After Nixon resigned in 1974, he engaged in a very aggressive war with history, attempting to wipe out the Watergate stain and memory. Happily, history won, largely because of Nixon's tapes.

If information is true, if it can be verified, and if it's really important, the newspaper needs to be willing to take the risk associated with using unidentified sources.

Nixon's attempts to order subversion of various departments was bound to come out in some form.

Way before Watergate, senior administration officials hid behind anonymity.

I think people are smart enough to sort it out. They know when they're watching one of these food fight shows where journalists sit around and yell and scream at each other, versus serious issue reporting.

Some newspapers have a hands-off policy on favored politicians. But it's generally very small newspapers or local TV stations.

I don't think voters give a hoot about the character of their political advisors, except to the extent that character reflects on the candidates.