Hero or traitor, there's a fine line. Naturally he felt slighted having been overlooked for the #1 FBI spot, his feeling being that he was Jewish which at the time actually may have played a role, considering Nixon himself remarked that Felt "wasn't Catholic". However, no need to make a game-changing leak to the newspaper over hard feelings. Granted, it's not like the federal government or Richard Nixon didn't have it coming. But Felt took an oath not to betray his government, which he did. He lied in the face of millions of Americans for 30+ years. If he really wanted to be a hero and make things right he could have gone before a Grand jury. Obviously highly intelligent and aware of the ramifications of his actions, he had at least some intent to bring the White House, particularly Richard Nixon down, and to do so without facing personal termoil.

UNUSUAL, AN HONEST MAN IN WASHINGTON

I was curious for years as to who Deep Throat was. When Mark Felt finally revealed his identity, it was anticlimactic, since I knew nothing about him. Last year I read his autobiography, "The Secret Man," and was both fascinated and dismayed by the extent of the lies and immoral acts he witnessed and his agonies over what to do. I grew to admire him for ultimately doing the right thing. Anyone who reveals the truth about almost anything is a hero to me, and ratting out politicians, whom I consider to be a lower form of life and to whom lying is second nature, is a downright wonderful thing to do. Politicians have been lying to us for years, both Republicans and Democrats. Someone (thank you Linda Tripp) ratted out Clinton when he lied about not having sex with Monica. Someone thankfully appears to be ratting out Alberto Gonzales. Someone should have booted Scooter Libby out as soon as he lied, but of course, politicians protect their henchmen and have no qualms about lying to do so. Undoubtedly Lyndon Johnson, and perhaps JFK, lied to us, we just didn't find out about it.

Nevertheless, to me this is not a political issue, it's a moral issue, and I'm very much surprised at the bitter, politically motivated vitriol below about Mark Felt, who, by the way, was a Republican. I guess it depends on whether it was your ox that was gored or the other fellow's, doesn't it. I don't care what Felt's motives were, he did the morally right thing.

I hate liars of whatever ilk, whether politicians, the greedy bunch at Enron, the CEOs of Big Tobacco who all swore they believe nicotine is not addictive, the drug companies who claim they didn't know about a new drug's side effects when they released it, the Army officers who initially insisted Pat Tillman was killed by enemy fire, etc., ad nauseam. So many of them profess to be religious adherents, and yet they don't even come close to practicing what they preach, beginning with blithely ignoring the moral tenet of telling the truth.

Sadly, I find it very hard anymore to believe at first blush anything that anyone says, and I carefully examine their motives, dissect their statements, and look for telling signs of lying before I allow the possibility that what they say may possibly be true. I'd like to see every liar get what they deserve, which at a minimum is everlasting disgrace.

I'm tired of being lied to, and I praise those who reveal lies. If you've noticed, liars rarely admit to lying. The saying "The truth will out" is false. Too many liars cover up their lies very well, and it usually takes a rare honest soul and whistleblower to reveal the prevarications. So Mark Felt, I salute you and offer you my gratitude for seeing to it that the truth was revealed to us, the unwitting, gullible, exploited public who elected and put our trust in immoral men.

In 300 BC Diogenes used to stroll through the marketplace in Athens at full daylight with a lantern. When asked what he was doing, he would answer, "I am just looking for an honest man." Diogenes looked for an honest man, and reputedly found nothing but rascals and scoundrels. Well, Diogenes, it took quite a while, but we finally found one, and his name is Mark Felt.

The Metal Gear Solid 'Deepthroat' was far cooler...

Clearly 15 minutes of fame was not his objective in either nudging Bob Woodward along in his reporting or in his coming out of the shadows 30 years later. His motivation was probably a murky mix noble intentions of justice, self interest as a career insider and spite for having been passed over for a top job at the Bureau. I used to think that it must be killing Deep Throat to keep such a secret for so long. But a guy like Mark Felt proabably has a pile of even bigger secrets that he'll take to the grave.

Pretty fascinating guy, and he was pretty handsome and debonair back in the day.

An American hero. Take that, Nixon apologists...

A hero who stuck it to a paranoid and corrupt administration. You have to work with people in DC- you try to bully the wrong person (or people) you will eventually get burned.

Well, now we know, or do we? We have no sense of honor any more. The honorable man makes a public statement and then resigns. Skulking around for 35 years is a disgrace. There were all kinds of committess in Congress that would have loved this information!

If such a thing as Watergate happened today, I would only hope that someone like Mr. Felt would be around to stick up for what was right. To be against Deep Throat means to be for that sorry crooked-ass Nixon.

Deep Throat? nasty old man likes the sausage in the mouth

This man is no hero to me. He was underhanded the whole time, and was mad at Nixon for appointing L. Patrick Gray to head the FBI, when Felt wanted that position for himself. So, he made cowardly attacks while hiding in the tall grass.

Yes, I know that the Deep Throat reveal is something akin to the second coming of the Messiah for the liberals but seriously people...the time has come and gone. I know many Democrats find it heroic and brave to leak sensitive and private information to bring down your boss and then hide behind an obscene code name until you need cash but it's about time we move foward, don't you think?

Aha! Eschew! I've found you! I knew you'd be over here! What is it with you and Deep Throat? Do you think of Linda by day and dream of Mark at night (sorry, just kidding). Seriously, though, Mark Felt is a hero. How was he to go his superiors when there was no telling who had been corrupted? If he hadn't, Nixon would have remained in office and God knows where we'd be now (chances are, though, that we'd be better off than we are now with Bush in there). Felt didn't want to see the FBI dragged down with the Nixon gangsters, and he wasn't sure who was in a position that he could trust, so he went to Fourth Estate, which in those days didn't serve as a shill for the Government, like it does now. Nobody likes stool-pigeons, but life isn't an episode of the Sopranos (well, in most cases it isn't) and when does your moral sense become so outraged that you decide to become one? Felt is a hero. Tripp is a scuzzbag. Viva FDR!!

I thought Kirsten Dunst (Betsy Jobs) and Michelle Williams (Arlene Lorenzo)were the real 'Deep Throat' after I saw my favorite movie, Dick. ... Anyway, W. Mark Felt is a true hero for finally revealing who he is. What he did to take down the Nixon administration was a courageous act. Nothing makes me happier than someone taking down a GOP administration. Praise to Mr. Felt and his family and to the best newspaper writers ever, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

Who really cares about this anyway except Nixon-hating dems that still haven't gotten over their hatred for the man. He's certainly no hero or patriot, that's for sure. I would rate his family lower, because they ADMITTED they are looking for money based on this great revelation. Give me a break, and let it go, please.

I'm not sure how to rate this cat and its really not germane. Really, EO did real good with his commentary and i'm not a Nixon apologist. I'm just amazed that Nixon bashing is still all the rage despite the fact that he's very dead. I guess the Republicans are doing good.

Kami's right, Linda Lovelace has to be embarrassed to have this low-life snitch named after her. It degrades her dignity. UPDATE: In an effort to join mag on the ethical high-ground, I will acknowledge that Felt's story was enormously interesting to those of us thirsting for Nixon's blood in those days. What I know today is that while Nixon had obstructed justice and had utilized the IRS and the FBI to carry out some governmental harrassment of certain enemies, the record is rife with similar stories from the Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower (to a lesser degree), Truman (to a lesser degree) and FDR (the Babe Ruth of political corruption) administrations. But, calling it doing the right thing is a bit more of a stretch for me. Sneaking around, going to the Washington Post? Not having the courage that what you had done was the right thing until you reach, say age 91? He had a boss. He took an oath. There was a Special Prosecutor, who was somehow able to convict 40 co-conspirators, sending most to jail, for which the Washington Post, to my knowledge, took (and got) very little credit. If you were looking for the best story, which had the added attraction of putting Nixon and his entire administration in the most negative light, assuring that they'd really go down hard with the most devastating effect to the US government, I guess you'd go this way. Vengeance can be very cleansing. But, a career FBI guy, well schooled in the machinations of law enforcement? Gosh, I just don't think this was best for the country. But, what a back-stabbing, two-faced bitch that Linda Tripp was, huh?

I'd like to think that most of us, even my friend EO, would choose upholding the law and our constitution over protecting our political team's reputation, if it came down to it. Especially if we were a top person in the nation's top law enforcement agency. I don't see Felt as particularly heroic, but I think he did the right thing.

And all these years, I thought it was Hal Holbrook.

Yeah, I know I'm being childish here, but seriously, I just wish they'd stop calling him Deep Throat . . . it just sounds really wrong. . . .

I'm not exactly sure what we're suppose to be ranking here (favorites? most forgettable?), but in any event I have to put Felt in the middle. He's the answer to a 30+ year question (yeah, I know, you knew the whole time), but he's also the anti-climatic answer to a 30+ year old question. I think when the majority of people who cared to know who Deep Throat was found out, the average person didn't know who he was. I have a feeling that this time next year people won't remember his name.

It seems that the only people who really care who this guy was are old dyed in the wool Nixon haters who are still foaming at the mouth because Nixon did much to repair his credibility and reputation in his final years. We'll hear about him one more time when he dies so his 15 minutes of fame isn't over yet. I agree with those who feel that afterwards he'll be a trivia question which 3 years from now, no one will remember the answer.

It would've been cooler if he was a spy in sunglasses and a nice suit.