I think that the seeking out of peace terms with Vietnam was a significant move in the Nixon Administration.  At the same time, it seemed as if the war had such calamitous costs on many levels that its ending seemed more like a "whimper" than a bang.  In the end, little, if anything, was solved and I think that the real legacy of the war was that it forever became a warning to future American presidents that waging a war without clear objectives and complete focus can be disastrous.  In the end, the conclusion of the war did little to stem the disenchantment and disillusion that was brought about with its ending.

I agree.  By that point, what choice did we have?  It had divided the country, was producing no lasting military results, was draining our country's resources and wrecking our military, and for what?  Hindsight is 20/20 and I can say now that I wish we had never gotten involved in the war at all or had gotten out a lot earlier, but it's a moot point as we didn't have the benefit of history at the time to tell us without doubt what the outcome would be.  Withdrawing American  troops in hopes that the South Vietnamese government and military could defend themselves was our only real option by that point. 

Once we had gotten to the point where we were in 1973, there was no good way to proceed in Vietnam.  I do not see what Nixon could have done that would have been any better.

By that time, it was clear that we could not win this war.  Our military was doing fine, but the political situation was completely unwinnable.  So our choice was to try to stay forever and prop up the South Vietnamese government, or to get out.

I think that the way we got out was tragic.  Perhaps we should have done more for the people who had been on our side.  But staying was not the answer and once we decided to get out, there was no way out that was going to be good.