October Surprise

For President Richard Nixon, the publication of the Pentagon Papers, in June 1971, ought not to have mattered. The malfeasance and mendacity revealed in the Times had all happened under previous administrations, from Truman to LBJ. But it is not the contents of the Pentagon Papers that he's worried about. It is the leaking of classified information that has stoked his fury, and his fear. For Richard Nixon has secrets of his own, secrets that if brought to light, could sink his presidency.