# Was George Bush Sr. Deep Throat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 5, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500 "2005-02-05T07:23:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/1 "2005-02-05T07:23:16Z")
That is the claim of a [new book](http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000789447) by Woodward and Bernstein biographer, Adrien Havill. > [@](#): > > The author of several books for major publishers, Adrian Havill says his claim is based on recent events and his own research at the the National Archives. He announced the “finding” in a letter posted at the Romenesko site at the Poynter Institute. > > \ > > Among the suggestive evidence he cited for his new theory: > > “Did Bush have motivation? You bet,” Havill wrote. “It was Richard Nixon who urged Bush to leave a safe seat in Congress, hinting there would be a position as assistant Secretary of the Treasury waiting for him if he failed to win a Senate seat held by Ralph Yarborough. When Bush lost, Nixon reneged and asked him to take the U.N. slot instead but teased him by hinting he would be the replacement for Spiro Agnew in 1972. Instead, he was given the thankless task of heading the Republican National Committee in 1973. The elder Bush got his revenge in the end, by standing up at a cabinet meeting in August of 1974 and becoming the first person in Nixon’s inner circle to ask the President to resign. I dunno. Sounds good to me. It would make a great story anyway. Talk about a dark horse. I never saw this one coming. I hope it’s true just because it’s so out of the blue. Anyway…thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/2 "2005-02-05T08:59:00Z")
Be pretty funny if it turns out to be true. The guy always was a weasel. I’m still leaning toward Alexander Haig, myself. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/3 "2005-02-05T13:09:55Z")
I always thought that the majority believed it was Pat Buchanan. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/4 "2005-02-05T14:11:48Z")
I got coffee on my computer screen from mixing up my Deep Throad references. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/5 "2005-02-05T14:34:12Z")
Yeah, I always heard Haig, too. I sure hope they tell somebody at the end. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/6 "2005-02-05T15:18:34Z")
Gary Allen of the John Birch Society suggested in THE ROCKEFELLER FILE that it was Al Haig. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/7 "2005-02-05T17:24:51Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > I always thought that the majority believed it was Pat Buchanan. That’s what I’ve always heard, too. Bush Sr is indeed out of the blue. I’d be kind of surprised if it was him as he’s such a straight arrow establishment figure. Being the guy who spilled the beans on Nixon would be a bold, very risky move and Bush Sr doesn’t seem to be the risky type. But who knows… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/8 "2005-02-05T19:09:23Z")
I’ve heard the theories that Bush was the secret mastermind behind the Kennedy assassination and the attempted Reagan assassination, but this is the first time I heard someone say he also took out Nixon. Next we’ll be hearing he slipped something in Roosevelt’s drink down at Warm Springs. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/9 "2005-02-05T19:23:56Z")
I’m no expert on politics, but I’m petty sure deep throat was [Linda Lovelace](http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/entertainers/actors/linda-lovelace/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/10 "2005-02-05T20:13:58Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > I sure hope they tell somebody at the end. My understanding is that Bob Woodward said he’ll reveal the name when Deep Throat dies. So I was kind of hoping for a story when Rose Mary Woods died, in case it was her. There were some unexplained parts to the Deep Throat story in “All the President’s Men.” For example, Woodward was supposed to stick an American flag in a planter on the balcony of his apartment when he wanted to meet with Deep Throat, but someone who looked into this said there was no way to see that from the street. And there was a pretty funny moment on a “Washington Power Players” episode of Jeopardy! when Woodward was one of the contestants. There was a question about Deep Throat (clearly not a coincidence), which Woodward answered. Before asking the next question, Alex Trebek asked Woodward if he’d like to make an announcement then and there, but Woodward declined. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/11 "2005-02-05T20:29:41Z")
Deep Throat was probably a clerk or stenographer, who took notes for the meetings, or typed them up afterwards. Nobody whose name any of us would recognize. The real world is painfully mundane. ---
**Author:** ![stochastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@stochastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stochastic)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/12 "2005-02-05T20:58:44Z")
FWIW, Keith Olberman on MSNBC did a story on Deep Throat yesterday and claims that he’ll have a major announcement regarding their identity on Sunday. Is he just being a tease or will he spew forth a load of juicy new information? Stay tuned… ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/13 "2005-02-05T21:06:39Z")
> [@stochastic](#): > > FWIW, Keith Olberman on MSNBC did a story on Deep Throat yesterday and claims that he’ll have a major announcement regarding their identity on Sunday. Is he just being a tease or will he spew forth a load of juicy new information? Stay tuned… … BWAHAHAHA On the next episode of Double Entendre Theatre… ---
**Author:** ![stochastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@stochastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stochastic)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/14 "2005-02-05T21:25:58Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > … > > BWAHAHAHA > On the next episode of Double Entendre Theatre… Of course, the whole “a Bush = a Deep Throat” theory opens up all kinds of lascivious possibilities. All joking aside, I think **Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor** nailed it. ---
**Author:** ![annaplurabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@annaplurabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annaplurabelle)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/15 "2005-02-05T21:45:12Z")
I think Havill just wants to sell books with a sexy story. Anyway, sexy as it would be, I think GHW Bush could be pretty much ruled out by following the clues [here](http://deepthroatuncovered.com/). He wasn’t in Nixon’s inner circle. The George Wallace references don’t fit, either. Some other stuff, but I’m not into parsing it right now. Check it out yourself, if you’re that interested… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/16 "2005-02-06T03:58:22Z")
> [@stochastic](#): > > FWIW, Keith Olberman on MSNBC did a story on Deep Throat yesterday and claims that he’ll have a major announcement regarding their identity on Sunday. I believe Olberman said the _Los Angeles Times_ would have a major announcement in its Sunday edition. Olberman also said he would have John Dean as a guest on Monday with Dean’s reaction. As of this moment (Saturday, 8:00 p.m. LA time) there is nothing on the Times web site that makes any reference to Deep Throat. And FWIW I agree with **Bosda.** ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/17 "2005-02-06T05:28:18Z")
An investigative journalism class at the University of Illinois [pursued every lead for four years](http://deepthroatuncovered.com/story/) and concluded that Deep Throat was White House Deputy Counsel Fred Fielding. I’ve got to go with my fellow Illini. Before their investigation was complete, one of the students was interviewed on Dateline NBC and named Pat Buchanan as a leading suspect. This seemed to get more publicity than the final conclusion, and as a result people keep fingering Buchanan today. G.H.W. Bush strikes me as one of the least plausible candidates. There is no way a person working out of the State Department or the Republican National Committee could have had such detailed knowledge of what was going on at the White House. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/18 "2005-02-06T05:37:16Z")
Woodward and Berstein:how did they turn Watergate into a personal employment agency? Talk about a non-event! Now, I’m wondering WHO actually killed Lincoln! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/19 "2005-02-06T06:02:40Z")
“Does anybody care?” Are you kidding? ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500/20 "2005-02-06T15:29:39Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I believe Olberman said the _Los Angeles Times_ would have a major announcement in its Sunday edition. Olberman also said he would have John Dean as a guest on Monday with Dean’s reaction. > > As of this moment (Saturday, 8:00 p.m. LA time) there is nothing on the Times web site that makes any reference to Deep Throat. **stochastic** and\*\* kunilou \*\* there seems to be nothing on the Times site \_did Olberman whoosh us? I thought I was the only one who saw that – and I was _very_ intrigued and yet there seems to be nuthin’: since we are apparently the only 3 people that watch Olberman in the entire U.S. anyway, I say he l;lost a third of his audience! [http://www.latimes.com/](http://www.latimes.com/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-george-bush-sr-deep-throat/288500.md?page=2)