Watergate | 3. A Very Successful Cover-Up

Summary

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Slow Burn: Watergate

Episode 3 – “A Very Successful Cover-Up”

Date: December 12, 2017
Host: Leon Neyfakh

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into how President Nixon’s re-election campaign orchestrated a campaign of subterfuge, sabotage, and psychological warfare to help shape his 1972 opponent—and how, despite mounting evidence of wrongdoing, the Watergate scandal failed to capture the public’s imagination before the election. The episode unpacks the tactics, the bizarre sense of indifference among the electorate, and the beginnings of a political cover-up so effective it almost disappeared from view.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Manipulating the Opposition (00:32 – 03:55)

• Democratic Primary Sabotage: Nixon viewed Senator Ed Muskie as his greatest threat. His team worked covertly to ensure George McGovern—seen as easier to beat—would win the Democratic nomination.
  • Astroturfing & Spying:
    • Bob Woodward (01:17): “They hired a man named Elmer Wyatt, who was Muskie’s chauffeur…Wyatt rented an apartment, a Xerox machine, and then would stop and make copies of everything and send them to the Nixon campaign.”
  • Petty & Sinister Tricks:
    • Stealing Shoes (02:03): “Members of Nixon’s team sneaked into a hotel where the Muskie people were staying, stole all their shoes from the hallway and threw them in a dumpster.”
    • Race-Baiting Phone Calls: Hired callers impersonated Muskie supporters with “black accents,” designed to alienate white voters in New Hampshire.
• Psychological Warfare’s Toll:
  • Planted a fake “Canuck letter” smearing Muskie and an article insulting his wife’s manners.
  • Muskie’s emotional public reaction (03:15):

    “By attacking me, by attacking my wife, he has proved himself to be a gutless coward. It’s fortunate for him he’s not on this platform beside me.”
    — Senator Ed Muskie (03:15)

  • Media portrayed Muskie as weak; his campaign never recovered.

2. Watergate: The Invisible Scandal (03:55 – 05:30)

• Despite FBI investigations and Post reports on clandestine sabotage, the public remained largely indifferent.
  • Gallup Poll: “48% of Americans had never even heard of Watergate” (04:56)
  • Even with clear evidence of corruption—break-ins, sabotage, and financial links—Watergate wasn’t a campaign issue.
  • Muskie’s Lawsuit Threat:

    “Senator Edmund Muskie said he is thinking about suing President Nixon’s reelection committee and certain White House officials. He thinks they may have violated his civil rights through political espionage and sabotage of his unsuccessful campaign.”
    — News broadcast, October 12, 1972 (04:18)

• Congressman Patman: Delivered a fiery speech (not detailed here) condemning White House non-cooperation—a sign the truth was out there, just ignored.

3. Why Didn’t Watergate Matter? (04:56 – 05:46)

• Public Indifference: Leon Nayfakh wonders aloud why, in retrospect, such sensational stories barely registered.

  “In retrospect, it’s really hard to understand why…Interparty warfare, corruption, sabotage. Why didn’t it captivate the electorate the way it captivates us now?...How did people not realize what a big deal this was?”
  — Leon Neyfakh (04:56)

• The episode promises to uncover how Nixon’s cover-up proved “very successful,” keeping the scandal from becoming the election’s decisive issue.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bob Woodward on Nixon’s Spy in Muskie’s Camp (01:17):

  “Wyatt rented an apartment, a Xerox machine, and then would stop and make copies of everything and send them to the Nixon campaign.”

• Leon Neyfakh on Muskie’s Collapse (03:15):

  “As he spoke, Muskie appeared to break down in tears. The Washington Post described him as standing silent in the near blizzard, rubbing at his face, his shoulders heaving, while he attempted to regain his composure sufficiently to speak.”

• Muskie’s Public Rebuke (03:15):

  “By attacking me, by attacking my wife, he has proved himself to be a gutless coward. It’s fortunate for him he’s not on this platform beside me.”
  — Senator Ed Muskie

• Leon Neyfakh Summarizes National Mood (04:56):

  “Most people just didn’t really care…Months after the break in, a Gallup poll found that 48% of Americans had never even heard of Watergate.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:32 – Nixon’s fear of Muskie and manipulation of the Democratic primary
• 01:17 – Bob Woodward details campaign espionage tactics
• 02:03 – Petty pranks and sabotage against Muskie’s campaign
• 03:15 – Muskie’s emotional press conference and unraveling
• 04:18 – Muskie considers legal recourse for sabotage
• 04:56 – Host reflects on Watergate’s lack of impact on public consciousness
• 05:46 – Episode title and transition to the central theme of the cover-up’s success

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Tone & Style

Leon Neyfakh’s narration is investigative and reflective, blending vivid storytelling with incredulity over the public’s muted reaction—“How did people not realize what a big deal this was?” Archival news audio and interviews lend the episode a sense of intimate historical immediacy, with both wry humor and a sense of gathering outrage.

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Summary Takeaway

“A Very Successful Cover-Up” shows how Watergate’s initial revelations failed to make political waves, thanks to Nixon’s campaign of deception and a striking lack of public awareness or outrage. By illuminating the mechanics and impact of both sabotage and indifference, this episode sets the stage for understanding a scandal that would eventually shake the nation—but was, for a time, hidden in plain sight.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, Sal. Hank, what's going on? We haven't worked a case in years. I just bought my car at Carvana and it was so easy. Too easy. Think something's up? You tell me. They got thousands of options, found a great car at a great price, and it got delivered the next day. It sounds like Carvana just makes it easy to buy your car, Hank. Yeah, you're right. Case closed.

[B]

Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.

[C]

In 1972, the year of the Watergate break in, President Richard Nixon was running for re election. The front runner in the Democratic primary was Senator Ed Muskie from Maine, and Nixon saw him as a real threat. The Democrat Nixon wanted to run against was Senator George McGovern from South Dakota. He was an unapologetically left wing and anti war candidate. He could be easily tarred as a friend to dope smoking communists. The famous attack line on McGovern was that he stood for acid amnesty and abortion. So Nixon's henchmen worked hard during 1971 and 72 to undermine Muskie and to deliver the nomination to McGovern. Essentially to pick their opponent. They employed some truly wild schemes to achieve their goal. Here's Bob Woodward of the Washington Post.

[D]

They hired a man named Elmer Wyatt, who was Muskie's chauffeur, but they got.

[C]

Him hired as the driver.

[D]

He volunteered, and so Muskie accepted him as a volunteer, and the Nixon people paid him $1,000 a month.

[C]

Elmer Wyatt was a retired cab driver when he was hired to spy on the Muskie campaign. One of his jobs as a volunteer was to ferry documents from Muskie's Senate office to campaign headquarters.

[D]

There were so many documents of Xerox that Wyatt rented an apartment, a Xerox machine, and then would stop and make copies of everything and send them to the Nixon campaign.

[C]

That was just one of the many methods of interference the Nixon campaign engaged in while working to undermine Ed Muskie. Some of the others were just petty. On more than one occasion, members of Nixon's team sneaked into a hotel where the Muskie people were staying, stole all their shoes from the hallway and threw them in a dumpster. But others were less like hijinks and more like cynical acts of fraud. Voters in New Hampshire got phone calls in the middle of the night from people claiming to be Muskie supporters from Harlem. The callers, who had actually been hired by the Nixon campaign, spoke in quote unquote black accents and informed the white New Hampshireites on the other end of the line that Muskie would Deliver full justice for black people. All of this trickery got into Muskie's head and he came to a breaking point In February of 72, when a new Hampshire newspaper published a fake letter to the editor that had been planted by the Nixon campaign. In the letter, Muskie was accused of laughing when a member of his staff referred to French Canadians by the insulting term Canucks. The newspaper also ran an unflattering piece about Muskie's wife, which portrayed her as unladylike for telling off color jokes and smoking cigarettes. In response to these attacks, Muskie delivered a speech in front of the newspaper's offices. He defended himself and his wife, and he called out the newspaper's publisher.

[E]

By attacking me, by attacking my life, he has proved himself to be a gutless coward. It's fortunate for him he's not on this platform beside me.

[C]

As he spoke, Muskie appeared to break down in tears. The Washington Post described him as standing silent in the near blizzard, rubbing at his face, his shoulders heaving, while he attempted to regain his composure sufficiently to speak. Muskie lost his momentum after that, and he never got it back. When McGovern won the nomination, Nixon had the opponent of his dreams. Reports of the Nixon campaign's meddling in the Democratic primary started circulating while the election was still in full swing. In October, the Post reported that the FBI was investigating the Nixon campaign for funding a wide ranging program of clandestine sabotage against the Democrats. The attempted bugging at the Watergate had apparently been part of the onslaught that fall. The defeated Muskie tried to make an issue out of it.

[E]

Senator Edmund Muskie said he is thinking about suing President Nixon's reelection committee and certain White House officials. He thinks they may have violated his civil rights through political espionage and sabotage of his unsuccessful campaign.

[C]

That news broadcast is from October 12, 1972. It was the same day that Wright Patman, the congressman you heard about on last week's episode, gave his fiery speech condemning Nixon's top aides for refusing to testify in front of his committee. By that point, quite a lot was known about the shadiness of the Nixon campaign and the financial links between the Watergate burglars and the committee to reelect the President. And yet, for some reason, Watergate just was not penetrating, and it certainly wasn't emerging as a significant issue in the campaign. Most people just didn't really care. Months after the break in, a Gallup poll found that 48% of Americans had never even heard of Watergate. In retrospect, it's really hard to understand why this was sensational stuff. Interparty warfare, corruption, sabotage. Why didn't it captivate the electorate the way it captivates us now? How did people not realize what a big deal this was? This is Slow Burn, a podcast about Watergate. I'm your host, Leon Nayfak.

[E]

This is a story that I think is not yet well known. One of the most fascinating and exotic stories ever to come out of Washington, dc. The Post has maliciously sought to give the appearance of a direct connection between the White House and the Watergate.

[C]

Episode 3 A very successful cover up.

[B]

If you want to hear the rest of this season and support what we do, now's the perfect time to join Slate plus. You can join directly within Apple Podcasts and Spotify or visit slate.com slowburnplus to get access wherever you listen.

[C]

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[F]

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