Woodward and Bernstein remember Ben Bradlee

Woodward and Bernstein remember Ben Bradlee

Ben Bradlee will forever be linked to Watergate. The dynamic newspaper man steered The Washington Post  through its historic coverage of the most notorious political scandal in U.S. history. “It was the unraveling, the undressing of the Nixon administration,” says Bob Woodward, who along with Carl Bernstein broke open the story that would topple Richard Nixon’s presidency. Woodward and Bernstein shared their reflections on the man who had the faith in them to get the story right. “He was hands on, but he would back off in terms of you get the story, then we know what to do with it,” Bernstein said of Bradlee’s stewardship.

And when it came to their infamous source known as Deep Throat, Woodward says Bradlee trusted his team had a reliable confidant. “He knew this was somebody in a very sensitive position in the Justice Department and this was all ... he needed to know.” But even when all the facts about Watergate came to light, Woodward says Bradlee never saw it as a moment to smirk.
 
“One of his rules, particularly after Nixon resigned, was no gloating. [There was] nothing self-righteous about him.” The real message behind Ben Bradlee, according to Woodward:  "Dig deeper, and then when you’ve gone deeper go deeper.”
 
Ben Bradlee was 93.