Is that you, Deep Throat?

Separated at birth?

I'm just catching up to all of this, but John Dean has reported that Bob Woodward has told the Washington Post that "Deep Throat" is ill, and Ben Bradlee said that the mystery man's obituary has already been written and is "in the can" at the Post.

Keith Olbermann suggested this week that Deep Throat's obituary would probably have been "in the can" even if he were not tied to Watergate -- implying that he's had a fairly noteworthly life beyond his Deep Throating.

Olbermann also said, "The man doesn’t want to be identified, and by implication, is not proud of his role in stabilizing the democracy — even though so many others are proud of him."

That would be consistent with a theory advanced this week by blogger Salto Mortale, who speculates that Deep Throat was none other than ...

Drumroll ...

William Rehnquist!

Now, several people have said they think this is just crazy talk. But some things would add up. He was close to people in Nixon's Justice Department, making him privy to inside information -- but he was not too close, seeing as how he had moved to the Supreme Court at the time of the break-in, which could explain how he got some things screwed up, as Dean points out in his op/ed piece. Only the Chief Justice of the Freaking Supreme Court could make sure such a whopping secret was kept for three decades. And only a tool like Rehnquist would feel ashamed for bringing Nixon down. Plus, Rehnquist is very ill, and his obit would certainly be in the can at the Post, even if he were not Deep Throat.