revealed to be false.
• "If my answers sound confusing, I think they are confusing because the questions are confusing and the situation is confusing."
• "Thank goodness, I was one of the few members of the Nixon White House staff who was never indicted and I was not part of the cover-up." — on Larry King Live, alluding to the 11 convictions and numerous indictments in the scandal. [1]
• "I was the only one on that plane to San Clemente with Nixon when power changed hands. I was there with Nixon in exile. I will publish a good book someday." –1981. Ziegler never did publish a book about his experiences.
• "I'm proud of what I did as press secretary, I don't feel the need to apologize; there are some things, however, I would have done differently" –1981. [2]

... Carl Bernstein (left) and Bob Woodward (right) Carl Bernstein (born February 14, 1944) is an American journalist who, as an reporter for The Washington Post along with Bob Woodward, broke the story of the Watergate break-in and consequently helped bring about the resignation of US president Richard Nixon. ... Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Bob Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is one of the best-known journalists in the United States, thanks largely to his work in helping uncover the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixons resignation, in a historical journalistic partnership with Carl Bernstein, while working... Larry King Live is a nightly CNN interview program hosted by broadcaster and writer Larry King. ...

External links

• Ron Ziegler's Obituary with summary of his years with Nixon
• Ron Ziegler, former Nixon press secretary, dies in Coronado
• Washington Post editorial, June 21, 1972, published soon after the burglary.
• Watergate 'Spin Doctor' Dies, BBC News.

White House Press Secretaries
Early • Reinsch • Daniels • Ross • Early • Short • Tubby • Hagerty • Salinger • Reedy • Moyers • Christian • Ziegler • terHorst • Nessen • Powell • Brady • Speakes • Fitzwater • Myers • McCurry • Lockhart • Siewert • Fleischer • McClellan • Snow