# George Will: Watergate of 1980? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 24, 2004, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892 "2004-10-24T13:52:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892/21 "2004-10-31T23:00:37Z")
I think we should be more honest with ourselves. It’s not this politics, as elitist and retrograde as they are. Nor is it his obfuscatory sesquipedalianism, nor his habit of advancing his argument as though it were instruction rather than opinion, truth broken into digestible bits for the _lumpenproles_. We don’t like George Will because he is a weenie. He is an exemplar of an oppressed minority, a despised minority, and we are all guilty, we all share in his humiliation. When his lunch money was taken for the tenth time, when he was forced to issue rainchecks for the next available lunch money, did we come to his defense? When he showed up at the prom dating his cousin, didn’t we snicker? When he insisted on wearing a letter sweater for his debate team prowess, did any of us pull him aside and confidingly murmer “Dude…don’t be a dick…”? No. We did none of these things. Because he’s a weenie. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892/22 "2004-11-01T16:41:29Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Mostly the former, but I’ve never heard about the latter, so I’d prefer both. I had always thought that the use of the stolen debate notes was common knowledge. So far as I know, Will didn’t steal them himself. Googling turns up numerous references to Reagan being prepped for the debate with a stolen copy of Carter’s preparation notes. This reference on the Working for Change Web site – [http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=10917](http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=10917) – refers to a 1983 article in Newsweek: > [@](#): > > Six months ago, when Gore campaign adviser Tom Downey received a package containing the Bush campaign material prior to the first debate, he immediately turned it over to the FBI. In sharp contrast, 20 years earlier, top operatives in Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign pored through Jimmy Carter’s lengthy briefing book swiped from the White House. Back then, behind the scenes, Will was part of the effort to make the most of the illegally obtained papers. > > Will looked at the Carter briefing materials and then helped coach Reagan for a crucial debate with Carter. Promptly after the debate, Will went on “Nightline” to praise Reagan for a “thoroughbred performance.” Viewers had no way to know of Will’s involvement in prepping Reagan for the debate. > > For years, Will was able to cover up the deception. But in mid-1983, the “Debategate” story finally broke, and he took some flak. > > At first, Newsweek merely mentioned in passing that Will had been shown the stolen briefing book “and thought nothing of it.” A week later, devoting several sentences to the intrigue of its star columnist, the magazine reported that he “saw the Carter materials” and later helped to prepare Reagan “for his confrontation with Carter. Then, in his role as television commentator, Will gave Reagan a favorable review for his performance – without explaining that he had personally taken part in the event.” > > During the summer of 1983, various media pillars rumbled with disapproval. As Newsweek observed, “some of Will’s fellow journalists have heatedly criticized his partisan role. Jack Nelson, Washington bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, called it ‘outrageous.’” > > The New Republic declared Will to be “the one person who has been most embarrassed by Debategate” and faulted him for two aspects of his behavior: > > “Appearing on ABC’s ‘Nightline’ the night of the debate, Mr. Will was one of the commentators who awarded the ‘victory’ to Mr. Reagan; he posed as a referee without ever making it clear that he had been one of the seconds.” > > In addition, the columnist “knew about the purloined briefing books” but kept the knowledge to himself. “Mr. Will said nothing about this on ‘Nightline’; nor did he write about it.” > > Perhaps a bit taken aback by the uproar, Will devoted a Washington Post column to his own defense. In essence, Time magazine noted, “Will said he was glad he had done what he had done, but would not do it again.” > > The controversy blew over. And in retrospect, Will’s prominence in Debategate probably helped rather than hurt his career. The incident certified that he was a power player at the highest reaches of presidential politics. My guess is that in the “Fresh Air” interview, if Carter said that Will himself had stolen the books, he was either misspeaking, or he was speaking in shorthand, or he was ethically equating the theft itself with what Will actually did. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892/23 "2004-11-01T17:25:40Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I had always thought that the use of the stolen debate notes was common knowledge. So far as I know, Will didn’t steal them himself. Googling turns up numerous references to Reagan being prepped for the debate with a stolen copy of Carter’s preparation notes. Did anyone acually admit to stealing the notes, or were they caught and prosicuted? If not, how do we know the notes were stolen? > [@](#): > > My guess is that in the “Fresh Air” interview, if Carter said that Will himself had stolen the books, he was either misspeaking, or he was speaking in shorthand, or he was ethically equating the theft itself with what Will actually did. That would be my guess, too. I’m just surprised that the OP is unwilling to admit a mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892/24 "2004-11-01T17:58:22Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Did anyone acually admit to stealing the notes, or were they caught and prosicuted? If not, how do we know the notes were stolen? If you want the source material, you’d have to track down those reports in Newsweek and other newspapers from 1983. So far as I know they aren’t online. You might have to make a trip to the microfilm library. Anyway, I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember that enough people on the G.O.P. side admitted to what happened. Even George Will, if I remember correctly, acknowledged that he knew the notebooks had been stolen. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892/25 "2004-11-01T18:13:45Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Just to be clear: “Carter said it in an interview” is not a cite. > > Over in the ObL tape thread we have a Larry King interview of Walter Cronkite saying he thinks Karl Rove is a likely source of that tape. Actually, Manduck appears to provided a cite, unless I am mistaken. I still don’t see how Will could have stolen the notes, however, so I tend to regard Carter’s claim as somewhat fuzzy. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892/26 "2004-11-01T18:25:33Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > If not, how do we know the notes were stolen? Unless you’re suggesting that Carter might have given them away, that’s the only plausible explanation. Come on now. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892/27 "2004-11-08T13:16:06Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I don’t have a cite handy at the moment-sorry!-but it’s pretty well-known that _someone_ stole one of Carter’s briefing books and passed it to the Reagan team. > > Whether or not it was Will, I can’t say. Here’s a link… [http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=98evta%247gu%241%40pencil.math.missouri.edu&output=gplain](http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=98evta%247gu%241%40pencil.math.missouri.edu&output=gplain) - Jinx [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-will-watergate-of-1980/270892.md?page=1)