Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living... in Washington, D.C., where he has lived his whole life. He has been working in journalism since he was 16. Since he didn't have a college degree, he had to work his way up, starting as a copy boy for the Washington Star. Carl always seems to find the story because he has some great contacts – especially among the “little people” like bus boys and bellhops, the folks who really know what’s going on.
Profession... reporter for the Washington Post. He's working on a big story with another Post reporter, Bob Woodward. Carl wasn't sure about Woodward at first because he went to Yale. As he explains, "All those Ivy League places are the same – they teach you about striped ties, and suddenly you're smart."
Interests... cycling. But if he doesn't do something quick, his $600 bicycle is going to get repossessed. He's having a hard time with all his bills.
Relationship Status... divorced. His ex-wife Hannah calls him a sex junkie. Thankfully, they're still friends, and she is helping him out with all the stuff that's going on.
Challenge... risking his job and reputation with a story they are writing on John Mitchell. According to their sources, while serving as U.S. Attorney General, Mitchell personally controlled a secret cash fund that was used to gather information for the Nixon administration against the Democrats. Mitchell denies it and says he's going to come after Woodward and Bernstein with everything he’s got. And a man that powerful is a very dangerous enemy to have.
Personality... scrappy. Carl may not be the most polished reporter, but that doesn’t matter. His intense ambition, determination, and ability to find and work his sources are the keys to his success.
Get to Know him in...
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In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns Woodward and Carl Bernstein to it. They find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually into the White House itself.
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It began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC, on 17 June 1972. Bob Woodward, a journalist for the Washington Post, was called into the office on a Saturday morning to cover the story. Carl Bernstein, a political reporter on the Post, was also assigned. They soon learned this was no ordinary burglary. Following lead after lead, Woodward and Bernstein picked up a trail of money, conspiracy and high-level pressure that ultimately led to the doors of the Oval Office. Men very close to the President were implicated, and then Richard Nixon himself. Over a period of months, Woodward met secretly with Deep Throat, for decades the most famous anonymous source in the history of journalism. As he and Bernstein pieced the jigsaw together, they produced a series of explosive stories that would not only win the Post a Pulitzer Prize, they would bring about the President's scandalous downfall. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN documents this amazing story. Taut, gripping and fascinating, it is a classic of its kind -- the true story of the events that changed the American presidency.
