Watergate had begun to turn into a national obsession.是什么意思？

Watergate had begun to turn into a national obsession.

水门事件已开始使全国着了魔.

Watergate

水门[闸]；

例句
...the damage caused to the CIA and FBI in the aftermath of the Watergate affair.
水门事件发生后给美国中央情报局和联邦调查局造成的不良影响

had

v. 有（ have的过去式和过去分词 ），（亲属关系中）接受，拿，买到；

例句
He claimed that his parents had abandoned him...
他声称父母遗弃了他。

begun

n. [人名] 贝根，[地名] [印度] 贝贡；v. 开始（begin的过去分词）；

例句
The women who worked in these mills had begun to agitate for better conditions.
在这些工厂里做工的妇女们开始抗议要求改善工作条件。

to

prep. 向，朝着，到，关于，属于；adv. 朝一个方向的，到某种状态，关闭；

例句
I suggest you leave it to an expert...
我建议你把它留给专家来解决。

turn

v. 使转动，旋转，转身，翻转；n. 转动，转向，转弯处，转变；

例句
The government have not been able to turn today's demonstration to their advantage.
政府未能把今天的游行示威转为己用。

into

prep. （表示方向）进入…中，（表示所属）输入，（表示状态）进入…状态，（表示时间）持续到；

例句
By 1838, the abolitionists had shamed parliament into ending slavery in British colonies...
到1838年，废奴主义者迫使议会出于道德压力而废除了英国殖民地的奴隶制。

national

adj. 国家的，国有的，国民的，民族主义的；n. [常用复数]全国性比赛，某国国民，全国性报刊，（机构等的）全国总部；

例句
Old enemies can become new friends even if all their national interests are not in complete accord.
即使国家利益不尽相同，他们也可以化敌为友。

obsession

n. 着魔，萦绕，使人痴迷的人（或物），摆脱不了的思想[情感等]，妄想；

例句
His parents' obsession with keeping up appearances haunted his childhood.
父母过于爱面子的做法在他儿时一直困扰着他。