Bob Wayward

Very nice piece on Bob Woodward by Tim Dickenson at Rolling Stone:

Woodward's lack of candor -- failing to tell his boss of the leak for 2 years -- raises many troubling questions: Does his loyalty lie to his paper? Or to the administration that granted him an all-access pass? It's also troubling that Walter Pincus -- arguably the best investigative reporter in Washington -- made a tacit agreement with Woodward not to pursue the latter's involvement in the case. Whatever happened to "without fear or favor"?

This is a major disillusioning for me. After being told:

1. the Tooth Fairy was really Mom...
2. the Easter Bunny was the one served up in Fatal Attraction...
3. Santa Claus was... Dad... ??
4. That Jesus really isn't...

Well, I had'ta' punt on that last one my own self...

So all I had left for idol worship was Bob Woodward. I grew up a news junkie, with grand plans on becoming a journalist - and he was a bonifide hero. I read All The President's Men twice, and The Final Days, Wired, The Brethren (betting now Scott Armstrong did the heavy lifting in that one) -- all of 'em, great reads!!

I also possess but didn't read a couple of his recent tomes; one involving [yawn!] the 5 remaining living presidents (or when Reagan was still shivering and Dubya was just another dickhead in Texas) and the one on the Clinton/Dole race. I cannot now be bothered to Google the titles. And I will never go near that purported cum-swallow he wrote about the post-911 Bush administration, such [choke] Heros they are and all.

I mean, I always knew he was a Republican, but WTF? So was I! I got over it!

But his approach to his more recent writings and marked by his TV appeareances, one could only get the sense he'd become co-opted: with his calling Fitzgerald's investigation "a disgrace" or his prediction that Cheney would run in '08 (like, are you fucking kidding me?) . He had really begun to disturb, y'know?

And now this? Jesus! What a slide!

And to look at him, over & over in the 24-hr news loop, he looks like some large-mouthed bass with glasses.

Some kinda come-down from Robert Redford, eh?