we have been slowly working through this 1989 dramatization of the Bob Woodward / Carl Bernstein narrative of the disintegration of the Richard Nixon presidency. it's a bitter reminder of just how crooked Nixon was...and the degree to which his sort of political corruption has simply been normalized in American politics. Nixon felt that being President meant that he could do whatever he liked, however shady and illegitimate, to cement his hold on power. decades later I would guess that most American politicians feel roughly the same way.
Nixon spent the rest of his life relitigating Watergate; there was never a speck of genuine contrition out of him about his crimes in office, because he never could make himself believe that he'd done anything wrong. it's possible that Nixon taught American politicians a very bad lesson: it was possible to paper over any abuse of power with enough publicity, and turn any political disgrace into a martyrdom.
~Chara
