Bernstein looks back over the last 40 years to discuss the unique ways the American Presidency has evolved since the Nixon White House. From annual State Of The Union addresses to scandals, advancing technology and an ever-changing political landscape, audiences get an in-depth, authoritative look at the use and abuse of power within the Oval Office, and its impact on Washington, the country and the world.
From his time as a copyboy at age 16 in the Kennedy era, through Donald Trump’s presidency, Bernstein reflects on the power of journalism and the concept of the common good as keystones of American democracy.
Bernstein points to “the best obtainable version of the truth,” his definition of real reporting, as he offers keen perspective on the role of the media today and over the years. While critical of the performance of the press, Bernstein notes a decreasing willingness by ordinary citizens to be open to the best obtainable version of the truth, while searching out news and information to reinforce their already held political, cultural, and religious beliefs.
Three Remarkable Presidents - Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and the Problem of Their Successors
A Behind the Scenes Look at the Reporting and Political Drama that Led to the Resignation of President Richard Nixon and Continues to Affect the Course of American History
Today a permanent Washington class — members of Congress, lobbyists, journalists, bureaucrats — exercise a pervasive degree of concentrated power that would terrify the Founders (federalists and anti-federalists alike). This stultifying fact is perhaps our greatest challenge and obstacle to national progress. Carl Bernstein, born and raised in Washington, D.C., began working at age 16 for the town’s pre-eminent newspaper of the day — The Washington Star: he has since spent half a century as a journalist unraveling the mysteries of his native city. His latest work — including a documentary film he is making about Congress — examines a Washington condition that is strangling the country’s historic political and social progress.