What impact did Watergate have on the power of the presidency?

Basically, the Watergate scandal made Americans more
distrustful of presidential power.  This attitude was reflected in the passage of two
laws that both worked to reduce the power of the
presidency.

One of these laws had to do with the
president's power to run the government.  Pres. Nixon had "impounded" (refused to spend)
money that Congress had appropriated for various programs and agencies.  In 1974,
Congress passed a law making it illegal for a president to do this.  They did so partly
because of a growing concern over presidential power brought on by, among other things,
the Watergate scandal.

A second of these laws was the War
Powers Resolution of 1973.  This law was meant to reduce the power of the president to
commit troops to combat without a declaration of war.  Here, again, a major cause was
general distrust of presidential power.  This was caused partly by
Watergate.

Watergate led to a general drop in people's
trust of presidents.  It made them want curbs on presidential power.  These things were
manifested in Congressional actions such as those listed above.