What Extent was Political Disillusionment 73-80 due to Watergate? Questions and Answers
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Course
Watergate
Institution
Watergate
1. water-gate and consequences - The 'tainted presidency' - caused political apathy - worsened by ford pardon. Increased investigative journalism = scandals more visible than before - Answer-e. Nixon's use of the CIA to obstruct FBI investigations into Creep + paid suspects $430,000 to keep quiet -...
What Extent was Political
Disillusionment 73-80 due to Watergate?
Questions and Answers
1. water-gate and consequences - The 'tainted presidency' - caused political apathy -
worsened by ford pardon. Increased investigative journalism = scandals more visible
than before - Answer-e. Nixon's use of the CIA to obstruct FBI investigations into Creep
+ paid suspects $430,000 to keep quiet - increased public sensitivity to Ford's
reluctancy to release findings of Rockefeller Commission
e. the 300 hours of Testimony from the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign
Activities on TV + scandal publicity increased by Washington Post - Watergate inspired
increasing media scrutiny = decline in deference and increased visibility
e. Ford's subsequent pardon of nixon raised questions of government accountability and
reversed perception that in the wake of nixon, a regular guy like ford could restore trust -
approval falls from 71 percent to 49 percent
e. also increased sensitivity to the Billygate Scandal under carter
number who believe that gov was doing the right thing decreases from 56 percent to
just 29 percent 69-79
2. presidential incompetence demonstrated through economic decline and
mismanagement of presidential power - Answer-e. after OPEC 73 global oil prices
quadruple
- ford 5 percent cut in mileage and WIN badges - bozo the clown + flip flop - initially
advocated tax increases then asks Congress to approve $16 billion tax cut
carter fails to improve situation by cutting public works programmes and delaying tax
deductions - stagflation unemployment at 7.5 percent inflation at 13 percent
e. Ford - poor relations with congress vetoed 66 bills in 29 months presidency
Carter - 'georgia mafia' did not delegate authority along clearly established lines and
house speaker said carter 'didnt seem to understand the need to master the legislative
process'
- by 1979 only 29 percent of Americans feel the government know what they are doing
3. foreign policy failure - feeling that 'nothing had been right since Kennedy died' -
Answer-e. Vietnam
1975 televised images show north Vietnamese forces in Saigon US embassy South
Vietnam - £168 billion dollars and 58,000 American servicemen dead. Cambodia also
falls - public felt betrayed after Nixon's promise to bring 'peace with honour'
e. Iranian hostage crisis 79-80
deposed Shah of Iran allowed to come to US for medical treatment. 66 Americans taken
hostage. failed rescue mission with crashing helicopters shown on TV - dissilusionment
leads to popularity of Reagan's hawkish approach (discredited since Goldwater) and
rise of republican right
e. Afghanistan
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