Six of one, half-dozen of the other

It’s one thing when you hear it from commenters at the Corner, but when it reaches out to actual published columnists, you just have to wonder how it is that the Right ends up criticizing liberals for “moral relativism”:

`Deep Throat,’ Tripp both have stuff of heroes
by John Kass

With so much attention rightfully being paid to the unmasking of W. Mark Felt as “Deep Throat,” the source of Watergate fame, it was time for a cultural experiment.

So I typed “W. Mark Felt” into the news bar in Google and pressed the “enter” key.

Up came stories about Felt, the former senior FBI official who leaked information to the Washington Post, and articles from that symbiotic relationship that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

But cultural experiments must be fair. Otherwise, angry Nixonians could accuse me of liberal elitism, or is that elite mainstream mediaism?

To add balance, I typed in “Linda Tripp” next to Felt’s name and pressed the enter key. Guess what happened? Not much.

No news articles put them in context Wednesday morning, as media spasms roiled over America, birthing thousands of legitimate stories about Felt’s heroism and Nixon’s crimes.

So Felt is the hero. And last I heard, Tripp was being ridiculed about her physical appearance, portrayed by the obese John Goodman on “Saturday Night Live.”

“You should have predicted that,” said Chicago attorney David Schippers, a Democrat who knows something about presidential abuse of power and impeachment.

“Felt is treated as a hero, and you know something? He was heroic,” Schippers said. “He stood up to power. And Linda Tripp was heroic too. But they destroyed her.”

Felt is the former senior FBI official whose information brought down Nixon, a Republican, and forced Nixon to resign.

Tripp is the Pentagon employee who secretly taped conversations with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which led to impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, who also abused power but did not resign.

Both presidents abused their power, lied and connived, and used the hammer of government to smash opponents. One had an unpopular war and inflation. The other was in office when people had fat wallets, as Americans were encouraged to not let foreign policy bother them too much.

While hushed reverential tones around Felt are obvious, Tripp has been ignored. When mentioned, she’s ridiculed. Why?

“Because Felt put down a Republican president. And Linda Tripp nailed a Democratic president,” Schippers said.

Yes, that’s must be the reason. One rigged a presidential election; the other cheated on his wife. Same difference.

For the record, I do agree that Tripp should not have ben ridiculed for her appearance, any more than Katherine Harris should have been. The rest, however, is fair game.