Richard Nixon: “We welcome you, then, today as an old friend.”

To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body.

And as I leave, let me say, that is an example I think all of us should remember.

This, more than anything, is what I hope will be my legacy to you, to our country, as I leave the Presidency.

I invite the Governors of the States and of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and other officials at the local level to issue similar proclamations.