Watergate scandal had come about. “The thing that went wrong is that the system was not followed,” Haldeman replied. “Had we dealt with [Watergate] in the way we set up from the outset…we would have resolved that matter satisfactorily, probably unfortunately for some people, but that was necessary and should have been done. It wasn’t done, and that was what led to the ultimate crisis.” “That’s exactly what happened,” said Dean, when I recounted Haldeman’s explanation. (It’s a rare point of agreement between Haldeman and his nemesis, still regarded by Nixon loyalists as their Judas.)
