Have you Felt this way before?

Updated and Corrected I can't believe it. I can't believe they would even have the nerve to raise the question.

Hero or villain? For those who would judge former Deputy FBI Director Mark Felt, it's all in the eye of the beholder,

AP says.

No, it's not. It's in the facts. The cold, indisputable facts. A politically-corrupt administration that used everything from "dirty tricks" to intimidation to outright criminality in attempting to manipulate elections, suppress dissent, and smear opponents. A criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice, including suborning perjury and destruction of evidence. And Mark Felt, at the risk of his career (and a good deal more if he was uncovered, considering the people he was going up against), helped put an end to that. Mark Felt is a hero. Period. And it's outrageous that AP would even bother giving a hint, a breath, of credence to the self-interested boobs who want to say otherwise.

Oh, and what's the knock on Felt? He didn't go through channels. That's the complaint.

And just what the hell channels was he supposed to use? Who was he supposed to go to? His superior in the FBI, Director L. Patrick Gray, a Nixon loyalist who was implicated in the whole flaming mess? Gray's boss, Attorney General John Mitchell, who was in it up to his bushy eyebrows? To just who was he supposed to report to push for an investigation when the corruption of the chief investigators was exactly what needed investigating?

And who, ohmigosh who, has the AP and in another article, AFP, scraped from under the pier to spit at Felt? Why, it's a regular regiment of rectitudinous Republicans! Check it out:

- Racist xenophobe Pat Buchanan called Felt a "snake" and a "traitor."

- Watergate felon Chuck Colson described Felt as "sneaking in dark alleys."

- Fellow Watergate jailbird G. Gordon Liddy said Felt "violated the ethics of the law enforcement profession," the same profession, one gathers, whose members he once advised his listeners on how to kill. He also passed judgment on what Felt was "honor bound" to do, which, basically, was to keep his mouth shut.

- GOPerative Greg Mueller accused Felt of "a personal vendetta" that helped fell "a president who was fighting the Cold War."

- Nixon mouthpiece Len Garment called Felt "dishonorable."

Yes, that's certainly a crew fit to discuss matters of honesty and honor.

Now, let it be noted that there are those who say that, yes, personal matters played a part; supposedly Felt was very upset at being passed over for the top spot in the FBI. I don't care!

It's also been suggested that his family pushed him into revealing his role because they hope to make money on it. I don't care!

Felt was convicted and later pardoned for being involved in illegal FBI breakins related to the Weather Underground. About that I do care - but it is not relevant the the issue at hand!

Mark Felt is a genuine American hero, a whistleblower extraordinaire, a man who saw wrongdoing and, knowing that "regular channels" would accomplish nothing, took risks to get that information out and help get that wrongdoing undone. That is what honorable people are supposed to do and for having done it, he deserves our thanks and our praise.

"This is basically a battle over history and a battle over truth," Buchanan said.

You got it, bozo. And you lost.

I say it again: Mark Felt is a hero. Period.

Updated with the bit about Felt's conviction and the last Buchanan quote.

Correction: When Felt started providing information to Bob Woodward, Mitchell had already resigned at Attorney General to take over the Committee to Re-Elect the President, accurately acronymed CREEP. But he was still influential at the White House and his successor, Richard Kleindienst, was also of let's be kind and call it questionable impartiality and wound up resigning along with H. R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and John Dean.