It's funny how the face of G. Gordon Liddy reminds me of everything that seemed to ruin the US at a specific point in time. Liddy's bald head and his SUPER MARIO BROTHERS mustache makes me think that he in a way was part of the reason why the press went from being selective to being almost completely merciless and destructive.
If you think back to the old days you learned about in the history classes you hated there is a distinctive difference between press from the 30's to "modern times press" from the late 60's forward. Politics was limited to whatever the press was allowed to publish and expose whatever the the White House allowed.
So now we come back to Gordon our resident plumber. How exactly did everything go from being black and white to a kaleidoscope of color? Watergate is really the best answer and with good reason. The White House really did have the power to repress information and to keep people in the dark about everything from our involvement in Vietnam to sanction covert operations aimed at destroying what we considered enemies.
Watergate in many ways gave new power to "Freedom of the Press." I think that during that period freedom of the press was necessary in order to expose a serious issue with the US and its leader and show the people that everyone was liable when breaking the law. Now by contrast the press has become rapacious and is constantly looking for the next big stumble.
Today the media has the real power and it's the media that controls who becomes our next leader. Every election no matter the position usually ends up in some bitter smear campaign that exposes every personal difficulty of aspiring leaders. Look at a 50's add stating "We Like Ike" and one now stating "Obama No Bama." The rhetoric has changed and the press and media no longer have a noble agenda but rather a selfish one based on special interest. Thank you Watergate for creating a special kind of monster that William Randolph Hearst would be proud of.
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