Friday, December 19, 2008

Mark Felt passes away at 95

The media was so, so interested in knowing who the informant "Deep Throat" was in the Watergate scandal. Now today, almost no one on television has mentioned the death of Mark Felt.

He had a remarkable and controversial career in public service.

Mark Felt, Former FBI official dies--outed himself as jounalistic source for Watergate scandal

Mark Felt, the FBI official who as the anonymous journalistic source "Deep Throat" helped bring down President Richard Nixon, died Thursday at his home in Santa Rosa, Calif. He was 95.
Felt suffered from congestive heart failure, but the immediate cause of death was not known.
In 2005, more than 30 years after his whistle-blowing helped topple a presidency, Felt held a news conference on the front steps of his Santa Rosa home. Felt, then 91, revealed that he was "Deep Throat," the anonymous source who in 1972 leaked information to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about the Watergate scandal that led to Nixon's resignation in 1974.
Felt's role, but not his identity, was depicted in a 1974 book titled "All the President's Men" by Woodward and Bernstein and in a film of the same title released in 1976. His role was explored in detail in Woodward's 2005 book, "The Secret Man," and in Felt's 2006 autobiography, "A G-Man's Life."



His complete story should spark debate about the morality and the perspective we take on people who might do the "right" thing for the wrong reasons. Also, that our republic is very fragile, and often in the hands of unknown people who have to make tough decisions about whether to be loyal to their boss, their country, their own morality, etc.

Also, I don't like how people skip over the years of good public service that is un-noticed, and zero right in on the controversy. People and life are complicated and maybe we can at least acknowledge a more complete picture as we deal with the issues.

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