Messrs. Colson, Ehrlichman, Haldeman and Hunt.

When a President wants to play dirty without actually getting dirty, he needs faithful men that will carry out his wishes by proxy. For President Richard M. Nixon, these were those men.

Charles Wendell Colson: Former Marine and Georgetown University graduate of law, Colson was Nixon's special counsel. He was also the idea man within the President's inner circle. It was Colson that came up with the idea to hire a bunch of goons (the Plumbers) to spy on and discredit people Nixon believed were enemies. When the Plumbers broke into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, the mission was a Colson plan. Watergate was a Colson plan.

In 1974, Charles Colson pled no contest to a charge of obstruction of Justice for his part in the Ellsberg break-in. He served seven months and has since devoted his life to the only ones that will forgive him, Jesus Christ and convicted criminals.

John D. Ehrlichman: A World War II veteran and law school graduate, Ehrlichman had been working for the Nixon cause since 1960. When old Dick won in 1968, John became presidential advisor. When Daniel Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers to the NYT, Ehrlichman was the man that gathered the team of tricksters assigned to thwart Ellsberg and any other threats to Nixon's re-election. Under Ehrlichman's direction, the Plumbers broke into the suite at the Watergate Hotel that housed the Democratic National Headquarters. The White House taping system was set up as a result of a suggestion by Ehrlichman.

On April 30, 1973, Ehrlichman resigned his White House position. In 1975, he was found guilty of perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He spent 18 months in prison. He later grew a beard, painted pictures and always resented the fact that Nixon did not give him a pardon. Ehrlichman died in 1999 at the age of 73.

Harry Robbins (H.R.) Haldeman: While attending UCLA in the 1940s, Haldeman began a long-standing friendship with fellow student John Ehrlichman. Haldeman met Nixon in the fifties . It was Haldeman that ran the President's successful 1968 campaign. Haldeman was Nixon's Chief of Staff and he and Ehrlichman insulated the President so well the two were referred to as "The Berlin Wall". More importantly, Haldeman was Dick's closest confidant and advisor. The conversations Nixon had with Haldeman (minus 18 minutes) were the most damaging evidence in the Watergate Tapes. Nixon knew about the Plumbers, Watergate and the cover-up because Haldeman told him personally.

Along with his college buddy Ehrlichman, Haldeman tendered his resignation April 30, 1973. John Dean was fired that same day. Like Ehrlichman, Haldeman served 18 months in prison for charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Unlike Ehrlichman, Haldeman felt responsible for fucking up the reputation of the office of President of the United States and wrote as much in his book, "The Ends of Power". He died of stomach cancer in 1993.

Everette Howard Hunt: Haldeman was the relay man. Colson concocted the dirty tricks. Ehrlichman found the money and the operatives. E. Howard Hunt was the man with the dirty hands. An OSS officer in WWII. CIA man from 1949-1970. Howard was an honest-to-goodness spook and along with Gordon Liddy, ran the Plumbers. He led the break-in of Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office and it was Hunt's phone number that was found among the possessions of two of the Watergate burglars. Conspiracy theorists love to cite Hunt as their choice for mythical second gunman in the Kennedy assassination cover-up.

Hunt's wife died -with $10,000 in her pocketbook- in a plane crash on December 8, 1972. On 30 Jan 1973, he pled guilty to charges of wiretapping, burglary and conspiracy. He served 33 months in prison. Over the course of his life, Hunt has written several spy novels. In 1995, he declared bankruptcy. Today, the 87-year-old lives quietly in Florida.

Who is our modern-day counterpart to all these President's men?

Karl Rove