Washington Veteran Journalist Ben Bradlee dies At 93

Legendary journalist Ben Bradlee dies

Ben Bradlee, the zestful, charismatic Washington Post editor who guided the paper through the era of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate and was immortalized on screen in "All the President's Men," has died. He was 93. Bradlee began end-of-life care at his home last month after suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia for several years. He was the executive editor of The Washington Post from 1968 to 1991, during which time the paper covered the downfall of President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal. "He was diagnosed a while ago, but it became obvious that he had a serious problem about two years ago," his wife, Washington Post columnist Sally Quinn, said in a recent C-SPAN interview.In November, President Barack Obama awarded Bradlee the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor awarded to civilians. "Ben was a true friend and genius leader in journalism," Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein -- the Post duo who broke and pursued the Watergate story -- said in a statement. "He forever altered our business. His one unbending principle was the quest for the truth and the necessity of that pursuit." Bradlee was, in his way, Washington royalty: friend to John F. Kennedy, overseer of the capital's most important newspaper, a mover and shaker in a tailored suit. In one era, when politicians and journalists were chummier, he kept the capital's secrets; in another, he exposed them. He was descended from Boston Brahmins and easily hobnobbed with the wealthy and eminent