How has the Watergate scandal had an effect on American citizens?Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal

Americans in the modern day are much less likely to trust
their government, and although this is for a variety of reasons in addition to Nixon and
the Watergate Scandal, I think this is the turning point after which most Americans
viewed government with a more suspicious eye.

This carried
over into the media too, which is largely a reflection of the American public and what
they believe and want. It used to be that the media gave the President a lot of leeway,
the benefit of the doubt most times, and overlooked personal issues or problems because
they were the President.  Not anymore, and this is one of the reasons why our campaigns
have become such free-for-alls.  The media and the public now feel they have a right to
know everything a candidate ever thought and did, and that it should make a big
difference in how we vote.

I feel that trend at least
started Nixon and Watergate, and is a result of the long term damage it did to the
public trust.