The Washington Post’s Benjamin Bradlee still lives an editor’s life. It began in the 1960s when he lifted the Post out of its doldrums and went on to steer reporters through the elaborate investigation that blew open the Watergate scandal. He made the decision to print the Pentagon Papers, and in fact looks back at that time as the beginning of “a great sea-change in this country,” a time when he says America started “to lose faith in its leaders.”
From Johnson’s Vietnam, through Reagan, Bush and the Iran-Contra scandal, and on to Clinton and Monica, Bradlee says that lying has become a part of the leadership landscape, and it is democracy that has suffered.
Guests:
Benjamin Bradlee, Vice President at Large of The Washington Post.