Another delectable Nixonland morsel

This book just keeps getting better. Here the author’s discussing Daniel Ellsberg, who decided to leak the Pentagon Papers:

Ellsberg had lectured Henry Kissinger in that hotel room, lectured him about the narcotic effect of secrets: “It will become very hard for you to learn from anybody who doesn’t have clearances. Because you’re thinking as you listen to them: ‘What would this man be telling me if he knew what I know?’… you’ll become something like a moron… incapable of learning from most people in the world, no matter how much experience they may have.” Lyndon Johnson, after all, did it: “I’m just not in a position to know how much information each critic of my policy in Vietnam happens to have,” he’d say. “It makes me wish that all this information was available to everybody who is assuming responsibilities in this matter.” American Legion counterprotesters would say, “All of the sudden, you guys on the streets, you know more than the secretary of state.”

Well, Daniel Ellsberg did know more than the secretary of state. And by the time the Pentagon Papers were done at the beginning of 1969, it was driving him nearly insane. William Rogers and Melvin Laird had access to the Papers. But it hadn’t seemed to affect any of their recommendations.

…

Now every Vietnam lie was public.

I wonder when and if the Iraq War will have its Pentagon Papers Moment?  Would today’s media take that kind of risk? I guess you could argue that the NYT decision to print the story on Bush’s wiretaps was pretty brave, but it’s not quite in the same league…