Reply #99: Witness to Power is on my bookshelf, and it wasn't difficult

[LeahD]

to find that quote! The Watergate era isn't something I've read about. I was a young mother back then and was glued to the tube for the hearngs...as was my mother who detested Nixon. The hearings were a pivotal time in this country's history, and a rude awakening for the American people. Ehrichlman and Haldeman were doing the CYA routine, and then along came John Dean, speaking truth to power, and he took Nixon and his cohorts down. It was a time of disillusionment, and we were faced with the realization that those in power were willing to betray the principles of this country, and do whatever it took, to protect themselves and stay in power. In the end, it was uplifting to see justice prevail and know our system worked. Might we be so fortunate to see true investigations in 2007?

When Ehrlichman's book was published in 1982, I lived in Santa Fe, as did Ehrlichman. I stood in line to purchase his book and have it autographed. I had mixed emotions about standing in that line knowing I was lining Ehrlichman's pockets, but I wanted my mother, whose instincts about Nixon were correct, to have a piece of history. After Ehrlichman served time in prison, he moved to Santa Fe "to write" and philosophize. Isn't it amazing that the power brokers only begin the self-examination process once they've been "caught" and are out of power?!