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Originally Posted by warch
#2. create layers of political insulation, and #3 slowly erode the freedom of information act.
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I don't believe there was a Freedom of Information Act back then. As I remember it, the crimes of Richard Nixon were the force that created a Freedom of Information Act.
Nixon did not really use political insulation. During Watergate, Nixon successfully put blame at the lowest level, blaming misguided subordinates for all problems, until Watergate was directly traceable to his two top lieutenants - Halderman and Erhlichman. Why? Thank your god for people like Mark Felt.
A personal note. Attorney General Richard Kleindienst even denied Watergate crimes to his own kids. Crimes that Kleindienst was knowledgeable of, and that he hindered the investigation of. Mitchell, the original Nixon AG, was also fully involved in Watergate. Kleindienst was Mitchell's #1 then.
I am surprised that OnyxCougar would ask:
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... but can someone tell me why this is such a huge deal?
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I would have thought this was routinely taught in school history classes. But then I lived those times. I sometimes take for granted that others are equally informed of how dangerous Watergate was. Again, the movie "All the President's Men" does not do justice to the real Constitutional threat. Literally every day during those Senate Watergate hearings was about as exciting as the original Star Wars movie.
Those times are why I saw so many lies in what George Jr administration was saying concerning WMDs, the unilateral invasion of Iraq, the half truths about social security, the protection of high drug prices to the outright and unjustified benefit of drug manufacturers, the protection of First Energy to the risk of Toledo, and the repeated destruction of science for political gain.
George Jr was doing (in attitude) what Nixon did. George Jr just did it while using propaganda with stunning success. Nixon would simply make claims and most people blindly believed him. When innocent students were shot dead at Kent State, how did the nation respond? Long haired kids were then denied service in restaurants. Yes, we so blindly believed Nixon that he would out rightly lie - and so many would not doubt (especially those with lesser education).
Nixon was not good at propaganda. But back then, propaganda was not necessary since FDR, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy had earned the presidency such prestige and credibility. Again, I am surprised (and should not be) that anyone would have to ask what Oynxcougar has asked. Those were wild times.