Bob Woodward Working On Book About President Obama

[babylonsister]

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=7894e8ce-9773-4792-b66d-b6acfdbc6521

Plan of Attack by Gabriel Sherman
Bob Woodward versus the White House.

Post Date Wednesday, June 17, 2009



In early May, White House Counsel Greg Craig circulated a memo inside the West Wing. Part of a series of memos on protocol, it explained how to deal with writers researching books and articles on the White House. (Craig's unsurprising instructions: Clear interview requests with the press office.) While the memo didn't mention any journalists by name--and while there are currently no fewer than half a dozen major reporters under contract to write books about the nascent Obama presidency and the 2008 campaign, any of whom could conceivably end up embarrassing the administration--there is one person in particular the White House is undoubtedly nervous about: Bob Woodward.

Since the inauguration, the Washington Post legend has been quietly reporting a new book on the Obama White House. "I'm in the preliminary stages of working on it," Woodward confirmed to me by phone recently. "I'm working on it and making progress."

Officially, the White House says it is not adopting a press strategy to respond to Woodward. Ben LaBolt, an Obama spokesman, wrote in an e-mail that the Craig memo "was not issued in relation to any inquiry related to a specific reporter or author." Still, there is reason to think that Woodward might make the administration particularly anxious. "Every White House is wary of Woodward, " says New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker, who worked alongside him at the Post. What's more, Obama's White House is known to hate process stories, exactly the sort of exhaustive, in-the-room descriptions of high-level debates at which Woodward excels. And, even worse, Woodward has some extra motivation to fill his next book with big scoops. His fourth and final Bush book, The War Within, sold just 159,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan, far below his third Bush installment, State of Denial, which sold more than half a million. "The last time I talked to him about books, earlier this year, he had been lamenting the fact his last Bush book didn't sell as well," one of Woodward's friends told me.

And an especially hungry Bob Woodward is especially bad news if you're one of the people being written about. "Good luck," another Woodward friend told me when I asked if the White House will succeed in keeping Woodward out. "If you want to hide things from Bob, it always comes out. It always does."

[Greybnk48]

1. Another Woodward book I can enjoy NOT buying! Awesome!

I wouldn't give that bum a dime.

[zbdent]

3. wait until it's at a local used book shop ...

in the bargain bin ...

[MarjorieG]

2. If he wrote truth, facts and without conjecture and anonymous, I'd feel better about him.

Ruined a good reputation.

[Joe Bacon]

4. I see MWO's Whore Of The Year for 2002 is still at it

It's times like this I really miss Media Whores Online because nobody is a bigger press whore that Bob Woodward.

[MADem]

5. I wouldn't trust Woodward as far as I could throw him. He's become a rather creepy guy in his old

age.

[alsame]

6. His final Bush book

sold only 159,000 copies :rofl:

He would have had better sales if he had written about Barney.

[dem629]

8. "State of Denial" sold 309,000 copies in its first two weeks alone.

What's your point?

Here are just two sources:
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-36504932_ITM

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-9219123/Books-hit-skids-as-economy.html

You do know why 159,000 of "The War Within" sold, don't you?

[Butch350]

10. Referring to the book...

The War Within, sold just 159,000 copies

[alsame]

11. My point was that

people were turned off by all things Bush by the time of that fourth installment.

[dem629]

7. And the critics will use all the same old lines:

"He didn't name his sources!"
"How did he reconstruct a private meeting??!!"
"He has an agenda!!!"
"He's a right-winger!!!!" "No, he's a left-winger!!!!!"

On and on it will go, just like it always does when a Woodward book comes out.

People on the right trashed his Watergate reporting. He was vindicated.
People from both parties trashed his book "Veil" (on the CIA). He was vindicated.
People on the right trashed his book "The Commanders" (on the Gulf War). He was vindicated.
People on the left trashed his book "The Agenda" (on the Clinton WH). He was vindicated.

It happened again with 2 out of the 3 books on the Bush presidency. He was vindicated.

He always is.

When the loudmouths from both parties are pissed at a reporter, you know they're doing something right.

I look forward to this new book, because I know Woodward will have the story. And I look forward to shaking my head in disbelief as people will once again try to trash Woodward. Strangely enough, this will probably be people on the left (people who just LOVED "State of Denial" about Bush and Iraq), because the subject is about Obama and we'll get the story, warts and all. And the people on the right who hated Woodward for his stories about Republicans (warts and all) will magically and suddenly give Woodward the benefit of the doubt.

Isn't blind partisanship fun?

[HamdenRice]

9. Let me guess. He's going to dig up Obama's secret "bat boy" brother, Obatma?

http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/election-08/bat-boy-backs-obatma/

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

12. I lost respect for Bob Wooward during the Plame affair when he was

an actual witness and participant but kept quiet about it, all the while going on shows supposedly neutrally pontificating and punditting when he had actual personal involvement. I was shocked to say the least. I never saw him in the same light after that.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/plame/Plame_KeyPlayers.html

[underpants]

13. FOX NEWS-Woodward Plots to Capture Obama White House in Next Book

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/30/woodward-plots-capture-obama-white-house-book/

Beltway insiders say the White House appears to be taking pains to avoid leaks to the Washington Post icon, who is working on a new book about the administration

Best-selling journalist Bob Woodward has found the topic for his next book: The Obama administration. And apparently that has the Obama White House circling the wagons.

White House Counsel Greg Craig circulated a memo inside the West Wing earlier this month instructing officials hit up for information by authors or journalists writing on the administration to clear interview requests with the press office. An Obama spokesman told The New Republic that the memo was not sent in regards to a specific journalist, but Beltway insiders say the White House probably is taking pains to avoid leaks to the Washington Post icon.