Good Guys and Bad Guys, Nixon and Deep Throat
Upon yesterday’s news of the passing of Mark Felt, Watergate’s famous informant dubbed “Deep Throat,” it seems a fitting time to consider the Nixon legacy vis-a-vis The Village Square and the partisan divide:
Hardball’s Chris Matthews: “What’s the impact of “Nixonland” on the world we live in?
Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland: The Rise of the President and the Fracturing of America: “One of the big political strategies that Nixon had going was to create as much division as possible in the political process. Make the cacophany, raise it up to a fever pitch so then he could present himself up as the political savoir who was going to make it better. So he had a vested interest in political conflict.”
It’s interesting how easy it is to tell the “good guys” from the “bad guys” through the prism of history, hindsight and the loss of the detail through time. We conveniently shave off the details that violate the categorization we’ve chosen for someone, whether it’s the good off a “bad guy” or the bad off a “good guy.” The recent release of new Nixon tapes makes it infinitely clear which camp history has assigned Nixon to.
But our wonderful discussion with Bud Krogh, former Nixon administration official who went to jail for his role in Watergate, made it abundantly clear that such labels defy reality and are very hard to assign in real time.
Bud told stories of Nixon that revealed humanity and decency, and he told stories of himself that confirmed human flaw, even as they revealed profound character.
As Bud has wrestled with these truths over the years, he’s given those of us struggling with life choices in real time the gift of The Integrity Zone, a model for moral decision making.
Mark Felt apparently kept quiet about his identity as Deep Throat for so many years in part because he wasn’t at all sure whether he was a hero or a villain in the story – and probably for good cause in a situation with a complex stew of events and loyalties. It was only after he told his children of his identity and they convinced him that the prism of history had clearly determined him to be a “good guy” that he stepped forward.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Felt.
And rest in Peace, Mr. Nixon.
2 comments December 20th, 2008
