Posted on 06/02/2005 6:25:17 PM PDT by wagglebee
I have always believed that Deep Throat was actually a composite of individuals, all seeking to bring down Nixon. The events of the past few days have made me rethink this and I have reached a few conclusions.
It makes complete sense now that there was only one Deep Throat, in the sense that only one person met with Woodward and gave him his information. Obviously it would have been safest to only have one person go to all the meetings because this reduced the risks to all involved. So from this point of view, Mark Felt was Deep Throat. But as I read Woodward's story today, I became more convinced than ever that Felt could not have acted alone.
Flowerpot and the New York Times
Woodward and Felt had an arrangement that if Woodward needed a meeting, he would move a flowerpot with a red flag on it to the back of his balcony. If Felt had information, he would have a clock drawn on page 20 of the New York Times that was delivered to Woodward.
What struck me as odd was the fact that with the security risk that Woodward was being watched, there was no way that Felt could personally drive past Woodward's apartment every day to look for the signal; moreover, there was absolutely no way that Felt could have entered the lobby of Woodward's building and switched copies of the New York Times. So, it had to be people working for Felt that carried out these tasks. Maybe they didn't know the reason at first, but they would have certainly figured it out in time. Felt would only have used seasoned veterans that he could trust completely, so these would have been experienced FBI agents who would have easily figured out the pattern to the Deep Throat stories and the flowerpot and NYT signals. So, the question becomes, was this agent (or agents) a willing co-conspirator, or were they so afraid of Felt that they remained silent. Because Felt has been retired for so long, this agent (or agents) have remained silent, I can only conclude that they were willing accomplices.
White House Red Herrings
Nixon was furious about the leaks and finding out the source was a top priority. Nixon was an extremely intelligent man, despite any poor judgement calls he may have made. So logic would be that he would have put out "red herrings" in an attempt to ferret out Deep Throat's identity. If this is true, there is only one way that Felt could have avoided the trap -- that would be to have other accomplices in the White House who were helping to root out any possibly disinformation. In addition, it is highly improbable that Felt was personally privy to all of the information he was leaking. Because of this, it is my conclusion that there was one or more senior Nixon aides who was actively conspiring with Felt. In fact, the most likely scenario would be that there was a small group who chose Felt as their spokesman. Felt would have been the logical choice for two reasons: 1. he had extensive espionage training and therefore the least chance of being caught; and 2. of all the people involved, Felt was the least publicly recognizable.
Woodward and Bernstein Reaction
When the Vanity Fair story broke, Woodward and Bernstein had no comment. The only confirmed Felt's story when there was no other viable alternative. Could it be that they had long known or at least suspected that Felt may have been Deep Throat, but he wasn't the sole source? Why do we now know that they worked so hard to keep Felt from coming forward? Could it be that they were concerned that it would make it more difficult to protect the other sources? Were they concerned that with his current mental state Felt would name others, names that would be instantly recognizable? Did they only confirm Felt's story after breathing a sigh of relief that he took all of the credit?
Interesting. You may well be right.
In short, I think Watergate is all about Law worship by the Right, combined with Law exploitation by the Left. The Right, through worshipping the 'Almighty Law', is subservient to the Scheming Left.
Here's what I mean: Nixon tried to out-scheme them for the good of the Free World. But his friends on the right had trouble supporting him. On the other side of the coin, the rats marched in lockstep behind their law professor, Clinton, when he was caught breaking the law. While Nixon broke the law for idealogical reasons, Clinton's high crimes were involved with personal pleasure and cash.
So long as the Right continues to worship the law and to even worship senate traditions [such as filibuster being more important than originalist judges], the Right is a one-legged man in a kicking contest. We must choose God to be our Master. The 'Almighty Law' is a twisted and contorted creature, believing that the Constitution is a 'breathing document', playdough for college-trained operatives. That's what they worship. It's repugnant, reeking of innocent blood.
It's reached the point that bringing a glass of water to an innocent woman was a crime. Even suggesting it was considered to be a crime. "I was thirsty, and you did not bring me drink." Their choice was etched in stone.
buuuuuuuuump! :)
I do enjoy many of the vanities that are posted here, as long as there is something in them worth reading. Unfortunately, I think a lot of them are just plain "vanity" and either rephrase something that has already been said or basically just talk out of their asses on things they know nothing about.
Getting back to your thread, I think this is just great. Watergate was before my political awareness. I'm glad you could offer your knowledge about it, to offer that there could have been more than one Deep Throat. Adding another thing I hope the internet never forgets, Rush pointed out that Burnstein seemed to side with Deep Throat. The guy is what? 91? Living in his mom's garage? Woodward hasn't been very kind to the old fart.
Another note: Savage mentioned that his daughter has a cash register grin. "Ka-ching!"
Uups, I meant to add to this:
"Getting back to your thread, I think this is just great."
The Right is like a History Tar Baby. Every time the Left tries to add more detail to it's old historic triumphs, that's a new segway for the Right to bring out it's viewpoint on those quaint tragedies of our nation's past.
In the end, Deep Throat will help dismantle Nixon mythology.
FRegards....
I can sort of see where his daughter is coming from, granted her father broke the law, but Woodward and Bernstein have become multi-millionaires because of this, she just wants her cut. For that matter (and I may get flamed for this) there are a lot of people from the Nixon White House who have also made millions from this (Liddy would be a nobody but for Watergate).
One thing that a lot of people are overlooking is that there were quite a few conservatives who were not exactly unhappy to get Nixon off the scene. If you go back and read Reagan's speeches in the early 70's, it is obvious that he is going after moderate Republicans.
(Liddy would be a nobody but for Watergate).
Liddy never needed Watergate to have any self worth. He's a man in every sense of the word, and he knows it.
Felt's daughter, on the other hand, has little or no self worth. I've had a very interesting life, myself. I could 'out' family members and write some amazing, best-selling books if I wanted to. But I'd just as soon die as impose on their privacy that way.
"If you go back and read Reagan's speeches in the early 70's, it is obvious that he is going after moderate Republicans."
I'm not surprised. Nixon was focused on disarming/delaying the Hard Left, even if he had to compromise conservative thinking in the short term.
What I meant is that Liddy would not be famous.
Here is a link to Reagan's speeches, the ones from the early and mid 70's are as good as any he gave as president.
http://www.townhall.com/REAGAN/speeches.htm
That's an excellent list. Thank you.
You are very much onto something.
You can see it in the behavior of Democratic lawyers, who see the law as the maximum standard of human behavior (is it legal). Whereas we see it as the minimum standard (my standards are much higher than the law).
Great points by wagglebee
"I believe most of the W/G history suggests DT was in reality a number of people. Felt might have recruited co-conspirators from similarly disgruntled gov't officials as he. And perhaps, as well, Woodward and Bernstein, armed with Felt's info, might also have recruited sources."
Logic never escapes you, does it ? : )
I agree. Hollywood blew up the DT character into sainthood
to make the story more interesting. It was a number of disgruntled, and disloyal slugs who talked. It had to be.
It is refreshing to know at least one person "gets" it.
Best regards,
Tim
It's moments like this when I feel my participation here has meaning. Thank you. And I'm glad to help.
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