Letters: Watergate says a lot about Nixon

Re “Dueling over Watergate,” Postscript, March 9

Few people touch on the single element of the Watergate scandal that I consider the most serious.

Though I doubt that Richard Nixon knew about the break-in beforehand, his White House fostered an atmosphere of privilege and entitlement in which such a crime could be thought of as acceptable — a crime that was, at its core, tantamount to treason. The Watergate burglars were trying to steal the 1972 election by stealing information from the Democratic National Committee. That’s basically a coup, which is treason.

In his letter, Nixon Library docent Paul Carter said: “Of Nixon’s 81 years, Watergate took up 26 months. There was much more to Nixon’s life and presidency than Watergate.”

I’m sure there was. Likewise, John Wilkes Booth was a very successful actor. His assassination of Abraham Lincoln only took a minute. Should we judge him by that alone? Probably.

Bart Braverman

Los Angeles

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