G. Gordon Liddy

Ex-Army, ex-FBI (thanks, adaere), ex-prosecutor, ex-Plumber. An "employee" of Richard Nixon's White House (in reality, Nixon's personal pit-bull-of-all-trades) - a very gung ho individual who would have done anything (lie,cheat, steal... kill) to help his president. Sometimes he did - he was a major figure in Watergate and various peripheral crimes. A brilliant, funny man, who now pays the bills as a third-rate conservative talk show host.

Became pals of Timothy Leary, ostensibly when he first led police raids on Leary's ashram in upstate New York. The two did a nice business traveling around debating at universities now and again. Since, evidence has come out that suggests Leary was not SO unlikely a pal of Liddy's, seeing as he was likely an FBI informant. Also, as a child he supposedly killed and ate a rat to neutralize his fear of them.

I actually find G. Gordon's talk show funnier and more entertaining than Rush Limbaugh's. I think Liddy is fundamentally more intelligent and knows more about politics. I completely disagree with him on almost everything, but he can actually make me laugh. He also seems to be able to make fun of himself, which you'll never hear Limbaugh doing.

Of course, his stint in prison may have helped him loosen up a bit.

Liddy also appeared in a cameo on the ill-fated Al Franken series Lateline after Al bought a gun, and Al accidentally shoots Liddy with it.

Things I remember about G.Gordon Liddy, from his (possibly unintentionally) hilarious autobiography, Will.

• Growing up in America, during Hitler's rise to power, his fondest childhood memories are of listening to the Fuhrer's speeches on shortwave radio with his young German nanny.

• Spends his adolescence and formative years performing exercises to develop his will, including eating a rat and culminating in later life in the ability to hold his arm over a candle flame until the flesh blackened.

• After an abortive career in the army, trained as a lawyer, then switched to a career as a G-Man, and finally back to law.

• Surveilled and arrested Dr. Timothy Leary, LSD evangelist.

• Became attached to the Nixon White House, and especially to CREEP, the Campaign to Re-Elect the President, unofficially as a security consultant.

• Devised a huge and expensive operation called Gemstone involving using 'honey trap' techniques for political espionage - this was apparently never implemented. The scaled-down version became the plumbers.

• As an inspiration to the Nixon campaign team, arranged a special showing, attended by Republican notables, of Leni Riefenstahl's Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will, commenting: "that, gentlemen, is how to run an election campaign."

• Conducted, with Howard Hunt, the break-in at the offices of Lewis Fielding, psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the pentagon papers.

• Masterminded at the behest of either Jeb Magruder or John Dean the ill-fated burglary/bugging of the Democrat offices at the Watergate.

• As the coverup unravelled towards crisis, generously offered to be shot, saying (I think to Dean) "if you ever want me to stand on a street corner, you know, just say the word." (or something like that)

• In contempt of court, refused to testify in the Watergate trial.

• Claimed to be in touch with an organisation called Odessa, apparently some kind of overseas reunion club for exiled German officers from World War II.