Bob Woodward's Legacy

 In ages past, a fervent interest in history required stacks of those ancient paper things called “Books.”

Now books are nice, and still essential for scholarship, but I would not trade internet access for any of them, except for the Greatest Story Ever Told, the Bible. But that’s another story for another day. 

Here’s my latest story hot off the press, so to speak. 

Watching Youtube, yesterday, I come across Carl Woodward being interviewed by Ari Melber. I had to listen in.

Here’s Ari prying into the mind of the reporter who broke the Watergate story. . . with a little help, of course, from his friend and fellow Washington Post reporter, Carl Bernstein. 

For such a time as that . . . 1973, those two guys were born. 

My mind wandered back to the summer of 1973. In my near-campus mini-apartment, I took every opportunity, while not working at the shoe store or attending my last two classes at nearby LSU. . . every opportunity to watch the Senate Watergate hearings on TV.

Those hearings, chaired by North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin, were similar to the recent House January 6th hearings, and just as informative, for an historical investigation and expose' on events that were, at that time,  history-changing events. 

You see. . . back in ’73, things were different. But you didn't have to be there to learn about it.

If ye young whippersnappers are not familiar with the Watergate saga, do a search for “All the President’s Men.” 

Long story short: Two Washington Post reporters tracked down enough evidence to convince a President to take his ball and go home.

I’ll not dredge up all the drama. Just check it out and see what you think:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E18UmgEvGJk

  A few years later, the story was told in cinema: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_President%27s_Men_(film)

While recommending the movie, I’ll not get into the lengthy story of President Richard Nixon’s ultimate withdrawal from the Oval Office. 

I will, however, commend Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein for opening the nation’s eyes to the inner workings. . . the “Plumbers’” view of what all the President’s men did in their attempt to cover up the Watergate Hotel break-in, a crime not unlike--though on a much smaller scale-- the recent trump insurrection attempt to overthrow our US government.

When you get to be my age, what is even more interesting is to hear, right out of the mouth of such an alert man as this . . . Bob Woodward, and discover his take on that history-changing investigation. . . how it impacted our nation and how it prompted Bob to persist in his lifelong search for journalistic truth, and then. . . and then explain it all to a highly qualified contemporary reporter, Ari Melber. 

Oh, and, as if all that were not enough, Bob did manage to, in between his many investigations and interviews, write a few more books. . . definitely worth the reading, or the watching.

King of Soul