 Any suggestion that I'm writing about political operatives because I'm interested in political operatives misses the entire point. |
| Suppose Watergate had not been uncovered? I'd still be on the City Desk. |
| The number of illegal activities were so large that one was bound to come out and lead to the uncovering of the others. Nixon was too willing to use the power of government to settle scores and get even with enemies. |
| The biggest rap on me is that I don't find a Watergate every couple of years. Well, Watergate was unique. It's not something Carl Bernstein, I, or the Washington Post caused. |
| Nixon had some large achievements in foreign affairs. They will be remembered. But a president probably gets remembered for one thing, and Watergate will head the Nixon list, I suspect. |
| Not a season passes without new disclosures showing Nixon's numerous attempts at criminal use of his presidential powers and in fact the scorn he held for the rule of law. |
| I deal with first-hand sources. And give the people, even John Sununu, the opportunity to respond to what I've been told by first-hand sources. |
| There's hostility to lying, and there should be. |
| It was accountability that Nixon feared. |
| Nixon's attempts to order subversion of various departments was bound to come out in some form. |
| Using these unnamed sources, if done properly, carefully and fairly, provides more accountability in government. |
| Even now there is no evidence that anyone involved in the Nixon operation was going to threaten us. |
| I believe Watergate shows that the system did work. Particularly the Judiciary and the Congress, and ultimately an independent prosecutor working in the Executive Branch. |
| I don't think voters give a hoot about the character of their political advisors, except to the extent that character reflects on the candidates. |
| The central dilemma in journalism is that you don't know what you don't know. |
| A reporter's ability to keep the bond of confidentiality often enables him to learn the hidden or secret aspects of government. |
| When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making. |
| I think people are smart enough to sort it out. They know when they're watching one of these food fight shows where journalists sit around and yell and scream at each other, versus serious issue reporting. |
| Many people have their reputations as reporters and analysts because they are on television, batting around conventional wisdom. A lot of these people have never reported a story. |
| I have found people don't want to be told. That they can figure it out. |
