The Frinklin and Fred Show

Since I didn't want to muddy up my little joke above with serious commentary, my thoughts below:

To paint Felt's deed as nothing more than bureaucratic jealousy is a little simplistic, I think. Felt's pique over being snubbed for FBI head certainly played its role, but I think he honestly felt that unless he went to Woodward with the story, a serious abuse of executive power and a threat to the country would go unchecked.

I also enjoy the Nixon administration officials now lining up to take whacks at him, particularly since their complaints essentially amount to irritation that they got caught.

I think that being able put a name and face to Deep Throat, and assess his human and somewhat complex motives, makes the story more interesting, not less. Those who are expressing disappointment now that the parlor game is over have no appreciation of history. Isn't it more interesting to be able to assess a major historical episode more fully than to play some silly guessing game? (For many Americans, I suppose not. Mysteries are much cooler.)

And regarding your remark, "Say what you will about Nixon, but breaking the FBI out of the grip of Hoover and his followers might have been the smartest thing he did in office": Yes, it's true that Hoover was paranoid and secretive and jealous of his power and prerogatives, but so was Nixon. And it's hard to endorse the idea that it was an improvement to turn the FBI into a political espionage unit for a corrupt White House. (It should be noted that Pat Gray did eventually testify to Congress of his own volition, though his conscience largely seems to have been pricked by the fact that he was being set up as a fall guy. None of us is pure.)