All the President's Men

The White House’s rebuke of the Haldeman story does little to check Woodward and Bernstein’s enthusiasm. The two work even harder to rebuild the credibility they lost because of the mistake. In previous cases, new angles and aspects of the story often fell into Woodward and Bernstein’s lap. The Clawson story came from a chance meeting with another reporter, Segretti was revealed thanks to an unsolicited tip, and any of the early details uncovered were often the result of happenstance. Now the two hit a brick wall. First, the heat and passion of the election season intervene and force the editors of the Post to call a pause while the election sorts itself out. After the Haldeman story, the Post is sensitive to the accusation that it was trying to influence the election for McGovern. Once Nixon decisively wins his reelection, the pressure is back on to produce more reporting. At nearly the same time, the two reporters catch what they think is a break. The growing public awareness of the Watergate scandal has made life very uncomfortable for Segretti. His friends are abandoning him, and his family is outraged at what he did. He tells the reporters he is willing to come clean if they visit him at his home in California.