The Watergate scandal had a great impact on public opinion. It changed the way people looked at the presidency, politics, and Congress. It also changed the media's view. This act set the standards for the media's effect on future candidacies. In order to understand how this even impacted public opinion, one must know the details of the Watergate scandal.
             On June 17th 1972, five men were arrested for burglary at the Watergate Hotel in Washington DC. At first it wasn't a controversy, but reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein began to investigate it for the Washington Post. Through their reporting they found that the burglary was committed by members of the Committee to Re-elect the President (C.R.E.E.P.).
             Their reporting put pressure on the White House and on April 30th 1973, Nixon accepted the resignation of H.R. Haldeman, White House chief of staff, John Ehrlichman, Special assistant on domestic affairs, and announced the dismissal of US Attorney John Dean. In May 1973, the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Activities began hearings on the Watergate break in and the Presidents involvement.
             US Attorney John Dean was a key figure in the Watergate scandal. Dean's testimony during televised hearings in the U.S. Senate implicated high-ranking White House officials in the 1972 Watergate break-in and wiretaps and asserted that Nixon was involved in efforts to cover up the scandal. (Los Angeles Times, March 9, 1990 p. A-1)
             Dean's allegations played a key role in Nixon's future resignation from the presidency.
             Instead of facing an impeachment, Nixon resigned on August 9th. A month later his successor, Gerald Ford, excused him from all of the crimes he committed while in office. After that Nixon was unable to get federally prosecuted (Crockett 13)
             The Watergate scandal changed the way people look at politics and the people involved in them. The press and the media look further into some of ...