I dove into the DU archives to see what DU posted on June 18, 1972*. Heres what I found:

[FSogol]

* June 18, 1972, if you may remember was the day that the Washington Post reported on a break in at the DNC office in the Watergate Hotel in DC.

(Note: I’ve redacted the user names to protect the innocent)

Here’s some threads I found from 6/18/1972

Could Woodward and Bernstein actually be republicans?

I think Woodward and Bernstein took the bait tonight..

Woodward and Bernstein Lands a Scoop, Then Makes Readers Wait

The Big Letdownski

My heroes got played tonight.

So, basically, they have nothing

Shame Woodward and Bernstein Shame!

Y’all have been watching too much damn teevee. No one gets a single clue that brings everything down and everything doesn’t get wrapped up neatly at the end of the hour like in a police drama on some crappy network. All the Presidents Men didn’t take 2 hours to solve; it was months and months of investigations.

Report of the break in: 6/18/1972

Nixon Resigns: 8/9/1974

PS Woodward and Bernstein continued to uncover stuff into 1976.

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/web/woodstein/post/

Grow up, DU.

[Cooley Hurd]

1. You have to give the name of the DUer so precient that they predicted...

...the 1998 film The Big Lebowski.

[Orrex]

6. It was Marty McSomething

And he was driving a weird silver car.

[world wide wally]

13. McKiver?

[Orrex]

14. No. McSomething.

Of the Long Island McSomethings.

[sarah FAILIN]

19. no...I think you're wrong

It was Calvin. Calvin Klein.

[Orrex]

20. Now that you mention it...

It might have been Clint Eastwood.

[sarah FAILIN]

21. His mom put his name in his underwear

Always a good policy to have clean underwear with your name stitched on them.

[Yavin4]

56. And you would think that such a DUer who had that power would use it

for better purposes than making posts on DU.

[lamp_shade]

2. Thank you.

[grantcart]

3. A number of threads advance the narrative that Watergate

was successful because of the drip drip drip of Woodward and Bernstein.

We had the drip drip drip of Libby on the Plame VIA outing but nothing happened to Cheney or Rove that ordered it.

Plenty of drips on Bridgegate but Christie walked even though he was obviously guilty.

The difference wasn't the press it was Judge Sirica. Instead of going along with negotiated sentences he gave provisional 40 year sentences and McCord cracked and wrote him a letter from jail.

In other words the cover up worked, as it did in the outing of a CIA agent and Bridgegate.

You can have a river of disclosures but unless you start handling out life sentences the small fries will take the payoffs and wait for their pardon.

If it wasn't for Sirica the payoffs at Watergate would have worked.

[FSogol]

7. Iran Contra is a better example for your point.

Point taken, but Judge Sirica didn't pipe up on 6/18/1972, he came into the picture later. Without the reporting and uncovered evidence, would he have followed the same course?

[Cryptoad]

35. Does matter when u are in a time warp,,,,

DU didn't "pipe up" until 2001!

[FSogol]

38. Back in 72, I posted my questions to DU via a 6 cent stamped postcard addressed to Skinner's parents

Didn't everyone?

[Hekate]

54. Postcards: Twitter on cardboard. Except I wrote very very small.

You can squeeze a lot onto a postcard.

[FSogol]

59. I remember turning the card and writing the last few sentences around the whole border.

Can't do that on DU.

[Hekate]

62. So did I. I made that stamp count!

[KittyWampus]

17. Trump has been in office for TWO WEEKS somehow you forgot to mention timelines.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. Exactly!

The reactions last night were disheartening to say the least. Further evidence our culture has slid precipitously into instant gratification as the default position. Every nail is needed to put together a coffin.

[FSogol]

8. In another thread, I wondered if the demand for instant gratification was due to

the nation needed a good dose of Ritalin or was some more ominous in play? Is it just an attempt to silence people, like Maddow, from investigating?

[bigtree]

40. you can't look at all of the Russian hacking and bots

...and not imagine that influence here.

It doesn't have to originate here, just a buzz on some other social media outlet repeated and amplified in our discussion.

Seemingly ad hominem, though, in comparison to the facts surrounding the release. I guess these folks are saying it would be better if we left it to Hannity to interpret the return.

[George II]

5. I like this one best:

"Woodward and Bernstein Lands a Scoop, Then Makes Readers Wait"

When did she actually get around to say specifically what she had last night? I couldn't take anymore are I heard Watergate/Nixon about 10-12 times. That was no more than six minutes.

[FakeNoose]

51. You had to go on her website to see the documents

She was telling people to go to her website, but then it crashed.
(Too much traffic.)

Rachel and her guest David Cay Johnston talked it all out in the first hour, and into the 2nd hour.
People have no patience, and they aren't willing listen to their analysis.

I learned a lot on the 2 shows.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. Woodward was a Republican.

[tblue37]

58. In Intelligence, too, I think. nt

[TimeToGo]

10. Sigh

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Excellent research!

[Grammy23]

12. I think it was a mistake to promote the show as offering up a bombshell.

However, I am willing to forgive this decision in an age where ratings do matter. I don't think they can be harshly blamed for taking advantage of the opportunity to increase ratings. It was a bit of a letdown, I admit, but as pointed out by others, Watergate was not done in a day. Piece by tantalizing piece things oozed out and probably drove the ones following the pace just about nuts.

We want tRump exposed for the fraud, deceiver and traitor he is. If we could retroactively go back to summer 2016, he would be outed and shamed into oblivion, right after he served a long prison sentence for treason. But that can't happen so we have to deal with what we have. And that is a ridiculously slow crawl of information that is combining itself to reveal the crimes and players in this spy novel come to life.

Patience, Grasshopper. With ANY luck at all, modern technology will advance this story faster than it did in the Watergate era. I do think the story seems to be coming together a little faster and maybe it will gel in months rather than years. Fingers crossed. Remember, I think it was John Dean that said it took 900+ days for Watergate full blown to arrive.

[lunatica]

15. I remember that day

There was a raging fight on DU over this.

[KittyWampus]

16. Grow up, indeed. Like a day care center in meltdown mode. Juice boxes QUICK!

[FSogol]

27. LOL, Juice boxes and binkies, STAT!

[IronLionZion]

18. How about the DU posts from July 4, 1776?

Resistance is futile. Give up!
This declaration of independence will never go anywhere
Washington might be British
Weak compromise stuff, where's the backbone?
Where's my pony?

[mcar]

29. ...

[JHan]

34. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahaa

[msanthrope]

37. Yankee Doodle is riding your pony, with a feather in his hat. nt

[FSogol]

41. We should primary Jefferson and Adams.

[IronLionZion]

45. They are such DINOs!

Make America Great Again!

[unblock]

22. just fyi, i'm pretty damn sure woodward and bernstein ran more than a few stories that were clunkers

not every piece of evidence they uncovered was directly related to the major drama that brought nixon down.

some were peripherally related, some pertained only to minor players, and some were just plain dead ends.

that's also part of the investigative process, and part of why it can take as long as it did in nixon's case.


the fact that donnie's apparent limited modified hangout appears to many of us to be a nothing burger, limited damage control, distraction does *not* mean that any of us are impatient or unrealistic or in need of "growing up".

it just means that we're recognizing that this particular puzzle piece is, certainly for now, of very limited value.

we look forward to our modern woodward and bernstein equivalents to uncover more puzzle pieces, and we certainly hope a telling picture will emerge.

we just don't think donnie's 2005 form 1040 will feature prominently in that final picture.

[safeinOhio]

23. I'm old and don't have that long to go.

Just want to go with a smile on my face. I can wait, but please hurry.

[heaven05]

24. exactly

just hope the 'truth' about this administration and it's main characters gets out sooner rather than later. I also thought there was nothing to the 'break-in'. So WE NOW may have some surprises in store for us. The difference this time is a majority of citizens know how evil and corrupt these 'leaders' are. Even our media is taking baby steps to walk back their accolades and build up of this trump clown...that gives me hope. May Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow, Colbert and other real investigative journalists AKA Murrow, Rather finally bring down this administration or at least make them reveal their hand...which I suspect bodes ill for our form of democracy.

[lisby]

25. Bravo! nt

[NCTraveler]

26. .

[malaise]

28. Great post

Rec

[BlueCaliDem]

30. THANK you!

[AJT]

31. Nixon didn't have an entire "news" network and talk radio

feeding lies to tens of millions of people, or a foreign power pulling his strings, or totally incompetent or evil people running the government. Time is of the essence with 45, we are talking the destruction of our government, so people are more anxious.

[bdamomma]

32. those wheels are grinding slowly

at least they are grinding. I only wish things could move faster, but he hasn't been there for 100 days...and look at the damage he and his cabal have caused.

[KPN]

33. Thank you for that reminder.

I was in the middle of my undergrad studies during the 2+ Watergate years leading up to Nixon's resignation. Politically, for me personally, they were perhaps the most captivating and ultimately fulfilling years of my life.

We and the media need to be patient, but persistent ... and keep the pedal to the metal on Russiagate -- and every other one of 45s illicit activities/conflicts.

[FSogol]

39. We especially need to not criticize & attack the journalists/pundits that are investigating and

uncovering documents.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

36. Well said, and exactly right.

Last edited Wed Mar 15, 2017, 04:58 PM - Edit history (1)

This puzzle will prove to have many pieces. Maybe that old 1040 is just a small one but it was used to refocus on SCROTUS' refusal - not just his failure - to release his tax returns. There's a damn good reason he won't do it, and Rachel is most likely correct when she suggests it will lead to some dodgy Russian connections.

Did MSNBC overhype the story? I think so, but so what?

Were Rachel and the other anchors and commentators on MSNBC "played"? Absolutely not. While it's possible SCROTUS leaked the document himself in an attempt at distraction, looking at this morning's headlines proves it didn't work and was stupid. Trump is reactive, not strategic. The stories - all of them, Russia and all his other fuckups - will continue, and eventually it will all unravel. But it won't happen tomorrow or next week.

[lamp_shade]

42. Bravo - K&R

[Staph]

43. Pedantic DUer alert . . .

Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, not in September.

I was on summer vacation with my family, and we heard the news on the radio near White Sulphur Springs, Montana.

[FSogol]

44. Corrected, thanks. n/t

[Amaryllis]

46. BRilliant move on your part to dig this up!!! Kudos.

[brooklynite]

47. You missed one other critical thread...

The "corporate" Washington Post is selling out to the Nixon Administration, and will probably fire Woodward and Bernstein in the near future.

[Nitram]

48. Good work, FSogol!

This is a long game with big stakes.

[elleng]

49. THANKS, FS. Valuable lessons here.

Anyone TAKING them?

[UTUSN]

50. Haha!1 n/t

[LiberalLovinLug]

52. You are off by over 3 decades

I typed in some of those headlines in the DU search and there were no threads that had those exact phrases.
But the threads where these topics were being discussed were from 2005.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1721205

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2643312

The point is still made. But you are way off on the dates.

[Amaryllis]

57. THe second post dated Nov. 8, 2004 was right after they stole the 2004 election.

Here - text of your second post:

"For those of you who remember Watergate...

Do you remember how the whole thing unfolded? Was it something that crept out of the news slowly over a long period of time or was it a quick shock to the public, suggesting quiet behind-the-scenes investigations?

I'm just looking for some hope that my Democratic leaders are quietly figuring this stuff out."

DU was all abuzz with that for many months after the election. Keith O was the only MSM figure really dealing with it as far as the voting machine issues. We watched him every night like we watch Rachel now. There were multiple threads on his show every night.

There was a challenge in Congress the day they certified the electoral college vote.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/07/politics/congress-ratifies-bush-victory-after-challenge.html
https://www.democracynow.org/2005/1/7/history_in_the_making_dems_force

[FSogol]

60. LOL. Skinner still has the pre-computer DU discussions saved in boxes in his attic. Ask him.

That was back before microwave ovens could spy on people.

[Hekate]

53. Thank you, FSogol

[Yavin4]

55. "The Big Letdownski"?

Did a Coen brother make that post?

[mr_lebowski]

64. It was me ...

Guilty as charged ...

[Honeycombe8]

61. Excellent post. nt

[Binkie The Clown]

63. But, But, allowing for commercials, everything should get wrapped up in 40 minutes.

Otherwise they'd have to delay Dancing with the Stars!