Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush

by John W. Dean

The former cousel to President Nixon provides a stinging critique of the current Bush administration, its obsession with secrecy, and its willingness to deceive the American people, emphasizing the president's emphasis on image over substance, mistrustful personality, imperial governing and flawed decision making, and his abuses of national security secrecy. 75,000 first printing.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Biography, The United States Of America, American History, Government

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 6, 2004

About the author

John W. Dean served as White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973. In this position, he became deeply involved in events leading up to the Watergate burglaries and the subsequent Watergate scandal cover-up. He was referred to as the "master manipulator of the cover-up" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He pleaded guilty to a single felony count, in exchange for becoming a key witness for the prosecution. This ultimately resulted in a reduced prison sentence, which he served at Fort Holabird outside Baltimore, Maryland.

Dean is currently an author, columnist, and commentator on contemporary politics, strongly critical of conservatism and the Republican Party, and is a registered Independent who supported the efforts to impeach President George W. Bush.

Reviews

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some, the legacy of the Bush Administration is still too soon to determine, but for those with five intact senses and a rational mind, we are all presently wading through the devastation. The legacy is all around us: ISIL, the effects of global climate change, an ever-widening income inequality, strong anti-American sentiments from countries once considered allies, a nation of people who mistrust its own government and politics so much so that it is desperate enough to turn to non-politicians to be its world representative.

While no one man can possibly be blamed for all of that, the Bush Administration can---and has been---blamed for a lot of the problems we currently face. What was only a few years ago merely speculation and unfounded accusations are, today, with growing evidence, verifiable and documentable crimes and misdemeanors perpetrated on the American people and the world by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and their exclusive “circle of trust”.

These vile men will, unfortunately, never serve time in prison. They will never be punished by any court of law in the world. They will never actually pay for any of the astronomical damages that they accrued over the eight years serving as President and Vice-President. This is, perhaps, the worst crime of all.

The legacy of the Bush Administration is one of aggressive stonewalling, secrecy, deception, outright lies, and a complete lack of forethought or compassion regarding the consequences of their actions.

John W. Dean knows a lot about these things.

As White House Counsel for President Richard Nixon, 1970-1973, Dean was at the center of the infamous Watergate scandal and cover-up. Dean was even once referred to by the F.B.I. as “the master manipulator of the cover-up”. He served time in prison for his actions, and is currently an author and volatile critic of the Republican Party.

“Worse than Watergate” was published in 2004. It may be an old book, but the information in its pages is still good. Indeed, some of the things that Dean could only guess at and that weren’t, at the time, public record and therefore verifiable have now been brought to light as verifiable facts, damning facts that continue to illustrate how damaging and corrupt the Bush Administration truly was.

For example, at the time the book was published, the Valerie Plame case had just broken. It was still one year away from the federal indictment of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Chief of Staff to the Vice President, for his participation in “outing” Plame as a C.I.A. officer. The “Plamegate” affair, as it has been called, demonstrated just how vile and low Bush, Cheney, and members of his staff could sink out of an infantile sense of retribution and revenge. Their actions (“their” as in all of them, not just Scooter Libby, because no one will ever give a convincing argument that Bush and Cheney weren’t involved or at least had knowledge) not only threatened the life of Plame but the lives of every single person she worked with in other countries.

Bush and Cheney are extremely bad guys.

Dean was a bad guy, so he knows bad guys. He served his time for it. He also admits to working for a pretty bad guy---President Nixon.

Nixon, himself, did some pretty bad things in office. But (and it’s a fairly significant “but”) Dean makes the case that while Nixon was secretive, paranoid, manipulative, and arrogant, his actions, in the long run, never actually threatened anyone’s life or actually resulted in the loss of anyone’s life.

The same can’t be said for Bush/Cheney. The lives lost due, both indirectly and directly, to actions and policies created and approved by the Bush Administration are incalculable and unforgivable.

As Shakespeare once eloquently put it, “The truth will out”. Today, the truth of Bush/Cheney’s crimes and misdemeanors are slowly but surely outing.

*Dick Cheney admitted, in 2008, that torture was conducted on terrorism suspects. This was, of course, after years of admitting that the U.S. did not condone or perform such “severe interrogation methods”.http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/...

*A War Crimes Commission in Kuala Lampur found George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo guilty, in absentia, of war crimes in 2012.http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2...

*Eight years of doing nothing and actually turning back environmental policies initiated by previous presidencies have earned the Bush Administration the distinction of having the worst environmental record of any American president. Today, because of Bush/Cheney’s small-mindedness, the effects of global climate change can actually be quantified and seen in shrinking glaciers, drastic changes in ecosystems, and steadily rising global temperatures.http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/...

*First-responders and New Yorkers who survived 9/11 are, today, facing serious health problems due to the Bush Administration’s mandate to the EPA to allow people back into Ground Zero long before it was safe to do so. Many of these people are unable to afford, or being denied, medical coverage for their illnesses.http://nypost.com/2015/08/09/number-o...

*Many military officials agree that, while Bush/Cheney’s actions and policies didn’t actually or directly create the terrorist organization ISIL, Bush’s war in Iraq certainly helped to make the conditions right for its creation. http://dangerousminds.net/comments/dy...

Sure, no one man can be blamed for all the problems of the world. It takes a village to make an idiot and an asshole. Unfortunately, name-calling and tossing blame won’t solve a damn thing.

The legacy of the Bush Administration is that not only can we not trust our government but that our government has no qualms about silencing and shutting out its own people. And not only does it have the will and the ability to do so, it also has the distinct position of forever getting away with it.

[HR-ML · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Dean served as former White House Counsel for Pres.
Nixon. He testified for the prosecution in Nixon's subsequent
impeachment trial.

Some Americans disliked The Patriot Act, created after the
events 0f 09/11/2001, b/c civil liberties were given up in
order to defend against terrorism, foreign & 'home-grown.'
I was surprised to learn Dean opposed this act.

Dean considered President George W. Bush (President#43) &
his Vice President Dick Cheney to be co-Presidents. He
described George W as a 'blank slate' who was molded into a
neo-conservative by Cheney & others. Bush & Cheney (B&C)
tried to expand the powers of the POTUS.

Dean saw these issues as red flags: 1) # 43's character
2) B & C each had suspect business conduct
3) Cheney was less than forthcoming on his heart health
4) civil rights violations in squelching dissent at POTUS
appearances
5) Bush's Executive Order dismantling the Presidential
Records Act. In order to hide POTUS papers for #43 and his
father #41, which could be incriminating.
6) secrecy surrounding developing a national energy policy
which benefited Bush POTUS contributors. There went
pollution standards out the window.
7) B & C ignored warnings about terrorism & then tried to
block a 9/11 investigation by Congress.
8) B &C ignored air quality in Lower Manhatten after the 2
planes were used as weapons against the Twin Towers.
9) Bush purposely mislead Congress regarding the need for
Iraq war. So many have been maimed or killed in this war.
10) leaking Valerie Plame Wilson's covert CIA identity (to
punish her spouse for declaring there were no WMDs).
11) "Torturegate" at Abu Ghraib.
12) Bush favoring the beef industry when Mad Cow disease
hit the US.
13) Bush talking to favorites at press conferences and
ignoring other media. The "4th estate" has a job to do.
They question executive, legislative, & judicial branches,
of the federal government, on behalf of fellow Americans.
14) Dean thought several of these were impeachable offenses.

I felt Pres. George W. Bush wanted to further enrich his
wealthy cronies at the expense of the health & safety
of ordinary Americans.

I read from more than 1 source, that soon after the 9/11
attack, President George W. Bush helped 200+ family
members of Osama bin Laden leave the US, when all
US airspace was closed, except to the President.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush was an incisive look at the presidency of George W. Bush in comparison to the Nixon presidency with an emphasis on Watergate, and written by John Dean, former White House counsel during the Nixon administration, and who ultimately, after telling Nixon there "was a cancer on the presidency, " testified before the congressional committee investigating the Watergate scandal opening in May 1973. As an aside, I watched many of those hearings in fascination and along with my toddler son who knew all the players and thought it much more exciting than Sesame Street. While this book was published in 2005, it does a great job in outlining the secrecy and unlawful acts of the Bush-Cheney administration, primarily in the deception of Congress and the American people in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, Bush's executive order sealing presidential papers indefinitely, the manipulation of the EPA in its failure to address the toxic conditions following the attacks on September 11, 2001, as well as the outing of undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame in an effort to silence her husband, Ambassador Joe Wilson, in his criticism of the administration's deception in their attempt to obtain congressional authorization for their war in Iraq.

"I don't give a shit what happens. I want you to stonewall it." -- Richard Nixon

[Vannessa Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one died as a result of Richard Nixon's so-called Watergate abuses of power. Today, people are dying because of Bush and Cheney's secret abuses of power. Dick Cheney who runs his own secret government operations, openly declares that he wants to turn the clock back to the pre-Watergate years—a time of unaccountable and extraconstitutional imperial presidency. To say that their secret presidency is undemocratic is an understatement!

The Bush Cheney era, if you can't remember it, just sit down, clear your head of all thoughts then ask yourself how well were you doing financially? How happy were you? How much stress were you under to make ends meet? How many young people died during the Bush Cheney fake war?

Worse Than Watergate is a must read.

[Will Byrnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean focused on the Bush/Cheney obsession with secrecy. He says that while Nixon ultimately resorted to a paranoid concern with secrecy, the Bush/Cheney administration started out with an agenda that called for eliminating any light on White House activities. He is also quite adamant in pointing out that this is the most lawless bunch of crooks to ever wield power, worse, by far, than Nixon. He calls for their impeachment for lying to congress and the American people about their rationale for the war. Coming from someone with his pedigree in government it is very compelling, and very frightening, because the world he describes is one, ultimately, of fascism. Dean does not use the word (at least I cannot recall him using it) but that is clearly the intent. He does include a chapter on scandal, and raises hopes that eventually, whether during a potential second term, or once out of office, when light is shone on activities, as he believes is inevitable, the potential for scandal is immense.

There is a nifty appendix that notes many organizations involved in anti-secrecy activities.

[columbialion · Rating 5 out of 5]

A warning from ex Watergate counsel Dean, on the dire consequences of electing the WRONG President

[Mr Shahabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fucking Bush-chiney administration

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

281 pages. Donated 2010 May.

The most facile presidential comparison one could make for George W. Bush would be his father, who presided over a war in Iraq and a struggling economy. Some "neocons" reject the parallel and compare Bush to his father's predecessor, Ronald Reagan, citing a plainspoken quality and a belief in deep tax cuts. But John Dean goes further back, seeing in Bush all the secrecy and scandal of Dean's former boss, the notorious Richard Nixon. The difference, as the title of Dean's book indicates, is that Bush is a heck of a lot worse. While the book provides insightful snippets of the way Nixon used to do business, it offers them to shed light on the practices of Bush. In Dean's estimation, the secrecy with which Bush and Dick Cheney govern is not merely a preferred system of management but an obsessive strategy meant to conceal a deeply troubling agenda of corporate favoritism and a dramatic growth in unchecked power for the executive branch that put at risk the lives of American citizens, civil liberties, and the Constitution. Dean sets out to make his point by drawing attention to several areas about which Bush and Cheney have been tight-lipped: the revealing by a "senior White House official" of the identity of an undercover CIA operative whose husband questioned the administration, the health of Cheney, the identity of Cheney's energy task force, the information requested by the bi-partisan 9/11 commission, Bush's business dealings early in his career, the creation of a "shadow government", wartime prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and scores more. He theorizes that the truth about these and many other situations, including the decision to go to war in Iraq, will eventually surface and that Bush and Cheney's secrecy is a thus far effective means of keep a lid on a rapidly multiplying set of lies and scandals that far outstrip the misdeeds that led directly to Dean's former employer resigning in disgrace. Dean's charges are impassioned and more severe than many of Bush's most persistent critics. But those charges are realized only after careful reasoning and steady logic by a man who knows his way around scandal and corruption. --John Moe

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't new - it was written in Bush's first term but of all of the books written about the last 8 years, this is one of the best. Dean was the guy in the Nixon administration who blew their cover; he's a lawyer and a man of integrity. He doesn't just cover the egregious excesses of this administration but he goes to the underlying issues and motivations and, believe me, it's scary. GWB's father was in office when the cold war ended (even if he wasn't really responsible for it) and now his son is playing from the same Soviet playbook of invading and reshaping the world in his own (read neo-con) vision of the world. That lesson has already been learned and it doesn't work. How can we hold ourselves up as morally correct when we are doing the same thing as our sworn enemies of less than twenty years ago? I can't wait to read his newest book.

[Kerissa Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written by John Dean, who was Nixon's special counselor/advisor in the White House. He knew about the Watergate cover-up and all of the other crap Nixon, Haldeman and Erlichman were doing. Things like breaking into psychiatrist's offices and stealing private patient files, rigging the Democratic primaries with slur campaigns, and sabotaging the 1968 Vietnam peace talks (Kissinger helped out with that.)

And with all that he saw in the Nixon White House he is making the case for Bush's White House being the worse. Well, it's been a few years since it was first published -- suffice to say it needs some new chapters.

[Bill S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As White House counsel to Richard Nixon during the Watergate years the author has seen more than his share of behind the scenes shenanigans. His point in this book, written in 2004, was that Bush/Cheney had taken the secrecy and obfuscation to limits that went far past anything Nixon had done! From their gutting already established environmental policy to the fiasco that became the Iraq War, Bush/Cheney lied when necessary, twisted the truth to meet their needs or just simply refused to answer any concerns raised by the American public or Congress.

The single most mind-boggling thing about their first term was that they were able to get themselves re-elected!

[Colleen Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the John Dean who was Nixon’s White House lawyer. He has gone on to a career in investment banking, I believe. What’s worth everyone’s attention from Dean is his particular perspective on the effects of secrecy in the executive branch. The title reveals his point of view, but the text is copiously documented and what he writes about is not available anywhere else.
Not an easy read but has essential information for anyone who cares about our country. It is NOT outdated (as of 2007). If anything the problem of executive overreach and secrecy is worse than ever.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book to read at this point in time; about 5-6 years after it was written and long after the Bush Cheney administration is gone. This book verifies many things we suspected were happening but had no verification. Dean has done his homework.Wish I had read this about five years ago.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Dean was Richard Nixon's White House lawyer. Dean went to prison for his sins. What a perspective to look at the sins of Cheney and Bush. His arguments are well written and convincing. Would you expect less from a top lawyer?

[Clinton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worse than Watergate is an excellent analysis of the secretive and deceptive means of the Bush Administration whether it involved domestic or foreign issues and how the Bush Administration used deception and secrets to advance their personal agendas and interests.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dean is a deft writer so his insights are welcome and delivered in a fast-pace manner. When Nixon’s former lawyer tells you Bush’s actions are worse than Watergate, you are hearing it from the horse’s mouth.

[Charles Bonar · Rating 3 out of 5]

George BUSH - Always Full with CONTROVERSY

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read and very scary. If I had known this stuff when Bush was president, I would have moved to Canada!

[Kirk Bower]

John Dean would know. I enjoy Deans writing and straight forward approach to diplomacy and learning from past mistakes.

[Mark Welkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first of John Dean's "unintended" trilogy on Bush/Cheney & the modern conservative movement.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very interesting look into the Bush/Cheney Whitehouse. I'm not too big of a fan of this because it is too much of Dean's opinion and not much fact. Either way, you will definitely read things you didn't know about either administration, and trust me when I say this, some things will really shock you. The comparison to Watergate was also a little much for me because yes, the Bush administration hid things from the American people, but he didn't technically break laws. No matter what you believe politically it's just different kind of book.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

With all the outrages going on now, I'd forgotten how bad Bush and Cheney were. Trump is what the US deserves for letting Cheney implement Nixon's dreams of an uncheckable, uncontrollable, imperial presidency, and for all those who let them get away with it, and never called them to account for their actions. What could go wrong with giving one person unlimited power? Gee, I can't imagine.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

We would not have Trump without Bush. After reading this book & living through the Trump years and since- I'm afraid that the GOP has determined the end of this country. Sad to say - I'll live to see it too. And it's something I don't want to see.

[Marina Dietrich]

John Dean goes crazy on this

[Ice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most facile presidential comparison one could make for George W. Bush would be his father, who presided over a war in Iraq and a struggling economy. Some "neocons" reject the parallel and compare Bush to his father's predecessor, Ronald Reagan, citing a plainspoken quality and a belief in deep tax cuts. But John Dean goes further back, seeing in Bush all the secrecy and scandal of Dean's former boss, the notorious Richard Nixon. The difference, as the title of Dean's book indicates, is that Bush is a heck of a lot worse. While the book provides insightful snippets of the way Nixon used to do business, it offers them to shed light on the practices of Bush. In Dean's estimation, the secrecy with which Bush and Dick Cheney govern is not merely a preferred system of management but an obsessive strategy meant to conceal a deeply troubling agenda of corporate favoritism and a dramatic growth in unchecked power for the executive branch that put at risk the lives of American citizens, civil liberties, and the Constitution. Dean sets out to make his point by drawing attention to several areas about which Bush and Cheney have been tight-lipped: the revealing by a "senior White House official" of the identity of an undercover CIA operative whose husband questioned the administration, the health of Cheney, the identity of Cheney's energy task force, the information requested by the bi-partisan 9/11 commission, Bush's business dealings early in his career, the creation of a "shadow government", wartime prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and scores more.

He theorizes that the truth about these and many other situations, including the decision to go to war in Iraq, will eventually surface and that Bush and Cheney's secrecy is a thus far effective means of keep a lid on a rapidly multiplying set of lies and scandals that far outstrip the misdeeds that led directly to Dean's former employer resigning in disgrace. Dean's charges are impassioned and more severe than many of Bush's most persistent critics. But those charges are realized only after careful reasoning and steady logic by a man who knows his way around scandal and corruption.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Reasonably well put together criticism of the Bush administration. It makes no bones about being biased, but most assertions are well footnoted - and IMO, likely true. Some of the content is now a bit dated as it was written and released prior to the president's re-election in 2004. The author closes his text arguing that "storm clouds" were forming and that he thought it likely we'd see a major [Watergate-sized] scandal unfold. Looking at the three-ish years since the book was released, I don't feel this has yet happened - so it made the closing of the book seem a bit weak to me. ...Then again, I think it's possible that more whistle-blowers will come forward as the president becomes an ever lamer duck, so perhaps the author simply misjudged the time-frame for his prognostication.

[Kevin Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this years ago, I think near George W's reelection. All he needed to say that election was "Don't change horses in midstream" (the same as Lincoln's reelection campaign) and he was voted back in. Anyway, an interesting anecdote about this is that a Republican friend of mine, in the financial services industry (go figure, nowadays you're lucky to find any Democrats there) implied that authors like this are fools or clowns. In this book, though, he may be right. John W. Dean, former attorney of Nixon, must've wanted another 15 minutes of fame. The real gem of this book is that it explains how Iraq was an illegal war, according to international law, from the beginning and, of course, there were no WMDs. In the Iran-Iraq war maybe, but not in 2000.

[Elizabeth Sulzby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten that John Dean had served as a Watergate informant to avoid his own penalties. From hearing him talk over recent years, I thought he was no longer a Republican. He describes himself as a Goldwater Republican and has strong, clear beliefs. What he believes is ruining our democratic society is secrecy--secrecy, lying, distortion, etc., all of which he accuses Bush and Cheney and their administration of. This was an excellent book but I don't want to write anything more now. Maybe later.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Watergate years, I was not a fan of John Dean. I didn't think him credible, and thought most of his actions were CYA.

That being said, I think he's done a very credible research job in highlighting all of the illegalities of the Bush/Cheney years. The book is scrupulously annotated and draws reasonable conclusions. I recommend this to any political junkie that enjoys reading about the excesses within the beltway.

[Alison]

This was a fascinating example of American boys' fiction of the 1950s. History packaged as adventure, with a strong ethical base in a northern liberal democratic tradition. It enabled its readers to link some of the myths of the Wild West into context - even I now know the background to the gunfight at the OK Corral - especially demonstrating some of the consequences of 'manifest destiny'. It was written like a western, of course, but interesting, nonetheless.