Frost/Nixon

Richard Nixon: That's our tragedy, isn't it, Mr. Frost? No matter how high we get, they still look down at us. David Frost: I really don't know what you're talking about. Richard Nixon: Yes, you do. Now come on. No matter how many awards or column inches are written about you, or how high the elected office is for me, it's still not enough. We still feel like the little man, the loser they told us we were a hundred times. The smartasses in college, the high-ups, the well-born. The people whose respect we really wanted, really craved. And isn't that why we work so hard now, why we fight for every inch? Scrambling our way up in undignified fashion. If we're honest for a minute, if we reflect privately, just for a moment, if we allow ourselves a glimpse into that shadowy place we call our soul, isn't that why we're here, now? The two of us. Looking for a way back into the sun, into the limelight. Back onto the winner's podium, because we could feel it slipping away. We were headed, both o

Frost/Nixon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Richard Nixon: Look, when you're in office, you gotta do a lot of things sometimes that are not always, in the strictest sense of the law, legal, but you do them because they're in the greater interests of the nation! David Frost: Right. Wait. Just so I understand correctly, are you really saying that in certain situations, the president can decide whether it's in the best interests of the nation and then do something illegal? Richard Nixon: I'm saying, that when the President does it, that means it's not illegal! David Frost: ...I'm sorry? Richard Nixon: That's what I believe. But I realize... no one else shares that view.

Frost/Nixon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0

Richard Nixon: You know those parties of yours, the ones I read about in the newspapers. Do you actually enjoy those? David Frost: Of course. Richard Nixon: You have no idea how fortunate that makes you, liking people. Being liked. Having that facility. That lightness, that charm. I don't have it, I never did. It kind of makes you wonder why I chose a life that hinged on being liked. [chuckles] I'm better suited to a life of thought, debate, intellectual discipline. Maybe we got it wrong. Maybe you should have been a politician and I the rigorous interviewer. David Frost: [smiling] Maybe.

Frost/Nixon (film), CC BY-SA 4.0