Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal

This is just another way CNN attacks Donald Trump. Juat sad. The documentary itself, when it stays on track, was very informative. Disgraced, ex-con telling veryone how crooked Trump is. So obvious CNN will never let up about Trump. Nauseating..

An engaging, if brisk, examination of the Watergate affair, likely among the last of its kind to involve any of the principal players. Contains a few new insights that many may not be aware of, and should now rank among the better Watergate docs out there (for more details see the definitive Discovery/BBC doc with the full cast of characters, among others). Caveat: The comparison to Trump may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but only detracts from the main story itself (and many with even a modicum of a knowledge of politics can draw their own parallels anyway); that subject would be better left to (undoubtedly countless) future documentaries.

I was hoping for a thorough, historically grounded documentary on Watergate, but CNN couldn't resist inserting modern political commentary-specifically references to Trump. Unfortunately, these comparisons felt forced and out of place, disrupting the flow of the narrative rather than enhancing it. The documentary had potential, but the decision to inject present-day politics into a story that stands strongly on its own weakened the overall impact.

I was 8 years old when Nixon resigned. I remember it vividly. I also watched his testimony on TV. So I was excited to see this. It was informative to hear John Dean and the related people's recollections on what happened during that time. This is pretty well done except for CNN constantly connecting this to Trump. They even had Michael Cohen commenting on Trump. He was convicted of fraud and perjury, but sure let's hear his perspective. By the third episode I fast forwarded through all the anti-Trump junk and anytime Michael Cohen showed up on the screen. If they cut out all the Trump stuff, who literally had nothing to do with Watergate, I would have scored this a 10.

So much griping about references to Trump. They also "slammed" other presidents like Clinton and Bush but some reviewers are too concerned about their precious DT. I think this was a great series, even if CNN did produce it. The takeaway is that the allure of absolute power exists in any person regardless of party affiliation. And retaining that power will ultimately compromise a person's ethics, integrity or his willingness to live up to the principles and laws of his country. Any reviewer stupid enough to assume this is the only definitive source on Watergate needs to get off of cable news and go actually investigate the truth. Being intellectually bankrupt is not an endearing quality.