The Man With the Inside Scoop - the once respected Bob Woodward

[TacticalPeek]

The Man With the Inside Scoop
For Bob Woodward, Proximity to Power Cuts Both Ways

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 28, 2005; Page C01

It was a cinematic image that lured thousands of young people into journalism, Robert Redford coaxing information out of Hal Holbrook in a dimly lit parking garage.

And since, in real life, Bob Woodward fiercely protected Deep Throat's identity, what lingered was the mystique of a dogged journalist, plying his trade in the shadows.

Three decades older and millions of dollars richer, Woodward still has plenty of secret sources, but they work in the highest reaches of the Bush administration. They are molding history rather than revealing Watergate-style corruption. Some have even used the press to strike back against a critic of their war by revealing the identity of a CIA operative. And the public is no longer as enamored of reporters and their unnamed informants.

In the days since the Washington Post assistant managing editor apologized to his paper for failing to reveal his role in the CIA leak controversy, Woodward, 62, has found himself under fire not just over this incident but for his very approach to journalism. His unusual relationship with The Post, and whether he hoards newsworthy material for his books, have also come under fresh scrutiny.

more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/27/AR2005112701140.html




A long knife, stuck into poor Bob.

[MADem]

1. They raked his ass over the coals on the Meet Timmy show this a.m.

Judy Woodruff zinged Timmy, too. His already florid face got even redder.

Amazing how, since Timmy chatted up the Special Prosecutor, we now actually get to MEET the PRESS! No more Administration Officials on Parade!

[TaleWgnDg]

2. Uuummmmm, having experienced, first-hand, the Watergate

and Nixon "I am not a crook" debacle in the mid-1970s . . . all as a result of the pen of Woodward working at the Washington Post, I wouldn't be so quick to condemn Woodward without a verdict or judgment in a court-of-law. Speculation, waxing, whining, and talk-heads know nothing. In other words, reserve judgment until the fat lady sings, period.
.

[kster]

3. Agreed.nt

[MADem]

4. I have always thought that he intended to write a Monkey Trilogy

...and the last book would be a salacious kick in the ass, earning him many millions of dollars. But it is clear to me that his fellows at the WAPO are not at all happy with him, and with good reason. You don't withhold NEWS because it will make a good book chapter; not when you are on the payroll. And a couple of paragraphs in that article are rather revealing:

During the Bush years, Woodward has enjoyed what seems like unfettered access to the likes of Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Andrew Card and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. His highest-level source is Bush himself, who has granted him several long, on-the-record interviews and ordered Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who initially turned down Woodward, to cooperate with the reporter.

Mary Matalin, a former aide to Cheney, says Woodward does "an extraordinary job" and "works like a dog." But outsiders often wonder: Why does an administration not known for being fond of the press put so much effort into cooperating with Woodward?

....."The administration plays along with this by giving him some juicy details in service of the larger effort to make Bush look like he walks on water," says Robert Kuttner, co-editor of the American Prospect. "Bob is the willing enabler of that, and it's shameful. Bob has it both ways -- he's the court biographer and he keeps intact his reputation as an investigator."

...Gergen calls Woodward "one of the most seductive individuals in the whole world," one who will stress that he's already spoken to others in a meeting and that "you're only going to hurt yourself and hurt the cause you care about if you don't talk."

I agree with the OP--this was a LONG KNIFE, and his own paper published it...the guy might have overdosed on his own hubris.

[kster]

6. Now we are trusting

the media who remains silent on any issue that is important to us, election theft machines, Katrina, stolen presidency for instance, am I supposed to say oh ya they are telling the truth about Woodward?

As the poster above says "reserve judgment until the fat lady sings, period".

[MADem]

10. Well, it ain't just Kurtz banging away

It's David Broder, Gene Robinson, Judy Woodruff... http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001571113 ... Norm Solomon http://www.counterpunch.org/solomon11282005.html ... And of course, Arianna, who rather astutely notes that only Timmy "Potato Head" Russert is the one guy who does not have a clue: http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20051128/cm_huffpost/011314;_ylt=A86.I0KYbIpDwesALQf9wxIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--

...So it was refreshing and encouraging that even two of his colleagues were honest enough to acknowledge the Woodward problem. It was a great opportunity for Tim to look at the broken conventions regarding confidential sources and the broken trust between the public and the press.

But instead, Tim went right back to the old playbook and the old problem: "Every source I believe is going to want complete assurance that if I give you this information, will you refuse to testify even if it means going to prison." Stunning though it may seem, Russert really believes that the main problem raised by Judy Miller's and Bob Woodward's roles in Plamegate is: how does the press repair the damage done between journalists and anonymous sources?

Talk about missing the forest for the trees. But it's not surprising since Russert's, like Woodward's, first loyalty flows upward to the unnamed "senior administration sources." Which is why Russert immediately pivoted to the question of how the press can go back to guaranteeing anonymity rather than to the new critical question: under what conditions should the press guarantee anonymity?

The compact that the Fourth Estate has is with the citizens, their readers--not the fatcats in government. Woodward forgot that lesson.

[thebigidea]

5. I'd condemn Woodward based on his bullshit from the past 5 years alone

he's been a complete disgrace to the profession, a stenographer for Cheney & co.

[CheshireCat]

9. "I'd condemn Woodward based on his bullshit from the past 5 years alone"

AGREE - 100%

Woodward and Bernstein were my heroes during the Watergate years, but in the past few years I have lost all respect for Woodward.

Had this same discussion with my husband last night.

[Cha]

11. Yeah, I didn't like

what woodward was doing to Democracy Before this ever came up.

This,imo, just verifies what I was already thinking about traitorbob.

[Neil Lisst]

7. Good for Howard Kurtz! Finally.

Woodward has whored himself terribly for the Bush Crime Family.

He's not worthy of the title "journalist" any more.

[realFedUp]

8. Howie's an insider ho also, green with envy

over Woodward's untouchable position as an
author also paid by the WP.

It's refreshing to see Howie being so honest though...

[otohara]

13. and Anger

I would bet that no one at The Post much cares for the sweet deal Woodward has. It's not fair, it's total bullshit.

But then Woodward is a member of the "fuck you" crowd now and like his friends at the White House, he doesn't care what his co-workers think, he thinks he's better than they are.

[oppositionmember]

12. If "Plan of Attack" was so fucking good...

why did Woodward miss the real story?

Answer: Because he had his head up Bush's ass.