Richard Nixon: “Drug abuse, as I said in my message on the State of the Union, saps our Nation's strength and destroys our Nation's…”

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 interests of America first. Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon…

I further urge all students in our country to acquaint themselves fully with their own student government associations and to play a constructive role in contributing to their success.

Further study is essential if we are to avoid ineffective Federal spending for these purposes.

I have done my very best in all the days since to be true to that pledge.