Though they will deny it under oath, several editors and officials of The New Times--at a luncheon in the fall of 1974--provided me with the idea and the encouragement to write this slim book. The chapters which follow, however, represent my own reflections on a question that constantly troubles the American right: why the conservative sentiment in the country so rarely translates into conservative government in the capital. The principal source of the thoughts, arguments and views expressed herein is my own experience in Mr. Nixon's White House from 20 January 1969 to 8 August 1974. -- Acknowledgments.