Product Description: American politics changed forever in January 1973: the Watergate burglars went on trial, the administration negotiated an end to the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Roe v. Wade, Lyndon Johnson died in Texas, and Richard Nixon began his second term...read more

Professor Kurland examines the constitutional issues raised by Watergate and points to the continuing dangers of unchecked presidential and judicial power at the expense of congressional authority

A burglary at the Watergate hotel-office complex helped expose illegal acts that took place in high levels of government during the Nixon administration. This book explores the people and events involved in the political scandal that eventually forced the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon and changed the face of American politics.

The two Washington Post reporters present the inside story of their inquiry into the persons involved in the Watergate scandal

Watergate has already told us much about the political dynamics of the presidency. In Political Discourse, L. H. LaRue shows that it can also reveal much about Congress, the men and women we elect to be our collective voice in Washington. Retracing the debates in the House Judiciary Committee as it voted on the articles of impeachment, LaRue shows that our representatives―all of them lawyers―chose to center their discussions largely on the president’s violation of the law.Yet, LaRue suggests, far greater matters than simple lawlessness were at stake. By choosing to organize their discussions predominantly around the concept of “rule of law,” our representatives sidestepped the crucial issues of government ethics, the public trust, and democracy itself that Watergate raised. In this way, they failed in their role as representatives and misstated the deepest concerns of their constituents. LaRue proposes that breach of trust, not rule of law, should have been the focus of the discussions. Such a metaphor would have been less legalistic, closer to most Americans’ true concerns. It would have created a more wide-ranging debate that better encompassed the crucial issues that surrounded Watergate―one that spoke for our determination as a people to resist tyrants who threaten our democracy.