The Watergate scandal remains one of the biggest controversies in American History that led to the impeachment of a sitting president. The scandal involved a series of illegal activities meant to facilitate President Nixon’s reelection in 1972. When the president’s involvement became public knowledge, no effort could save him from damage. The scandal created a distrustful public, and changed the course of political journalism in America.
In the first article, the editorial of the Washington Post state that President Nixon’s action and speech leave a lot to be desired if he wants to repair the damage done by the 10-months of evasion and deceit regarding the Watergate scandal (Washington Post 1973). The article asserts that the presidents should at least meet the minimum standards of decency, propriety and honor. The article commends President Nixon for meeting the minimum level of decency by admitting that Watergate is a big scandal, and for championing the resignations of the people involved such as White House counsel John Dean. However, bringing in new people does not change the situation, when the scandal is yet to be solved.
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In the Harvard Crimson article, Dean Burch, a special assistant to the president is defending President Nixon from those who propose that the President should resign. He is against the assertions of the Chicago Tribune editorial and other individuals who assert that the tapes revealed a “Private Nixon” who is not as good as the “Public Nixon” (Burch, 1974). Burch argues that what emerged in the transcripts was a president searching for the truth about Watergate, while balancing the interests of the Republic, the rule of law, and the lives of his friends and devoted deputies. He argues that the President lives in a complex world, where hard decisions have to be made. Lastly, Burch states that President Nixon should not be impeached based on a single incident, yet he has done a lot of good.
Both articles impact the reader’s understanding of the Watergate scandal. Burch makes a good argument in defending the president, and for a moment the reader can actually believe that President Nixon had no choice, but to cover up the scandal. On the other hand, the Washington Post article, shows that the president has not done enough. Even though he fired his deputies and staff, the article makes the readers wonder about his role in the scandal.
The Watergate scandal dented America’s faith in the government more. The ongoing Vietnam War was not supported by the public, and the scandal only made the situation worse. President Nixon was involved in a series of escalating actions meant to cover up the burglary, and this went on for almost a year. The President abused his power extensively, making the public to distrust the government and public servants more. To date, the American public has a deep distrust of the government. The event also changed the press coverage of politicians, Watergate led to the romanticism of investigative journalism. Additionally, the press began scrutinizing politicians instead of just believing in what they told the public. The press is constantly doing background checks on politicians and exposing small scandals before they turn into Watergate.
Watergate event coverage would have been different in the age of social media and smartphones. The event would not have lasted long, people would have accessed the information sooner. However, information in social media is not always reliable, and probably the scandal would have blown over faster because scandals do not last long in social media. Social media exposes readers to current information, but all the information cannot be believed because they do not come from trusted sources. Social made has made everyone capable of sharing information with the rest of the world, even people with the wrong agenda, and they can be easily believed.
References
Burch, D. (1974). In Defense of Richard Nixon. The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved from: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1974/5/14/in-defense-of-richard-nixon- pithe/?page=single
Watergate: The Unfinished Business. [Editorial]. (1973, May 1). The Washington Post , p. A18.
