Watergate sleuths draw 2,000-plus to Trinity

Bob Woodward (left) and Carl Bernstein drew a packed crowd at Trinity University as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Bob Woodward (left) and Carl Bernstein drew a packed crowd at Trinity University as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Photo: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Watergate sleuths draw 2,000-plus to Trinity 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO – More than 2,000 people packed an auditorium at Trinity University on Tuesday evening to hear two of the most well-known and decorated American journalists discuss their role in uncovering the largest scandal in the country's history.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the wiretapping of the Watergate building led by President Richard Nixon in 1973, shared their first-hand experience uncovering the scandal, the implications of the infamous event on American politics and journalism, and today's political climate.

“The real tragedy of Watergate for the country was the smallness of the president's vision,” said Woodward. “Nixon never said let's fix the things that matter for the American people. Rather, he used the power of the presidency as a tool of personal revenge.”

Bernstein joked that the recordings of Nixon in the White House released through the uncovering of the scandal were so entertaining that he and his colleague have listened to them on the beach during vacations.

“Watergate was a turning point for the country and the American people,” he said.

The theme of the discussion, part of Trinity University's Distinguished Lecture Series, focused on the “five wars of Watergate.” The wars waged by the Nixon administration, according to the duo, were directed at the anti-Vietnam War movement, the press, the Democrats, justice and history, which used illegal tactics such as wiretapping, burglary and blackmail or, as Bernstein put it, “espionage and sabotage.”

Many of the audience's questions related to current events such as the mass surveillance of both American citizens and foreign citizens by the National Security Agency, which the two referred to as “vacuum-cleaning the world.”

Bernstein and Woodward said the difference between Watergate wiretapping and NSA surveillance is that the former was directed at a targeted group by the leader of the country, while the NSA supposedly operates out of the purview of the president and has a worldwide scope.

The discussion, which drew both laughs and ahhs from the large crowd, came on the 40th anniversary of the infamous scandal that led to Nixon's impeachment hearings.

The free event at Laurie Auditorium was filled with a wide variety of listeners, from college students to senior citizens.

Woodward, 70, still works at the Washington Post as an associate editor and has authored numerous books, including “All the President's Men,” a detailed narrative of the Watergate scandal, which he co-authored with Bernstein and which subsequently became a feature film.

Bernstein, 69, still provides political analysis for national news programs and for Vanity Fair, in addition to authoring books on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pope John Paul II.

“Reporting, when done right, is the best obtainable version of the truth,” said Bernstein.

Ken Kramer, a former psychology professor at Trinity University, said he was interested to hear the duo talk about the current political landscape.

“As screwed up as the government is today, it'd be kind of nice to hear how we got that way,” said Kramer, 85, of San Antonio.

Dennis A. Ahlburg, president of Trinity University, moderated the discussion between the two journalists. The event was sponsored through a private endowment from Walter F. Brown Sr.

kparker@express-news.net