Best known for his involvement as a key witness during the Watergate investigation in the early 1970s, John Dean has authored several books chronicling his experiences as White House Counsel during the Nixon administration and offering his take on the controversies that surround George W. Bush's presidency.

His first effort, Blind Ambition, a scathing account of the fall of President Nixon, became a New York Times Bestseller and inspired a made-for-TV movie. At this event, Dean offers his views on the political climate of the mid 2000s and reads from and discusses his 2006 book Conservatives without Conscience.