I wasn't alive during Watergate, but I did read All The President's Men. One part of the book that this reminds me of is the part where they go too far -- I don't recall exactly, but they took a chance and accused Ehrlichman (I think) of something he did not do. They knew they were wrong because instead of dodging the question or covering it up, he flatly denied it on public television.<p>I don't want to read too far into anything, but that still seems to be how things work today. Flat denials don't happen unless an accusation really is false, while dodging the issue is an indication that the accusation is at least partly true.