Trustgate: Watergate’s Legacy for American Society
The Watergate era, to me, is the catalyst for government distrust which has become the new normal. The power of journalism and truth eventually deteriorated, too, and has now become the very thing that Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein fought against.
Before Watergate, turmoil and varying presidential approval ratings were not abnormal, but average approval ratings were relatively high. For example, John F. Kennedy peaked at an approval rating of approximately 70%, with other presidents of the era resting generally in the mid 50-60% range. However, following Watergate, Nixon’s approval ratings dropped far below those of his predecessors, reaching only the high 40% range, and this trend continued with the following presidents, such as Gerald Ford, who became president only because of Watergate and other Nixon administration scandals, and later Jimmy Carter. While approval ratings are not the only indicator of governmental trust and legitimacy, low approval ratings correlate with a low level of trust.
Presidents can help the public maintain trust in them, even if they enact controversial decisions or policies. Harry S. Truman, for example, made the call to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While not all citizens agreed, and his approval ratings were affected, Truman did not hide this act, and thus he kept trust intact, even in the midst of angst amongst citizens. Trust does not simply equal agreement with decisions, and many presidents besides Truman did controversial things during their presidencies before 1972—but these acts were not hidden like Watergate was. While Nixon was not the one who broke into the democratic headquarters, and while he was not in the Committee to Reelect the President (CRP) meetings, he did find out about the situation after the fact, and he worked hard to hide it from the very people whom he was supposed to serve. Nixon’s acts, including withholding information, attempting to enact the executive privilege to keep the situation under control, and not acknowledging the break-in, suggested political figures could not be trusted. Thus, without citizen vigilance, governmental officials were viewed as likely to get away with lying and committing or enabling acts that are hidden from the general public. If Nixon did not keep the tapes, and if the situation did not catch journalists’ attention as much as it did, this all could have been contained within the government. However, it did come out, which set the precedent that the president and those who are close to him should not be inherently trusted.
Two of the most influential people who helped the Watergate scandal come to light were Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. These two journalists worked at The Washington Post and were tasked to cover the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, which at the time was not a major headliner in the news. While they simply could have moved on from this case quickly, reporting only the necessary public details, the reporters cared about the truth, not the surface level story. Because of this drive for justice, they were able to keep Watergate a major national point of interest by gathering incriminating evidence and interviews, thus serving as a catalyst to bring the truth to light. Subsequently, trust in the government dropped dramatically in the country, while respect and reliance on journalism increased. From this chronology, the panoramic display of events shows that the uncovering of Watergate represented a rise in truth-seeking and a fall in mindlessly listening to authority figures.
While this was the case at first, a reverence for truth fell as time went on. Many news sources and political pages have become more focused on framing stories to their own benefit, rather than showcasing a nonpartisan approach. Major news sources like CNN and The Guardian showcase strong left-leaning political biases while outlets such as Fox News and The Daily Wire do the contrary. Not only do major news sources showcase a biased political view, but so do official political platforms online. Both the official Republican and Democrat TikTok pages are filled with divisive content, made as slights to the other belief. These accounts are not focused on education and truth, but personal party gain and benefit. In this day and age, the public’s distrust of the government remains, but the search for truth and quest for the greater good has seemingly faded into the abyss.
Despite this, the Watergate era and its journalistic culture, to me, symbolized hope and a look towards greater justice in America. Low-ranking reporters at The Washington Post could hold high-level political figures accountable, such as Nixon, responsible for their actions—demonstrating the power of truth-seeking journalism. While this was a positive outcome of Watergate, this hope was not maintained forever, for the citizens’ distrust remained, while the yearning for the cold hard truth faded. Watergate became the exception rather than the blueprint.
