We Have Come a Long Way Since Watergate

Trey Smith

The other day Chuck Colson, one of the Nixon officials imprisoned for Watergate crimes, died. This gave NPR the opportunity to relive the Nixon horror.

What precisely was the Nixon horror? Essentially, there was no such thing. Watergate was about President Nixon lying about when he learned about the Watergate burglary.

...Looking back from our time during which Bush and Obama have deep-sixed the US Constitution, violated numerous US and international laws, and behaved as if they were caesars unconstrained by any law or any morality, Nixon’s “crimes” appear so trivial as to be unremarkable. Yet, Nixon was driven from office and is regarded as a criminal.
~ from Disinformation On Every Front by Dr. Paul Craig Roberts ~

It really is stupefying, if you think about it. Richard Nixon was run from office because of his paranoia! Approximately 30 years later, Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about a sexual affair with an intern (though he later was acquitted). I'm not suggesting that either of these "crimes" amounts to nothing, but they pale in comparison to the lawlessness of Bush and Obama.

What is it about America that we have a propensity for throwing the book at those involved in minor stuff, but we shield those who commit major affronts to truth and decency?

Just look at the state of the nation today. Our prisons are bursting at the seams because ever more everyday citizens are locked up for possession of pot, victimless offenses and a growing list of what use to be petty crimes. At the same time, not one captain of Wall Street has been convicted -- let alone charged -- for bringing the world economy to the brink of total collapse! Not only do these corporate criminals never see the inside of a courtroom or jail cell, but they pay each other fat bonuses with taxpayer dollars!

People who expose the misdeeds of government -- whistleblowers -- are being prosecuted by the Obama administration to the hilt, but the potential criminals they expose are not even investigated. They get to walk free with the knowledge that the government itself has their back.

I remember as a high school student that my mom and I sat riveted to the television as the Watergate hearings unfolded. It was during this time that I felt especially proud to be an American. Those hearings showcased that no one -- not even the fricking President of the United States -- was above the law!

Here we are about 40 years later to find that our "great nation" has gone backwards over these 4 decades. Nixon was pummeled by the government, the media and popular sentiment for being so secretive. Today President Obama is being lauded and celebrated for the same thing!

Nixon didn't put out a hit on an American citizen, but Obama has. Yet, Nixon was run from office, while Obama gets to run for a second term.

My, oh my, how times have changed...and not for the better!