Richard Nixon Library And Birthplace

As part of a release of archival tapes and documents Monday, the Nixon Presidential Library & Museum revealed fresh records that reflect the 37th president's heated campaign to investigate, intimidate and smear political rivals and opponents of the Vietnam War. Among the documents is a handwritten note from Nixon's top aide, H.R. Haldeman, on June 23, 1971, which may shed light on the origins of Nixon's infamous "enemies list."

The Dec. 21, 1970, meeting between Elvis Presley and President Nixon is the subject of an exhibit that opened at the Richard Nixon library, which would have been the singer's 72nd birthday. The free exhibit includes the outfit Elvis wore (a black velvet overcoat, gold-plated belt and black leather boots), Nixon's outfit (gray wool suit, tie and black shoes), letters and a World War II .45-caliber Colt revolver Elvis gave to Nixon.

The Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda has long been the most kicked-around of presidential libraries, and nothing invited more ridicule than the dim, narrow room purporting to describe the scandal that drove its namesake from office. Venturing into that room, visitors learned that Watergate, which provoked a constitutional crisis and became an enduring byword for abuses of executive power, was really a "coup" engineered by Nixon enemies.

In the official narrative of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace, Carl Bernstein has long been one of the arch-villains, a reporter whose name -- along with that of former Washington Post colleague Bob Woodward -- elicited special loathing.

The 2007 federal budget that was sent to Congress this week includes $10.6 million for the privately funded Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda to begin its transformation into a presidential library run by the National Archives. If approved by Congress, $6.9 million will go for a new library wing and $3.7 million for National Archives staff to oversee the processing and display of 46 million pages of documents from Nixon's presidency.

As the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace readies itself for a shift into federal hands, the National Archives announced Monday that it had selected a Cold War historian and expert on presidential recordings as the library's first federal director.

The statues depict two old men relaxing in easy chairs. As others mill about the drawing room, the men engage in conversation, one gesturing at the other to underscore a point. For nearly 20 years the likenesses of China's Communist leaders Mao Tse-tung and Chou En-lai have sat perfectly still inside the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda. Now, they are creating a stir. They are among 10 statues of former heads of state on display in the library's World Leaders exhibit.

The transfer of Richard Nixon's presidential papers and tapes to his library in Yorba Linda could be delayed because the federal budget includes no money to move or house them. Officials at the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace had hoped to begin receiving the material, along with federal staff members to oversee it, later this year. A $3-million request by the National Archives and Records Administration, however, wasn't included in President Bush's 2006 budget request to Congress this month.

In an effort to gain legitimacy as an official presidential library, the privately run Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace has agreed to present exhibits that are "more strictly factual" and turn over control of more of Nixon's papers and tapes to the National Archives. Library officials have also promised to reschedule a controversial April symposium on the former president and the Vietnam War that they said they canceled because of low attendance.

Richard Nixon's daughters have joined with former President Ford in a new push to bring Nixon's White House papers, including the infamous Watergate tapes that led to his political downfall, to his presidential library in Yorba Linda. Getting the documents would give the library -- which is sometimes mocked for its pro-Nixon tilt -- more credibility in academia.