The Throaties

Dotty Lynch is the Senior Political Editor for CBS News. E-mail your questions and comments to Political Points

Maybe I've been in the news business too long or maybe I'm just nosy, but my vision of heaven is that it is the place of ultimate truth where all mysteries will be solved. Last Wednesday, learning the identity of Deep Throat was a little bit of heaven on earth. But who knew that that after 33 years the story behind the story of who Deep Throat was would be as entertaining as finding out the name of the source.

Almost every June for the past three decades news organizations have tried to think up new angles to keep the fascination with Watergate alive. This year, we finally got the real deal and a lot of new fodder as well. So before we let go of the story of a generation, the CBS News Political Unit would like to present the first annual Throaties, our awards for excellence in political drama:

For Best Wife: Up until now everyone's favorite Watergate wife was Martha Mitchell, the loudmouth wife of Nixon's attorney general, who was given to late-night phone calls. But last week, Nora Ephron, former wife of Carl Bernstein, took the award. For years she has been telling people that Deep Throat was Mark Felt and no one paid attention. No, Carl Bernstein didn't tell her - he never would have been so stupid, she says - but she made a very educated guess and told everyone she knew.

For Greatest Shock Value: John D. O'Connor. Not for the revelation of Deep Throat, though that was pretty good, but for the fact that O'Connor, the lawyer and author of the Vanity Fair story, had the biggest political blockbuster in years and couldn't find a publisher. He wound up with a meager $10,000 fee for writing the article. In a period where people are willing to publish almost any political book, like John Edwards new one about the architecture of famous people's first homes, this is astounding.For Best Public Relations Man: John D. O'Connor, who made the world believe that Mark Felt, a convicted felon who authorized illegal break-ins while he was at the FBI and inherited J. Edgar Hoover's secret documents on the Kennedys and the Supreme Court, was just a kindly old man who wanted to do good. Felt's motives are still unknown but he has lied to reporters and held his secret for over 30 years, which suggests that he may be a bit more textured than Wednesday's photo-op would lead us to believe.

For the Ultimate Blindside: Len Downie, the current editor of the Washington Post, who told Woodward years ago that he didn't want to be caught flat-footed on this story. The ultimate blindside happened, as luck would have it, while Downie and the top Washington Post brass were at a retreat on the Eastern Shore of Maryland discussing (gulp), "How the Washington Post can be a better paper." Downie learned the identity of Deep Throat almost an hour after it was broken by Vanity Fair magazine and reported by almost every major new organization.

For Best Unsung Reporter And A Really Good Clue That Hasn't Been All Over Cable This Week: Tim Crouse, author of "The Boys on the Bus." One of Ephron's solid pieces of information was that Woodstein had told Crouse that Deep Throat was a Justice Department employee, which he wrote in "Boys on the Bus." Ok, so maybe this wasn't the definitive word, but "Boys on the Bus" is my favorite political book, and Crouse, who was a cub reporter for Rolling Stone back in the '70s, got more inside information from (and on) other reporters than anyone before or after and should have been taken more seriously.

For Self-Promotion, The "It Really Is All About Me" Award: Bob Woodward. As he wrote in his fascinating article in the Washington Post on Thursday, a must-read for all young hustlers, he initially developed a relationship with Mark Felt because he desperately wanted career advice. and a mentor. Last week, Woodward was so reluctant to let the story go he "dug in his heels," according to former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, and then agreed to write only one piece for the paper - mainly a tease for the book he is rushing into print in July.

The Lifetime Achievement Throatie goes to Ben Bradlee, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein for a great piece of journalism and 33 years of fun. Who cares if they're milking this story, these guys have smarts and guts and a great knack for making life interesting. And don't forget we still don't know what happened to those 18½ minutes of tape. Do they?

By Dotty Lynch