Deep Throat, we need you more than ever
My local paper reprinted two pro-Deep Throat editorials: Sheryl McCarthy's "Felt didn't betray his country, Nixon did" from Saturday's Newsday, and David Broder's "Antidote to Secrecy" from today's Washington Post.
After all the anti-Felt commentary in the wake of his revelation – mostly from Nixon-era retreads (Chuck Colson, Pat Buchanan, and G. Gordon Liddy) of dubious honorability – it was pleasantly surprising to see a defense of principled government service, such as that exhibited by Mark Felt. McCarthy comments on their numerous complaints about Felt "breaching confidence:"
A code of silence, often confused with a code of honor, exists among cops and public figures, as well as among thieves and murderers. But it's bad if it hides corruption and crime, and fails to reveal the rottenness at the core of the organization.That's what Colson and Buchanan seem to be celebrating - loyalty over ethics.
[…]
At a time when journalists who write anything against the administration are likely to be smeared as unpatriotic, we should appreciate all the more what W. Mark Felt did. Whatever his other motives may have been, he knew something immoral and illegal was going on in the Nixon White House, and he put the word out. I'm glad he's finally taking his bow.
The FBI was never intended to be an arm of Nixon's re-election campaign, and should never have been misused for partisan ends – especially illegal ones. Turning a blind eye to criminal behavior in government is not a virtue, and our nation would be decidedly worse off had Felt stayed silent and allowed Nixon's cover-up to succeed. Broder's summation says it all:
Mark Felt did what whistle-blowers need to do. He took his information to reporters who diligently dug up the evidence to support his well-founded suspicions.The republic was saved and the public well served. That Colson and Buchanan still don't get it speaks volumes about them.
In today's climate of secrecy, we need Deep Throat more than ever.