As I recall the high hopes for America with which we began this second term I feel a great sadness that i will not be here in this off ice working on your behalf to achieve those hopes in the next two and a half years. But in turning over direction of the Government to Vice president ford i know as i told the nation when i nominated him for that off ice ten months ago, that the leadersh ip of America would be in good In pass ing this off ice to the vice President i also do so with the prof ound sense of the weight of responsibil ity that w ill fall on his shoulders tomorrow, and therefore of the understanding, the patience, the cooperation he will need from all Americans. As he assumes that responsibility he will deserve the help and the support of all of us As we look to the future the first essential is to begin healing the wounds of this nation. To put the bitterness and divisions of the recent past behind us and rediscover those shared ideals that lie at the heart of our strength and unity as a great and as a free people By taking this action, I hope that i will have hastened the start of that process of healing w hich is so desperately needed in America. i regret deeply any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision i would say only that if some of my judgments were wrong --and some were wrong - they were made in what i believed at the time to be the best interests of the nation To those who have stood with me during these past diff icult months, to my family my friends, the many others who joined in supporting my cause because they believed it was right, i will be eternally grateful for your support. And to those who not felt able to give me yo ort let me say i leave with no bitter toward those who have opposed me, because all of us in the f inal analysis have been concerned with the good of the country, however our judgments might differ So let us a ll now join toge ther in aff irming that common commitme nt and in helping our new President succeed for the benef it of all americans, i shall leave this office with regret at not completing my term but w ith gratitude for the privilege of serving as your President for the past five and a half years. these years have been a momentous time in the history of our nation and the world They have been a time of achievement in which we can all be proud, achievements that represent the shared efforts of the administration, the Congress and the people but the hallenges ahead are equally great. And they too, will require the support and the efforts of the Congress and the people, working in cooperation with the new Administration We have ended America's longest war. But in the work of securing a lasting peace in the world the goals ahead are even more far-reaching and more difficult We must complete a structure of peace, so that it will be said of this generation --our generation of Americans - by the people of all nations, not only that we ended one ar but that we prevented future warsAs I recall the high hopes for America with which we began this second term, I feel a great sadness that I will not be here in this office working on your behalf to achieve those hopes in the next two and a half years. But in turning over direction of the Government to Vice President Ford I know, as I told the nation when I nominated him for that office ten months ago, that the leadership of America would be in good hands. In passing this office to the Vice President, I also do so with the profound sense of the weight of responsibility that will fall on his shoulders tomorrow, and therefore of the understanding, the patience, the cooperation he will need f rom all Americans. As he assumes that responsibility he will deserve the help and the support of all of us. As we look to the future, the first essential is to begin healing the wounds of this nation. To put the bitterness and divisions of the recent past behind us and to rediscover those shared ideals that lie at the heart of our strength and unity as a great and as a f ree people. By taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America. I regret deeply any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision. I would say only that if some of my judgments were wrong -- and some were wrong -- they were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interests of the nation. To those who have stood with me during these past difficult months, to my family, my f riends, the many others who joined in supporting my cause because they believed it was right, I will be eternally grateful for your support. And to those who have not felt able to give me your support, let me say I leave with no bitterness toward those who have opposed me, because all of us in the final analysis have been concerned with the good of the country, however our judgments might dif fer. So let us all now join together in affirming that common commitment and in helping our new President succeed for the benefit of all Americans. I shall leave this of fice with regret at not completing my term but with gratitude for the privilege of serving as your President for the past five and a half years. These years have been a momentous time in the history of our nation and the world. They have been a time of achievement in which we can all be proud, achievements that represent the shared ef forts of the administration, the Congress and the people. But the challenges ahead are equally great. And they, too, will require the support and the ef forts of the Congress and the people, working in cooperation with the new Administration. We have ended America's longest war. But in the work of securing a lasting peace in the world, the goals ahead are even more far-reaching and more difficult. We must complete a structure of peace, so that it will be said of this generation -- our generation of Americans -- by the people of all nations, not only that we ended one war but that we prevented future wars