Yes it is a mystery why they felt necessary to conduct such a ham handed break in and the most that I can see was that Liddy and others were so determined to win at any costs. Nixon is a very interesting figure in history and yes he did do things like start the EPA. Also at a time of high inflation he also instituted price controls. By today's standards many of his policies would be called Progressive and his foreign policy Globalist.
His Dem opponent McGovern won only one state, Mass; there was a Johnny Carson joke that Nixon will appoint McGovern as ambassador to Mass. it is not as clouded to many Calif/Nev residents. It has been generally accepted, by many Calif/Nev residents, that this could have been the reason. the National Dem Party Chairman was Larry O'Brien, who later became the NBA commissioner. Previously, OB had been a successful lawyer in Las Vegas, some of his clients had mob connections. Tricky Dick's younger brother, Donald Nixon had been a business man in Las Vegas, and was rumored to have done business w the mob. Tricky Dick wanted to know if OB had any dirt on his younger brother
