Deep Throat: Hero or Heel?

The mystery over the identity of Deep Throat (search) is over but one question remains: Was the former FBI executive who spilled Watergate's secrets to The Washington Post a hero?

W. Mark Felt's family said they considered the 91-year-old to be a "great American hero" and the two Post reporters who tracked Watergate, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, said in a statement Felt was a huge help to their coverage.

But some who worked in the Nixon administration — including some who others speculated might have been Deep Throat — were not as complimentary.

"'Hero' is not the first word that comes to my mind," Henry Kissinger (search), President Richard Nixon's secretary of state, told FOX News on Wednesday.

Deep Throat: hero or heel? Click here to vote!

A sample of your responses:

He was just a bitter man that didn’t get the promotion he wanted. His motive was not to do the righteous thing... it was to get even for not getting the top FBI job when he felt it was his due.
Catherine R.
Huntingtown, MD

Definitely a hero... no doubt about it. The 60s and 70s were filled with unanswered questions... in this case, it took guts for Deep Throat to come forward. He saved many, took no credit and, in this day and age of receiving millions for "tell all" books and TV movies, he kept his identity a secret until a good time. I'm glad to see this one put to rest. I salute him.
Rusty W.
PA

The question is a two-edged sword. What he did for the country was good, but his motives were not so honorable. He talked because he was passed over for a promotion.
Rose L.
Palmdale, CA

He is a heel... a coward... and a traitor to his boss! Lucky for him he doesn't need another job... who would hire him? Not even his friend, the reporter Bob!
Louise R.
Schoharie, NY

Mark Felt is someone to be vilified not honored. He took an oath to uphold the law and by his actions undermined the reputation that he had as a loyal, logical employee of the FBI. He is a total hypocrite.
George K.
Two Rivers, WI

Definitely a hero. He would have been crucified if he came forward. He saw a crime and reported it. He did the right thing.
A. Rev

Felt had an axe to grind for not being chosen to lead the FBI, otherwise he would have used other ligitimate channels to bring this matter to public attention. Calling Felt a hero would, in effect, validate the use of whistleblowing for one's own gain and not for the good of the whole.
Gary S.
First Sergeant, U.S. Army, Retired
Brownsburg, IN

The real "heels" are his family for trying to capitalize off the risks that he took 30 years ago.
Doc
Udon Thani, Thailand

Felt is no hero! He betrayed his president and now that he has one foot in the grave, his family wants to cash in on his act of treason. Nixon was one of this country's best foreign policy presidents yet he will only be known for being a "crook." Why should a man that undermined the true course of history be elevated to hero status?
Don D.
Greencastle, PA

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