One of my earliest memories of television… one of my earliest memories in all of life, in fact… was seeing Richard Nixon resign the presidency. I was a kid, not quite six years old, and of course I didn’t understand what was really going on. I did know, however, that Nixon was the president, and the president was the most powerful man in the world, and that he had to quit his job because he’d done something wrong. I didn’t understand, but I was aware that what I was seeing was terrible for us all.

I’ve been fascinated with Watergate, Nixon, and the media ever since. I did two papers on Watergate in high school, two more in college, and went through a period when I read everything I could get my hands on about the topic. Other kids knew things like what rank Grand Moff Tarkin held in the Empire in Star Wars and what Pete Rose’s batting average was… I knew things like exactly what G. Gordon Liddy was convicted of and who Alexander Butterfield was.

Hey, I never said I was conventional.

Yesterday, Mark Felt, who was a high ranking FBI official during Watergate, admitted in Vanity Fair that he was Deep Throat. If you don’t know why that’s huge news for Watergate buffs, here’s Deep Throat in the smallest of nutshells: Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward were the Washington Post reporters who reported on the Watergate scandal over a two year period, and eventually brought Nixon down. Much of the information they published and followed up on came from a secret informant who’s identity they protected and have protected for years. That informant was nicknamed Deep Throat. For thirty years, people have guessed who he might have been. Now we know. Woodward and Bernstein have confirmed Felt's admission.

For us Watergate buffs, Felt’s admission that "I'm the guy they used to call Deep Throat" is as important as ”Luke, I am your father” was in the 70’s to Star Wars fans.

Nobody in US poltics is more fascinating than Nixon. Few people in all of history are. He was a terribly flawed, brilliant man. His good works (go to Google and look for "Nixon" and "China" if you don't know) will forever be in the shadow of his downfall. He was conflicted, paranoid, and deeply patriotic. I love the line in Oliver Stone's movie that sums him up, and why we demonize him. To paraphrase, when we look at Jack Kennedy, we see what we want to be. When we look at Nixon, we see what we are.

By the way, Star Wars fans: Screw Anakin. If you really want a story about inner conflict, lost potential, a dual nature and a tragic downfall, you need to read about Nixon.

There’s been a lot of speculation over the years about who Deep Throat was. I’ve heard everything from the laughable (“It was Liddy!”) to the possible (“It was John Dean!”) to the bizarre (“It was Nixon himself!”) to the so-crazy-it-might-be-true (“There was no Deep Throat, Woodward and Bernstein made him up so they could publish their hunches.”) Turns out, the truth wasn’t so scandalous. Mark Felt was second in command at the FBI during Watergate, and his has always been one name on a long, long list of suspects.

Hmm. Now we know.

More reading, if you’re interested:

UPI News: Deep Throat's Family Wanted Cash For Their Story

MSNBC: Nixon's Aides Say Felt Is No Hero

MSNBC: Deep Throat was the Biggest Secret in US Politics and Journalism

Washington Post: Conflicted and Mum for Decades

Sydey Morning Herald: The Man Who Killed Nixon (Registration Required)

Nixon's Farewell Address to his Staff

Permalink -- Posted by Darrell at 17:23