Deep Throat

Please pardon my Boomer obsession with the 60's and 70's, but the revelation of Deep Throat today put closure on what was one of the defining moments of my generation.

I heard the news and couldn't believe it, I didn't believe it until Bob Woodward confirmed it, later today. Then I saw the pictures of this frail man barely able to steady his walker. Could this be the man that brought down the most powerful person in the world, the President of the United States? He looked like any other great grandfather. He could have been a guy that fought at Iwo Jima or stormed the beach on D-Day, but his role in Watergate did what no foreign enemy has ever done, he paralyzed the presidency and the executive branch of our government and made them accountable.

So is he hero or traitor (as Pat Buchanan labeled him)? I'm sure there will be countless debates about that over the next several weeks. I make him a hero. Whatever his motives, misguided or not, he had the courage to risk his career and maybe life to oppose Executive Branch tyranny by helping two reporters expose the White House spying on its "enemies." It speaks well for Woodward and Bernstein an Bradlee to keep their secret for thirty some years. Now that's protecting a source.

Will there ever be another Deep Throat? I sure hope so. The government has way too much power concentrated inside the Beltway. Nixon and his inner circle thought they were above the law, they could strong arm their way to get their agenda and use every dirty trick to succeed. Sound familiar? Someone had the courage to say "this is wrong." Mark Felt had that courage.

Watergate has one downside for the press. Ever since The Washington Post broke the story, every media outlet is looking for that one source to help give them the scoop of the century. Many times that person or source is unreliable, or the media does a lousy job of verifying and cross referencing, then we get the flops of Newsweek, or CBS. But don't underestimate the power of a free press. Now could we get a little more information on the Downing Street Memo?