The Hearing

The central figure in the present work is Barry M. Goldwater, a United States Senator from Arizona who served five terms in the Senate and also ran for the presidency in 1964. He was regarded as the "Grand Old Man" of the Republican Party and was one of the nation's most respected advocates of conservatism. Goldwater was heralded as a great patriot and his reputation for personal integrity was unblemished and applauded by all political parties. It was Goldwater who was chosen to speak with Nixon at the height of the Watergate crisis; one day after his meeting with Goldwater, President Richard M. Nixon announced his resignation. During his 30 years in the Senate, Goldwater never hesitated to speak his mind. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once quipped, "Barry, you speak too quick and too loud." (B. Barnes, "Barry Goldwater, GOP Hero, Dies," The Washington Post, May 30, 1998, p. A01)