What? Deep Throat Wasn't Linda Lovelace?

In August of 1974, Richard Nixon resigned as President after it became clear he would be impeached for his role in covering up the Watergate break-in. Arguably, the only reason things got to that point was because of the dogged determination of two Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who stayed with story. The two of them relied heavily on an anonymous source who came to be known as "Deep Throat." And aside from Deep Throat himself, only four people knew his true identity: Woodward, Bernstein, Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, and the paper's owner Katherine Graham (who died a few years ago). The four of them had long said that they would reveal the real name of Deep Throat only after his or her death.

And that's where matters have stood for the last 30 years. Periodically, someone would come out with a best guess or a short list of suspects, but the journalists would remain mum on the matter. Others have suggested that there was no Deep Throat, that the name was actually a composite of several different sources. Whenever that particular theory popped up, the Post people would at least deny that.

Over the years, dozens of possibilities had surfaced. The list of possible suspects included a number of Nixon White House officials such as David Gergen, Pat Buchanan, Henry Kissinger, Alexander Haig, and even Diane Sawyer (she worked in the White House Press office at the time).

Most recently, rumors surfaced last winter that Deep Throat was seriously ill and may soon die. This happened shortly after Chief Justice Rehnquist was diagnosed with cancer, and speculation quickly centered on him. After all, he had been a top official at the Justice Department during the Nixon administration and would have had access to sensitive files. But again, there was neither confirmation nor denial from the few people who knew the real Deep Throat.

And that was where things stood.... Until this afternoon.

That's when Washington's favorite parlor game of Guess Deep Throat's identity finally came to an end today when family members finally came forward to reveal that the world's most famous anonymous source was W. Mark Felt, former number two man at the FBI. Officials at the Washington Post have since confirmed his identity.

Felt is now 91 years old, living in a California nursing home, and suffering from the effects of a stroke he had several years ago. As to what his reasons were for going to the press, well, one can only speculate. And rest assured that there will plenty of that during the next several days.

Regardless of Mr. Felt's motives 30 years ago, he deserves a word of thanks for reminding Americans that no one is above the law. Most importantly, even if the people are rotten to the core, the system itself is still sound.

Quite frankly, he also deserves one hell of a lot of admiration for keeping silent all this time and not cashing in on his secret. This was something that could easily have gotten Felt a ten million dollar book deal. Whatever else one may say about what he did, that alone speaks volumes.