Capp's Watergate
Sir: Al Capp's interpretations of the Watergate affair and its ramifications have in your July 21 issue fallen to the level of caricature which, perhaps, is the best that could have been expected of him from the outset. As an American, may I try to point out to your British readers a few matters he is glossing over?
". . . the President had been seemingly less than immaculate in his upholding his oath of office . . Part of that oath is to uphold and enforce the laws of the land. There are serious reasons to suspect that Mr Nixon not only did neither, but may himself have committed several crimes.
". . . he had been unkind to Paul Newman . . . " Probably most people holding major elective offices in the US maintain potted biographies of persons who might be important to their prospects, usually so as to appear to 'know' such persons when they meet them face to face; the device is called a 'Farleyfile.' The use of such lists for sexual and medical blackmail,
plus the threat of intensive amination of tax returns for usable rors — and the White House is st0 ly suspected of this, too — is 110 another matter, not to be equated with taking a dim view single politically liberal film star.
". . . taxpayers had paid three1 what his homes cost him to IMP., them." See my remark about the ur of office. It may yet turn out that Nixon's home improvements 1.4 paid for not by public monies bU stead out of campaign contribut — but this too is illegal. The President may be innocent o,f., of the accusations against him, ing some monumental ones until: tioned by Mr Capp. The accusatiu' however, are not trivial. British friends have lately beg1401 ask my wife and me: "Aren't Y' heartily tired of hearing about Wel gate week after week?" Most ern191, tically, no; and I am sorry for 0" American who could be thus bee! What we are witnessing is a C, stitutional crisis of unprecedell' importance. In a parliamentary mocracy an affair of this kind Well long ago have brought down the tire government; under our tripe system this cannot happen, which proving unexpectedly to be an adue,,' tage. Sickening though the Waterge details may be, in the overall prig the three parts are coming back ill balance after decades of executive e' tortion. It may well end by shoo that Jefferson's and Hamilton's grr. design is still just as viable as they t' hoped and believed it to be, Treetops, Woodlands Roadj,aHmaers0 Oxon.
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