Movie Review : All The President's Men

1972 – 1974: Watergate Scandal: In June, 1972, Police arrested five men who broke into the the Democratic National Committee Office in the Watergate District of Washington, D.C. When further investigated, two more men were arrested. Following a background check, it was revealed that the men belonged to a committee to re-elect the president. It was also revealed that men were paid by the committee and the committee was controlled by the people who work in the White House. This information was gathered by the Washington Post, which had an FBI informant, nicknamed “Deep Throat.” The investigation revealed that some of Nixon’s closest advisors may be involved in the scandal. Nixon was also thought to be involved as the investigation proceeded. During Senate hearings, Nixon denied an affiliation with the scandal, but it was revealed that Nixon recorded every conversation in this office. After refusing to hand-over the tapes, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to do so. He did turnover the tapes, however there were minutes missing from the recordings. Congress drew up the Articles of Impeachment to impeach Nixon, but he decided to resign before he was

27). Bernstein and Woodward soon realized that this case was going to be a big deal when they uncovered secret funds of around $800,000 controlled by John Mitchell, Nixon’s law partner and attorney general, that paid for the bugging of watergate and other illegal surveillance. While uncovering more details of this scandal, Bernstein realized that the “picture of the White House was in sharp contrast to the smooth, well-oiled machine [he] was accustomed to reading about in the newspapers” (chapter 2, p.28). The reporters were the main reason why the scandal was tracked all the way back to the White House. They had someone who made their job a little easier that they refer to as “Deep Throat”. This anonymous man told the reporters that the money should be what they focus their attention on. The reporters then attempted to communicate with employees of the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). When they kept getting shut out they suspected that there was an organized cover up. It turns out that there was an organized cover up. Nixon kept insisting that the White House had nothing to do with the burglary. It was later found out that he had arranged “hush money” to provide the burglars. Not only that, but it became known that he had plans to

Nixon’s presidency—a period wrought with scandal. The most well-known of these, Watergate, a complex web of deceit, has become a political term synonymous with corruption and crime. Afraid of possible defeat in the 1972 election, Nixon and his republican associates sanctioned underhanded, illegal, acts, namely a break-in at the Democratic Party national headquarters at the Watergate complex. The break-in failed and the story was revealed to the public, despite the Nixon administration’s attempts to cover up the scandal. As a result of their insistence on covering up the infamous event, the leadership of the United States was sent spiraling into a mess of treachery and dishonesty, threatening both the nation’s stability and future.

All the President's Men is a book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. The book discussed what happened to President Nixon in the Watergate Scandal from Bernstein and Woodward's point of view. The Watergate Scandal was a significant part of presidential history. This even would result in Nixon's resignation and what would have been his guaranteed impeachment. The Watergate Scandal took an impact on politics as a whole. Politicians are known as "liars" and people who keep secrets from the public. The Watergate Scandal is something Nixon can never make up for, but will always beremembered for.

In the Summer of 1974, President Richard M. Nixon and seven of the President’s administration staff were tried for refusing to turn in audio recordings from within the Oval Office. Nixon claimed immunity from the grand jury with “executive privilege,” this means you don’t have to give information to other branches of government to protect the country. This all began with President Nixon’s cover-up of the break in of the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C., Nixon hired seven men to break into the Democratic headquarters to perform a wiretap; they were caught and arrested by the police. It came to be that the seven men knew people within the Committee to Re-elect the President.

The Watergate scandal of 1972, a blackened event that took the American society by surprise; which is something so simple and diligent but yet needful for everyday life and safety. An evil trap depicted from conversations and allegations of President Nixon and his phone conversations. Simplifying a more practical dilemma and some national governmental issues. President Nixon, a responsible yet normal individual who was thought to be held responsible for his actions. Was also considered to not be looked upon as a threat.

With the Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement controversies on President Nixon’s plate, the nail in the coffin as the Watergate Scandal, thus President Nixon had no other choice, then to resign in lieu of termination. Unfortunately, President Nixon was pardoned and didn’t face any criminal prosecution of his actions, especially trying to cover-up the incident and obstructing justice. On the other hand, many of the people who worked with President Nixon, directly involved in the Watergate Scandal, were criminally charged and faced real consequences for their actions. In the end, the ethical dilemma resolves by the dissolution of many senior officials and people in positions of power and putting in a new president in place of an obviously corrupt one, who had over-extended the powers entrusted by the citizens of

Though the Watergate scandal is becoming a prominent news story everyone is clinging to, it did not sway the public from reelecting Nixon in November of 1972 with votes in excess of sixty percent making it a total victory. President Nixon’s celebration would be short-lived as members of his staff are being indicted and convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping in the Watergate incident. The first being convicted in January 1973 was aide G. Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord Jr. with five others pleading guilty. Add to that the resignation of top White House staffers, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, in addition to Attorney General Richard Kleindienst, the dominoes were beginning to fall.

All the President’s Men is a remarkable film that tells the story of two Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, that sought to find out what truthfully happened in the Democratic Party Headquarters burglary in 1972. Through their interviews and research, they followed the money that led to uncovering a nefarious presidential reelection campaign. In their persistence, the two exposed a suspicious break-in and unearthed the corruption in the administration that lies beneath it all. While All the President’s Men is faithful to the events that transpired from Watergate in 1972, the film lacks the necessary background knowledge to fully realize the significance of the scandal.

The system of checks and balances did not work well during the Watergate affair. The president was not sent to prison and Gerald Ford became the president when he shouldn’t have but the part that went well was when Nixon got caught and resigned. The president got away with the crime when others who were involved did not.

In Edward D. Berkowitz’s early books about what occurred in the seventies, both cultural and political, he discusses the topic of the Watergate scandal, viewing it more as a criminal act and misuse in power that develops from a spoiled and corrupted mind. I truly believe that Nixon’s purpose for the misuse in power came from his corrupted mind that desired more power and recognition from the American people. We do not see Edward jump right into the Watergate scandal, but work his way up to it following events that may or may not have changed Nixon’s desire for power. When Edward begins to discuss the scandal, he opens with “in his zeal to win,” which comes to mind as Nixon stopping at nothing to pursue victory, even at great risks. Later being involved in the Watergate scandal, we learn that Nixon was entangled with the scandal (Berkowitz 19). Part of Nixon’s staff had broken into the Watergate hotel in attempt to bug the Democratic National Headquarters. As explained by Berkowitz, Nixon’s men were no ordinary burglars, but

Watergate is one of the most infamous moments in American history. The tapes, the congressional hearings, the lies: no one can forget the unprecedented deceit by a presidential administration. In fact, it is so well-known that the term is often used some forty years later to convey the severity of a modern event. One also often sees the suffix -gate tacked onto a plethora of other nouns by sensationalist media outlets. However, few if any of these comparisons are accurate and justifiable, as contemporary political happenings are far less influential than the Watergate scandal in the scope of American history.

On an ordinary morning of June 17, 1972, five burglars were caught in the Watergate complex after signs of breaking in were found on the doors. No one at that time knew this subtle crime would lead to the greatest scandal in the US history and the resignation of the current President, Richard Nixon. Evidences later showed that the Watergate Incident was only a mere part of the ugly crimes the Nixon Administration had committed to achieve their ultimate goal of reelection, and Nixon had intentionally attempted a cover up to save his reputation. The Watergate incident had inflicted a deep suspicion inside the US citizens toward the government, especially the President, because during his terms, Nixon had obstructed justice and refused to

On June 17, 1972, numerous intruders were caught red-handed inside the building of Democratic National Committee, also known as the Watergate Building in Washington, D.C. Consequently, the leader behind it all was President Richard Nixon. This inaction of justice that took place that day set about Nixon from the rest of the presidents. As a president, he abused his power for his own morals. Before he could be impeached, he resigned and showed the United States that he could not take full responsibility for his actions. Even after he was pardoned for his crimes, and further persuaded American citizens on the injustice he did. Not only did Nixon set apart from the rest he changed the political standard of the United States. He made people become

Second, the American President accurately depicts how members of the public respectfully interact with elected officials. Throughout the movie, the President's staff and members of the public interact with the President in a formal and respectful manner as Andrew Shepard is constantly being referred respectfully as President or Mr. President. An example of the formality that takes place in interactions between members of the public and the President, during the beginning of the movie when President Shepard calls Syndey Wade, Syndey respectfully talks to the President, even when the subject manner is about a non-controversial issue, as the President called Syndey in order to ask her to accompany him to the state dinner. Throughout the phone