Posted on 02/18/2005 5:55:47 PM PST by Lathspell
was in a position--
SMITH: --to absolutely know, prior to his passing?
BURNS: He was Stephen Ambrose.
SMITH: All right, well that's interesting.
BURNS: The noted historian, who had at Simon & Schuster the same editor as Woodward and Bernstein. Stephen Ambrose told me this. There is in the safe at Simon & Schuster a copy of the first manuscript draft of All the President's Men. In it there is no Deep Throat. What does that mean? Deep Throat was a later insertion. Why? Because an editor at Simon & Schuster--and as I said they have the same editor, her name is Alice Mayhew, and she is a legend in the business--is supposed to have said two things to these cub reporters who were looking for their first big book advance. First, your book has so many sources in it that it's a little hard for the reader to keep up. Second, your book is lacking a little something in narrative drive. I mean, it's like a bunch of newspaper articles. It's good, it's important, but I have, Ambrose believes she said, one solution to both problems. Let's tie all your sources into one source, and let's make him a mystery man.
SMITH: Deep Throat, smoking in the car park.
BURNS: As the moviemakers decided to do it. But think about that. First of all, it's the same thing, Shep, as saying, as a lot of people have said, which is the most sensible explanation, that Deep Throat's a composite. What I'm saying here is not a suggestion that the information provided by or attributed to Deep Throat was false. Simply that the identity of this person was false. It is exactly the same as saying there are a lot of people who contributed to Deep Throat. And you know, people have done studies, people who know a lot more about this than I do, in which they've said it's very unlikely that the person who gave Woodward and Bernstein
this information, was placed in such a way that he or she could [also] have known this.
SMITH: It was a lot of stuff.
BURNS: It was a lot of stuff. It's not just it was a lot of stuff; it was a lot of stuff that was widely varied in source. So the likelihood that it's more than one person is great. The likelihood that this is an artistic invention is even greater. Look at this, it's 30--when was that book published, '74?
SMITH: Yep, '73, '4, yeah.
BURNS: All right, so it's more than 30 years, we're still talking about it. And why? Because Deep Throat has exactly the same characteristics as the great villains or mystery men of fiction. Why does Deep Throat resemble fiction? I think Stephen Ambrose is right. Deep Throat is fiction.
SMITH: Deep Throat is a group of people who told accurate, probably, as far as we know--
BURNS: No one has ever suggested that the information isn't accurate. But this--
SMITH: So accurate information from a lot of people, and some editor decided let's make it Deep Throat, and it never existed.
BURNS: Let's make it--no, and you know another reason to believe in this, is that when the moviemakers decided to do this too. They were looking at the Woodward and Bernstein first draft, and they thought, and this is on various records, they thought exactly the same thing. Well, what happened to Nixon is pretty interesting, but this book isn't very interesting. The creation of Deep Throat solved all manner of problems. And if I'm--there's an ultimate way to know whether I'm right, and I think I am because what Ambrose said makes so much sense, and whether Ambrose is right. Supposedly Woodward at least, I don't know about Bernstein, but Woodward has said when Deep Throat dies, his identity will be revealed.
SMITH: Yeah. He said that repeatedly.
BURNS: Well, first of all, that's an out. If you're going to attribute something to someone who's dead, is that person going to come back and say it's not true? Maybe I'm susceptible to the same charge because I am saying that Stephen Ambrose told me this. Ambrose told some other people too. But if he's going to wait until the person can't say I'm not Deep Throat, doesn't that suggest there's some credibility problems? And I submit to you that even when Deep Throat--if there were a Deep Throat and were to die, we still wouldn't be told about it.
SMITH: Eric, is there a Loch Ness Monster?
BURNS: See, what you have to do before I come on is you have to tell me what the topics are.
SMITH: I'm concerned that Nessie's not real.
BURNS: I have to do some research.
SMITH: So there's no Deep Throat. I mean, get that, start your blogging. I mean, Eric--
BURNS: That's why I said this morning that with this information revealed, it will be not a big expose but a big disappointment.
SMITH:Newswatch this weekend. Do not miss it, not this weekend. Don't.
BURNS: Actually, there's more on Deep Throat that you might find intriguing that I'm not going to share with you.
SMITH: Kind of you. Bye.
BURNS: Bye.
No disappointment at all. I always thought it was a piece of fiction created by W&B along with Bradley.
ping
He tried in vain to discredit Nixon and yet he did just the opposite with this.
The person, who is supposed to be "deep throat" is reportedly ill.
If its a composite character, then people will say these guys are lying.
They're lying. ;-)
Gotta be one that stands out though.
No news here, Eric...tell us something we didn't already know.
can we hunt down Woodward and that RAT Bernstien and beat them into submission now...........
If they make an annoucement, they had better be able to offer proof.
So Woodward and Bernstein pick one of their sources to be designated "Deep Throat", after he's deceased. Mr. "Deep" won't be around to call them liars, but I'll bet several other people will.
Remember Woodward's alleged deathbed visits to William Casey, when Casey was, according to his family, comatose?
If true, imagine what this would do to the reputation of Woodward and Bernstein.
If DT wasn't Diane Sawyer, and how could it not be a woman since its named after Linda Lovelace, then there is no Deep Throat.
Yes, simply confirm what many of us have pretty much deduced: They are not really reporters, put partisan, agenda driven activists.
Don't you find it ironic that Eric Burns hosts a show which supposedly holds the media accountable - at least, up for "critique" by a handful of "journalists," and yet he isn't the least bit embarrassed that these two reporters lied about their sources? These people really are through the looking-glass.
Last time I checked, Bill Clinton is ill and his wife was impeachment cousel...
A buddy pointed this interview out to me. He said that when he heard Woodward defending Rather's "fake but accurate" memos, he knew that that was the big tipoff that DT didn't exist.
Bump
Not a hard problem. Assuming there were say 4 or 5 sources amalgamated into deep throat, the last one to die is designated 'the one' and none of them are around to argue.
Personally, I always thought it was Mark Felt or Fred Felding, but no matter what, I want proof, I am not going to take these guys at their word when they announce.
Here's the thing, if somone was deep throat, wouldn't they have come forward on there own by now? I mean, why would you keep it a secret, you would be an instant celebrity worshipped by the media, regardless of political beliefs, and if your in office already, your automatically a presidential contender.
Unless they pull a BS move and name Reinquest, then the whole thing goes kapootski.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.