Letters to the Editor
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Mind-Twisting Drug of Access
The Desire for Access must be a mind-twisting drug indeed. I recently heard Mr. Woodward talk about "three hours" access to Mr. Bush as if it were a Religious experience to be granted that kind of audience. He all but kissed the papal ring in his rendition of the ineluctable event. Bob, Bob -- three hours! Mr. Bush is supposed to be a servant of the people, not a Receiver of God's Words as if on Stone Tablets.
It makes me so sad to see this intrepid dogged journalist become a poodle for the Administration so he can get three hours with the reigning Central Character of his upcoming second book. I feel past queasy about this being called journalism. Surely the Washington Post should re-think calling this man a reporter?
How could Mr. Woodward conceivably be hard-eyed enough in his first book hoping for the my precious, my precious three hours for his second book -- where the questions are submitted in advance too?
Toadyism dressed up in Emperor Journalist Clothes. It's dismal.
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His credulity was exposed?
Isn't Blumenthal going a little easy on Woodward? Given his statements before his cover was blown, readers have every reason to believe he was in on the Iraq war con, and not just a victim of "cunning sources".
It was Woodward's complicity that was exposed, not his credulity.
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Different kinds of journalism
Yes, it is ironic that the man who took a president down working from the outside, now appears to be helping prop one up by working from the inside. But is that what he is doing, really? Isn't all this reaction to Woodward really frustration with the failure of that other skeptical-critical-analytical type of journalism to have had much of any kind of effect on public opinion until now?Nixon, no matter what anyone may think of the man, was the controlling force in his administration. He had opinions, policies and theories. He made decisions based on facts that he sought out. Even out of office, his infrequent pronouncements on politics and how people played their political hands were fascinating, original, absolutely worth listening to, and frequently right on. George Bush, after five years, still remains a mystery. It is not at all clear what his true opinions are, where his interests lie, or even who is in control and making the decisions for this administration. Whatever this administration is really about has to be pieced together outside of its rhetoric. It is a confusing mess and one is inclined to see very cynical forces at work. Yet one does not know. I am not going to make the case that Woodward is engaged in a heroic journalistic endeavor, but it seems he is attempting to put together a plausable narrative about this administration and about this President based on scraps of information he has either been given or been able to dig up. His effort has been to show who these people are and how they go about making their decisions, a journalistic fly-on-the-wall approach. Evidence is gathered and presented. The reader draws his own opinions and, to the best of his or her ability, comes to a personal conclusion. Sidney Blumenthal is correct when he writes that "the method also made him particularly vulnerable to manipulation by cunning sources," but the alternative Blumenthal proposes, a more thesis driven analysis with supporting evidence, is a different enterprise and one many critics seem to feel Woodward isn't up to anyway. Plus, as many have pointed out, skeptical critical analysis would probably only have ended up denying Woodward access.
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Blumenthal
I have to say I've admired Salon for years for its diversity and the heady mix of the profane and - dare I say it - the sacred. As my affair with Salon became more and more passionate, I noticed that especially Sidney Blumethal's learned yet seemingly effortless, even breezy columns are one of the main things that make me come back time and again. And subscribe as a premium member. His prose is pristine, his touch cultured. He deftly marries eloquent flourishes with razor-sharp political commentary. Bravo, I say.
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How Can Anyone Be "Surprised" By Woodward?
He embodies ALL that is wrong with journalism today: He is arrogant, wealthy, lazy, and above all else, self-interested.
And has everyone, including Sidney Blumenthal, forgotten that Bob Woodward is, and always has been, a Republican?
If I were Leonard Downie, I wouldn't have allowed Woodward to write anything more in The Washington Post, let alone that bullshit "mea culpa."
Instead, I would've simply proclaimed across the newsroom: "Woodward! You have 30 minutes to clean out your desk!"
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Blumenthal, encore
I couldn't agree more - Salon is such a fantastic news source, made all the better by Sidney Blumenthal's concise, articulate and informative articles. His columns are my personal favorite to read and forward to my friends and family.
I have to say I've admired Salon for years for its diversity and the heady mix of the profane and - dare I say it - the sacred. As my affair with Salon became more and more passionate, I noticed that especially Sidney Blumethal's learned yet seemingly effortless, even breezy columns are one of the main things that make me come back time and again. And subscribe as a premium member. His prose is pristine, his touch cultured. He deftly marries eloquent flourishes with razor-sharp political commentary. Bravo, I say.
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Cronyism infects journalism
Woodward's carryings-on have undercut trust for the fourth estate (already at a low ebb thanks to the Judith Miller and the New York Times), but I am dismayed at how his leading-light journalistic colleagues like Sidney Blumenthal and Daniel Shorr (of NPR) continue to go to awkward lengths to minimize the opprobrium that Woodward deserves. Cronyism impresses no better in the field of journalism than it does in public service.
Blumenthal's understatement of what Woodward has done (credulous vs. complicit, as another reader observed) is inaccurate, pure and simple.
If Judith Miller was (properly) forced out, then it's only fair that Woodward be inveighed against and forced out too. This is a question of fairness and balance, and the editors at Salon should push Blumenthal harder to tell the truth.
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The Woodward coverup
Bravo!
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republican payback
Ever since Woodward and Bernstein heroically brought down the Nixon Administration and all its corrupt ideologues, pissed-off Republicans plotted revenge while democrats snored away. A little more than a decade after that national shame, people like me - a black, female, liberal-leaning editorial writer working on a conservative staff with pit bulls for colleagues - knew from plain old street sense there was a game a play in the back room to take back the flag. The house of elephants was planning a big pay back. There had to be. Now, I thought those elephants had completed their most extreme revenge plan when they captured both houses of congress, the white house, appointments to all of the high courts in the land and the nearly comotose electorate with a huge impact for many decades to come. Now it seems Dumbo had one more trump to play, a journalistic narcissist and ass called Woodward. What a pity.