One face too many
I had a couple thoughts last week when Deep Throat's identity was at long last revealed. I figured there would only be two logical reactions to it:1) WOW! So that's who it was all the time? America's greatest mystery has finally been told.
or
2) Who is Deep Throat? (It did all happen before I was even born)
To my surprise, there was a third response. It was anger and resentment and harshness towards Felt. But it all seemed to come from those who were in Nixon's camp - and mostly from those who ended up in prison because of the wrongdoings that Felt helped uncover them doing. Mostly it was Chuck Colson, G. Gordon Liddy, and Pat Buchanon who I kept hearing. Colson and Liddy were quick to point the finger at Felt for being one who had done wrong.
Now I am not going to argue for Felt being considered a hero, but is he really the villain here?
* Colson went to prison for obstruction of justice and scheming to defame others, but has no issues with slamming Felt for breaching confidences, including that of the president.
* Buchanon is attributing 58,000 American deaths in Vietnam to Felt apparently being ashamed for his lies
* Liddy was convicted and sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy, burglary, and wiretapping, but is going to lecture Felt on what he was ethically bound to have done.
I'm all for repentance and forgiveness along with justice, but wouldn't you think that the last people in a place to attack Mark Felt were those committing the crimes? If they had truly learned their lesson from the discipline of being sent to prison, shouldn't they have learned that they need to move on with their lives from all of that?
posted by gurufrisbee @ 9:39 AM
