Review and analyze the novel ″Richard Nixon and Watergate: The Life of the President and the Scandal that Brought him Down″ by Charles River Editors

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Nixon’s Watergate scandal
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President Richard Nixon, found himself tied to a scandal that even the decades do not
seem to erase. The magnitude of the scandal proves far-reaching. Consequently, he has no other
choice but to resign from office. This makes him the first and only president in the history of the
United States of America to have ever resigned. Being the President of the United States of
America, his political career saw him more than just the president of that country. His political
career had cast him, on several occasions at the very heart of politics that span beyond his
country; he was involved not only in his country’s politics but also in those of international
status. His career was overflowed with unprecedented ups and downs. The downs, however, had
a more lasting moment, and a very profound effect on his career. Many thought that he would
never rise from the ashes of some of the colossal defeats he faced. As a result of how
unfavorable his career unfolded on him, he made thorough attempts to create a more acceptable
image to the citizens of the Republic. This was never to be the case due to the weight of the
scandal that later came to be. As the writer Charles River demonstrates the historical and ethical
considerations of Nixon’s scandal revealed a flawed prognostication of a scornful figure that hit
the news headlines with a surprise. Nixon’s paranoia together with the American political
development aspects of path dependency and the consequences of his actions contributed to the
inevitable path towards Watergate as well as his downfall as a president.
The scandal that led to Richard Nixon’s resignation from being the president of the
United States of America remains engrained in the history of the nation. It is believed that the
end justifies the means in that, the end of an aspect is what matters, not the steps involved in the
objective or the process. In his case, Richard Nixon used unlawful ways during the time of
elections that were disregarded during the process since their target was centered at the desired
end of wining. The Watergate scandal had long been viewed as a one-time scandal that
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happened during President Richard Nixon’s administration. It was thought to be this grand
outrageous event that the public got to know of in the wake of the year after the president’s
reelection. What the Watergate scandal actually referred to is a chain and succession of
scandalous events that took place between years 1971 through to 1974. They were greatly tied to
the presidents as they occurred during the years that he was in power.
These crafty actions were the first Watergate break-in that were evident in his
administration. After the victory, Nixon and his administration proceeded to embark on another
path following the Watergate break-in and cover-ups in his obsession with power. The
responsibilities of holding the president’s office and the attempt to remain innocent were not
easy to cope with at the same time. Richard Nixon was wrong to assume that exhibiting more
power than his office commander would offer safety to the American citizens. Despite hang
such a belief, the truth is there was no need having a president of construction during that time.
The country was undergoing a reconstruction period that required the alteration of the current
political establishment, while at the same time moving the country in a different direction. Much
as Nixon acted the reconstructive president, the Watergate scandal unfolded some vital factors of
preemption. Preemptive characters put their personal needs at the center point though it is not
clear what drove him to such unnecessary lengths. Nevertheless, the time which a president rules
is vital in determining the successes of the failures. Again, the dynamics of a president impact
the decisions that they will take while in office. The threats to his independence from his
dramatic childhood may have pushed him to be stubborn in dealing with the external forces.
Nixon had to follow two different forms of path dependence which involved, a road that
was led by the collaborative efforts to ensure that he is re-elected in the following elections. He
was more concerned with the short term goals together with his inner circle and failed to realize
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the long term implications of their actions. He became, undoubtedly the president that the United
States of America needed. In his administration, it was clear that Nixon was a promising
character who assured the people he would certainly end the Vietnam War. He was rather seen as
a capable president after the domestic achievements that gave the hopes of making the American
dream come true. The other path dependence was to maintain order in the office of president
after the Watergate scandal began and worse of all, it was linked to the white house. He
worsened the issue by using anyone he wanted including his closest allies for his cover-ups.
However, that did not work out well as he could not clean out his scandals without tarnishing the
white house. Again, his internal paranoia made him believe that illegal shortcuts were the only
way he could achieve his ultimate goals. May be the road towards Watergate was not inevitable
but the road he embarked on was optional. Instead of taking the road he took, Nixon should have
taken a professional and a clean campaign. His past events should not be used as a cover-up to
his actions.
Despite the reference to the sequence of scandals that took place during those years, the
Watergate Scandal mostly refers to the particular break-in at the Watergate Hotel. The office
complex in Washington, D.C. Alberg says that describing the scandal is unequivocal in that the
Watergate Scandal described the scandalizing event, which was the scandal itself and the
scandalized reaction of the public – the nation’s shock at President Nixon’s abuse of power
(2013). The disaster had its roots from a guarded conflict between the Republican Party and the
Democrats Party. Also in this mix was President Richard Nixon’s White House paranoia. This
paranoia was appalling as it contributed greatly to his ultimate defeat and the resulting clashes
which revolved around the top secret information that was made known to the public. It
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encouraged senior government officials to carry out infamously petty crimes and cover ups for
the main reasons of assassinations of character and cross political surveillance and spying.
In 1973, President Nixon gave a nation-wide address in which he described what exactly the
Watergate scandal was. He also described the charges of illegal political activity during and
before the presidential elections that were held in 1972. He also had to explain the cover-ups
made by his senior government officials in order to hide the illegal activities that happened
behind the public’s backs. In due course, he realized that he had brought up very serious
questions that doubted the integrity of the White House. Consequently, it was this Watergate
scandal that led to the resignation of an American president who was in fact in office. As
aforementioned, this was the first and only time in the history of the United States that a
president resigned. This will never lose its significance in Unites States of America history. The
resignation came after President Nixon had tried to move mountains to prevent investigations
and cover up crimes that had been done by senior government officials in his own
administration.
The Watergate got so much associated with scandal; it became synonymous with the
word scandal. As a result of such synonymy, the word gate in Watergate is normally used with
words in the today world to show that they are actually scandals.
Richard Nixon after such a scandal under his administration has been ranked one of the worst
presidents to have ever walked the surface of the American land. He has been loathed and
despised. However, there’s not so much to prove that this perception of the president and the
Watergate scandal unanimous nature is actually necessary. A rising number of members of the
Republican Party actually believe that the downfall of President Nixon had some hidden driving
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forces behind it. Led by former President Nixon’s speech writer, Mr. Pat Buchanan, the
Republicans blamed the resignation and eventual downfall of President Nixon on a sort-of-coup
that was created and bred by the media and laissez-faire societal forces. These forces sprang
from the anti-war movement. This caused the release of the classified information on Vietnam a
progressively more disliked battle. It also led to the prevalent campus strife throughout the whole
of USA.
Richard Nixon and Watergate: The Life of the President and the Scandal that brought him
down has sought to describe the origins of the break-in, the beginning of the cover-ups, the
participation of the Central Intelligence Agency and the role of the media. It also seeks to bring
to light the contested relationship between President Nixon and Watergate. It also seeks to bring
out the definition of the terms and a basic outline of events.
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References
Alberg, J. (2013). Beneath the veil of the strange verses: Reading scandalous texts. East Lansing:
Michigan State University Press.
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