Opinion: It’s been a progressive erosion of faith ever since
evidence it hopes will finally convince enough Americans that Donald Trump is a bad man who did bad things in the White House and, if he can’t be convicted of crimes, should at the very least be denied consideration for a second run at commander in chief. While its easy enough to find similarities between the two men, it’s the differences that are more interesting.
Watergate didn’t start the erosion of trust in Washington institutions — years of anti-war demonstrations had that well underway — but it certainly accelerated the condition and eased its spread to wider fields. It gave rise to a class of scandal-addicted journalism ever on the hunt for new scalps, and too often finding them. Fifty years ago a Hollywood president might still be a heroic figure played by Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda or some other square-jawed leading man out to save the country.
Americans of every political persuasion were staggered by Watergate. Despite Vietnam there remained a deep well of awe and respect for the office, if not necessarily for its occupant. This included Washington itself. As Graff recounts, the people who investigated and prosecuted the White House crimes did so with great reluctance and a deep sense of disbelief.
No one would pretend that same respect for duty over career prevails in today’s Washington, where truth itself can be challenged by “alternative facts,” where no one hides anything that can be posted on Twitter, where “presidential” behaviour is a nebulous term and an electee’s integrity means little against the danger of a primary challenge, and where the Supreme Court has been reshaped into a political tool successfully packed for partisan purposes.
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