One speech in particular, an excoriation of the ''instant analysis'' of political speeches by television anchors, written by Mr. Buchanan, was delivered so effectively by Mr. Agnew that it set off deep debate about responsibility in the news industry that resonates still with voters.

Feelings of Resentment For Political Benefactor

A resourceful man with a cadre of loyal friends in business, politics and show business, Mr. Agnew departed from Washington with special bitterness toward Mr. Nixon who, said, Mr. Agnew, ''naively believed that by throwing me to the wolves, he had appeased his enemies.''

''I felt totally abandoned,'' he said later.

Across the years, he rebuffed eight efforts by Mr. Nixon to talk or meet, Nixon friends said. Mr. Agnew ultimately relented, but only to go to Mr. Nixon's funeral in 1994.

''I decided after 20 years of resentment to put it all aside,'' he said as fellow mourners took note of the signature nattiness and pugnacious smile of the fallen politician. ''The last time I talked to him was the day I resigned.''

He had been quickly replaced as Vice President by Representative Gerald R. Ford in Mr. Nixon's effort to recover momentum. But the encompassing whirlwind of the Watergate scandal and hearings saw Mr. Nixon follow Mr. Agnew into resignation and disgrace in August 1974, as a White House political plot against the Democrats and subsequent cover-up was painfully brought to light. A national trauma shook political life to its foundations and Jimmy Carter eventually was chosen by the voters in 1976 to replace President Ford.

After resigning, Mr. Agnew, who had a second successful business career as a broker of international deals, insisted that he had never been guilty of accepting bribes in Maryland from state contractors. In 1980, he wrote a book, ''Go Quietly . . . or Else,'' contending that he had accepted only campaign contributions, not bribes.

With his familiar flair of self-confidence back on the scene, he insisted he had been forced to resign by scheming Nixon aides, not by the 40-page specification of charges at his court plea. There, the judge had pointedly reminded Mr. Agnew that his plea of nolo contendere to tax evasion was understood as the ''full equivalent'' of a guilty plea.