LAT: Watergate Weighs on Today's White House (restoration of exec. power)

[DeepModem Mom]

Watergate Weighs on Today's White House
By Peter Wallsten, Times Staff Writer


....yet, far more than Bush has publicly acknowledged, Watergate and its aftermath have exerted a strong influence on the policies and attitudes of the president and others now in the White House — some of whom had front-row seats for the scandal as members of the Nixon and Ford administrations.

Vice President Dick Cheney, who worked in the Nixon White House and served as chief of staff to President Ford, has spoken of using his current position to restore powers of the presidency that he believes were diminished as a result of Watergate and the Vietnam War. By withholding details of his energy task force meetings and advising Bush to aggressively take the reins of power after the contested 2000 election, Cheney has tried to rekindle a broad view of executive authority.

Bush was a student at Harvard Business School when Richard Nixon resigned the presidency in 1974. He watched as his father, chairman of the Republican National Committee and one of Nixon's most visible defenders, butted heads with a press the elder Bush believed was out to get the president.

Today, an arm's-length relationship with the press, a highly controlled message and a restrictive interpretation of public records laws are the norm at the Bush White House.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, a Nixon aide who also served as chief of staff to Ford, tried to stop Congress' post-Watergate broadening of the Freedom of Information Act. The act requires the government to disclose certain records to citizens....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-watergate7jun07,0,2462018.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[peacetalksforall]

1. This is very rich...this LA Times article should be bookmarked for the

future trial of Donald Rumsfeld - the American (self-proclaimed) saint. He's not just the guy who shook the hand that shook the hand of Saddam Hussein, he shook the hand (and many, many more).

"Today, Rumsfeld often expresses his distaste for leaks and for the press' handling of scandals such as the revelations of prison abuse at Abu Ghraib. Reflecting on Watergate last week, Rumsfeld made clear that he was not ready to declare Felt a hero.

"Anyone who sees wrongdoing … who works for the United States government, has an obligation to report that wrongdoing to the Department of Justice or to the proper authorities in the department," he said. "I wouldn't want to leave any ambiguity about that."

This is a classic from the betrayal and revenge cabal.

[Supersedeas]

4. I'll second that!!!

[2Design]

2. same villians - different era - same mission - omg - amazing

The more I find out that these players have been on the stage for so long - the more I realize they are up to no good - they have served in the higher ranks all their lives - except *

They have never lived with the ordinary people they are using for fodder - they have no respect for life - we are in trouble with the same thugs running the show

[dubyaD40web]

3. F*cking Cheney

"Vice President Dick Cheney, who worked in the Nixon White House and served as chief of staff to President Ford, has spoken of using his current position to restore powers of the presidency..."

Darth wants total domination.

[Norquist Nemesis]

5. Front Row Seats?

They weren't just bystanders idly watching. They were in starring roles!! :grr: