TB, I think that Roth, like Barzini, was one of the few adversaries that the Corleones encountered. The Rosatos, the Tattaglias and the Sollozzos of the world were no match for them. To see them matching wits was truly like the mongoose and cobra.
SB, much as I agree with you, I don't think Barzini was in the same league as Roth for cunning and treachery. I thought he was kind of obvious.
As you know, an oft-asked question on this board is: "How did Vito know it was Barzini all along?" A more likely question, IMO, would be: "Why did it take Vito all that time to figure out it was Barzini all along?" He said to Tom after the Convention: "Tattaglia is a pimp; alone he could never have out fought Santino." Well, Vito, Tatt was
always a pimp; and if, as you said, "alone he could never have outfought Santino," then he
had to have had a backer from day one. And it
had to have been Barzini, who was the youngest, most modern Don, and the most ambitious to succeed Vito.
I guess the Don was slippin'.
