Bob Woodward and Larry King just managed to spend an hour talking about the CIA leak case without revealing one single new piece of information that is of any use to anyone.
I learned that you can replace ‘Watergate’ for ‘9/11’ and ‘Deep Throat’ for ‘War on Terror’ and it still works just as well as an obfuscation strategy. Again and again, Woodward referred back to Mark Felt to justify his actions in this case, as though the two cases were identical.
Let me ask a question, Bobby. Did the prosecutor know your source was Mark Felt? Did the House investigators know? No? Then shut the fuck up.
Whether your source is Stephen Hadley, Richard Armtitage, or ‘Swinging’ Dick Cheney it is no longer a secret. You have been released from the promise of confidentiality. You have already spilled the beans to the one person who is in a position to do real damage to the leaker. Don’t tell me that the White House still doesn’t know who it is. The only people still in the dark are the American public.
When Larry asked you how Wilson’s wife came up you said it was at the end of long interview, implied it was part of idle chit-chat, and that there was no implication that the information was secret. Really? And yet, you still won’t reveal it?
Let me ask you this: you asked about Joe Wilson’s trip to Africa. How did you phrase the question? Did it strike you as odd that a question about Joe Wilson would elicit a response about his wife? Would you care to explain the context of that non sequitur of an answer?
If Larry King didn’t suck so much as an interviewer maybe we would have had some answers to those questions rather than your stumbling, bumbling, mumbling stalling tactics and endless references to your past heroism in exposing Government corruption rather than helping to cover it up and minimize it. No? Is that too much to ask?
Woodward, you are totally out of line. No one is going to trust you to keep a confidentiality now that you have reported your source to the prosecutor. Who cares that you kept it secret until the trial? Big deal. You’re a waterboy for this administration. Tell us who the rat is. Tell us why you are lying to us about this source.
You claim that you didn’t tell your editor because you were afraid of a subpoena? So, you didn’t trust your editor? And then you claim to have gone to the source and convinced them to confess which you knew would destroy your reputation, expose your contempt for your editor, and result in you being forced to testify? What baloney!
You should be fired.
Exactly. Wayward is so full of crap it is coming out of his ears. I caught the contnued reference to Watergate and Feltz. Those days are over Wayward. You lucked out to get that Watergate story. It had nothing to do with talent.
Then, in this charade with King, he says this;
So much for consistency.
The whole reason anyone with anything to hide (say… Judy Miller for instance) would go on Larry King is because it is a total softball game.
Larry wouldn’t know a follow-up question if it bit him in the ass. This is the first (and sometimes only) stop for those wishing to appear forthcoming without actually having to say anything of substance.
Pat Robertson investigates intelligence failures.
Henry Kissinger nominated to investigate 911.
Larry King grills Woodward.
Katharine Harris counts votes.
Arthur Anderson audits Enron.
Fox News.
should be Pat Roberts investigates intelligence failures.
also add:
macdust proofreads self.
Pat Roberts? Pat Robertson?
Both engage in faith-based investigations.
Close enough.
And so it goes.
I would like to know if anybody is aware of Woodenhead’s mede of operation. Does he for example take down his interviews in shorthand or, like virtually all reporters these days, tape them and later transcribe them? If he used tape for that “long interview” which he said was over an hour, was the tape still running when he asked his secret question about Wilson?
It was unclear what the timeline was but did he make a statement to Fitxgerald that he later “remembered” was wrong when the charges were laid against Libby? If so, surely his reaction was to avoid being prosecuted for perjury himself. He clearly reveals his motive for staying in with the White House, he has plans for another book and wants access to Bush for an “extensive” interview of 8 or 9 hours over 2 days – really in depth!!!!
Has anyone had the stomach to read either of Woodward’s books? It’s not clear whether Larry and Bob are talking about the first or the second.
I have heard that both were pretty friendly to Bush, so it would seem that Bob’s MO would consist of a few days of ardent courtship, followed by mutual snuggles and a tacit understanding between interviewer and interviewee.
How strange to learn that Cheney required Woodward to submit his questions for him in writing. How strange that Woodward acquiesced. Dick really shouldn’t play coy. It doesn’t become him.
Is everybody in this Thing as dirty as they seem? Lord. It was depressing to witness this charade tonight. I guess when Larry raises his voice a decibel or two, he thinks he’s being forceful and probing. A disgusting farce. What was the point?
if Woodward had not protected Deep Throat and his own standing in the intelligence profession.
Instead Deep Throat stands as the emblem of the spoils for the importance of pleasing power over exposing the truth.
It seems clear now the access-driven press economy is the primary fraud, not a mere decay of standards.
Let Woodward keep pointing to Mark Felt as evidence that protecting a secretive and vindictive police-state source helped the larger cause of a vigorous press and an informed citizenry.
Because it turns out to be the opposite.
It turns out to be the legitimation of press corruption.
I posted this to the live-blog thread before I realized this one was up:
Here’s a guy who has, for many, many years, been considered one of the nation’s most prestigious journalists. He knows the ship is going down, and he’s bailing like crazy.
I’m sorry. I know I should hate him. Actually, I know I do hate him. But you have to admit that it’s got that Shakespearean quality to it.
I can’t find it in me to sympathize with Woodward.Elevating the whole sorry thing to the stature of a Shakespeare is very generous. Maybe David Baldacci or one of those guys who’s rich from writing pot boilers set in Washington, featuring underground garages and brilliant, beautiful people exchanging meeaningful glances at cocktail parties.
I wonder what Carl Bernstein thinks about all this.
It is very Shakesearean – Midsmmer Night’s Dream that is, with Woodward as Bottom transformed into an Ass and King as Titania unable to recognise the truth and believing the ass to be the cleverest and most beutiful in the woods.
I NEVER said anything about Larry King being Shakespearean 😉
From the WaPo’s ombudsman:
What is way cool is that the WaPo ombudsman – Deborah Howell – was my high school journalism teacher! I had no idea. (I emailed her – it will be extremely cool if she answers.)
on BBC world is where I’d like to see some of these cowards interviewed. Old fools like Larry should watch to get an idea how to interview.
Really.
You write:
“If Larry King didn’t suck so much as an interviewer maybe we would have had some answers to those questions rather than your stumbling, bumbling, mumbling stalling tactics and endless references to your past heroism in exposing Government corruption rather than helping to cover it up and minimize it. No? Is that too much to ask?”
And
“Woodward, you are totally out of line.”
No.
Larry King is THE BEST interviewer on TV.
And Woodward is PERFECTLY in line.
As far as their employers are concerned.
Please…look at the facts.
Where are these facts located?
Why…they are located in living rooms across the nation.
Including some living rooms in which I am privileged to sit as an accepted family member. As long as I pretty much keep my mouth shut…which I do. (The principle…”Don’t try to teach pigs to fly. It won’t work, and it will only piss off the pigs.” Truer words were never ignored.)
So ol’ Larry comes on.
With whatever softball players are willing to undergo the KingWorld barrage of intellectual packing popcorn.
And there’s The Hero Of Watergate!!!
That good ol’ journalist dick that got off on Deep Throat and took the BIG Tricky Dick down.
“LOOKIT, Martha!!! Bob WOODWARD!!! Din’t he write a BOOK???!!! Don’t look NOTHIN” like Robert Redford…”
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
“Good ol’ Larry. Good ol’ Bob. (Hero Of Watergate and all that…)
“What else is on???”
End of story.
Red State hypno-rape.
ZZZZzzzz….
Mission accomplished.
Sleeple fucking.
Nice.
AG
did slip up and say the source was “he” instead of “the source.” What a pathetic sight to see Woodward in CYA mode.
Check out Editors & Publishers for a review of the interview.
(I’m getting over my insomnia now, yawn,
or I would set up the link.)
good night all.