That's the difference between Mar Lagogate and Watergate. Once it was revealed that Nixon had engineered a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice, Congressional Republicans knew he had to go. Nixon got off easy, compared to the men who served him. We'll have to wait and see how Trump fares.
Here's the thing. And this is a hill I won't die upon, but am willing to be slightly wounded upon...
The difference is that, compared to Trump, Nixon was a patriot.
Richard M. Nixon was a lifelong public servant. Went into the military, and into public office afterwards. Was he an egomaniac? Yes. A crook? Absolutely. The most corrupt President up until Trump? Of course.
Yet his (admittedly skewed) motivation was "what can I do for my country?" He was an ends justifies the means guy. Watergate happened because Tricky Dick thought it was his job to save the country, and if he had to do a little crime to keep him in that job, then it was okay.
I say this because I watched an interview with him in the last year or so of his life...it might have been with Larry King...where Nixon was clearly still plugged into world events. He was still getting intelligence briefings, and I got the impression that he was publicly saying "put me in, coach." He genuinely thought he had something to contribute, and if someone would just ask him...
The Tragedy of
Darth Plageius The Wise Richard Nixon was that he was prevented from continuing to serve his country. Or at least, that's how he saw it.
Trump? It was never about the country. It was all about him. "The Donald" would burn the nation down to serve his ego. Nixon went to his grave wishing his country would ask him to do one more, for old time's sake.