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Even the Watergate prosecutors seem now to have changed sides. During a CNN interview with Wolf Blitzer, I asked the other guest, former Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste, whether he still believed the ends don't justify the means, as he said when he prosecuted me. "Here," he said, "I think the lesson is that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Mark Felt didn't do it perfectly, but it was a good thing that that information came out."

In only three decades, we have erased the greatest moral lesson of that scandal—that no one is above the law—and replaced it with the Machiavellian lesson that anything goes.

We'd better start building more prisons.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

We interviewed Colson about his response to the identity of "Deep Throat."

We recently reviewed a new biography of Colson and interviewed his biographer.

Recent Charles Colson columns for Christianity Today include:

Verdict that Demands Evidence | It is Darwinists, not Christians, who are stonewalling the facts. (March 28, 2005)

The Moral Home Front | America's increasing decadence is giving aid and comfort to Muslim terrorists. (Sept. 23, 04)

Reclaiming Occupied Territory | The Great Commission and the cultural commission are not in competition. (July 21, 2004)

Societal Suicide | Legalizing gay marriage will lead to more family breakdown and crime. (May 24, 2004)

Evangelical Drift | Outsiders say we're the status quo. Our call is to prove them wrong. (March 29, 2004)

Confronting Moral Horror | It's a witness even the most jaded find impressive. (Feb. 04, 2004)

The Postmodern Crackup | From soccer moms to college campuses, signs of the end. (Dec. 09, 2003)

Sowing Confusion | One small ruling for Texas; one giant leap into a cultural abyss. (Oct. 03, 2003)

Being Here | Why we should sink our roots in the places we call home. (July, 28, 2003)

Beyond Condoms | To alleviate AIDS, we must sharpen our moral vision. (June 10, 2003)

Taming Beasts | Raising the moral status of dogs has created a breed of snarling, dangerous humans. (April 3, 2003)

Faith vs. Statistics | Beware of doing ethics by crunching numbers. (Jan. 28, 2003)

Just War in Iraq | Sometimes going to war is the charitable thing to do. (Dec. 10, 2002)

A Clan of One's Own | Hacking through the jungle of identity politics. (Oct. 9, 2002)

Undaunted | Bioethics challenges are huge. But so is God. (July 31, 2002)

The Wages of Secularism | New laws won't prevent another Enron. (June 4, 2002)

More Doctrine, Not Less | We need to proclaim truth to a truth-impaired generation. (April 15, 2001)

Post-Truth Society | The recent trend of lying is no accident. (March 4, 2002)

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October 2005, Vol. 49, No. 10