Watergate (1974)

Tragedy? The corruption of an administration was exposed and given a fairly thorough airing in the public arena. The culprits for the most part were tried and punished or virtually banished from the comforts of polite society. Some would argue that the power that some of the culprits held resulted in them getting off lightly. But did anyone recover from the affair, restore their reputation and return to the halls of power? I can't think of anyone. Did it change American politics or the relationship between the public and polititicains or the press and politicians? I'd argue that it was probably the turning point, but the shift was in the process of happening anyway. We were becoming more cynical long before Nixon became the flashpoint. And the phenomenon was international, not just American. The media was maturing and ability to dog a politician with agressive reporting and a hand held cameras was in full swing. The era of the gentleman politician had been over probably since... Read more

There are those who like to talk about how Clinton sullied the office of the President. Well if Clinton sullied it, Nixon raped it. A killer ape dressed in a suit, Nixon had ethics that set lows for politicians that have seldom been reached in a democracy. Tragic? Not on the scale of many things on this list, but a tragedy for the abuse of ethics and power, nonetheless.

I don't think it caused people to be cynical about politicians. Or politics in general. That has always been the case. The tragedy is the people who followed Nixon. Ford was one of the worst leaders this country had ever seen. He had been a good republican throughout his career and was rewarded for his loyal service by being appointed to the VP post when Agnew resigned in his own, separate scandal, about things he had done (PRIOR to being elected and reelected Vice-President) in Maryland. Carter (unimaginably) was worse! It is oddly ironic that the president who did the most to assist the democrat party and its pet causes (established the EPA, OSHA, inherited a military conflict which he promptly continued to mis-handle and lie about, imposed a wage/price freeze on the country, initiated our present racial quota system in Affirmative Action, appointed Harry Blackmun, author of Roe v. Wade, to the Supreme Court) was, by far, the most hated by them. Sort of reminds me of Bush wi... Read more

Brought in an era of cynicism, followed by resignation ("they all do it"). Lowered our expectations so that at least 40 percent of us don't mind that young Americans are dying every day to fight a war based on lies.

A tragedy? No. No more than the Clinton impeachment, Iran Contra, or anything else involving a president. I don't meanto make light of the situation, it was serious, but not what I would call a tragedy.

Very tragic for the country and for those involved immediately in the scandal. Watergate is one of the top three defining US political events of the late 20th Century, the other two being Vietnam and the end of the Cold War. It started out as a third rate burgulary of the Democratic party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel on June of 1972. However two of the organizers had worked for the White House previously, thus implying that there was a connection between the break in and higher ups in the Nixon administration. A court later found that one of the ring leaders was getting paid for the job from Nixon's re-election fund. The subsequent Senate hearings and release of the infamous Nixon tapes sealed the President's fate. Truth be told, Nixon brought it all upon himself. He managed a very closed White House political apparatus that could only produce such a scandal. What implicated the President in all of this was the cover up of the cover up. From the beginning, Nixon should have mov... Read more

Moreso embarassing than it was tragic. It furthered the people's distrustful attitude toward the government, an attitude that would continue for several more years. An unfortunate black mark on the American presidency, but not much of a tragedy.

Tragic? C'mon. Of course Nixon broke the law. He thought the rules only applied to his enemies he sought to ruin. But nothing near tragedy. . .