Friday, March 1, 2013
Ron Fournier: Why Bob Woodward's Fight With The White House Matters to You
All the President's men are dumping on Bob Woodward.
National Journal ".... I essentially broke ties with a senior White House official.
"Yes, I iced a source– and my only regret is I didn’t do it sooner. I decided to share this encounter because it might shed light on the increasingly toxic relationship between media and government, which is why the Woodward flap matters outside the Beltway."
...."I had angered the White House, particularly a senior White House official who I am unable to identify because I promised the person anonymity. Going back to my first political beat, covering Bill Clinton’s administration in Arkansas and later in Washington, I’ve had a practice that is fairly common in journalism: A handful of sources I deal with regularly are granted blanket anonymity. Any time we communicate, they know I am prepared to report the information at will (matters of fact, not spin or opinion) and that I will not attribute it to them."
Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate papers that brought down the Nixon Administration "Between 1972 and 1976, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein emerged as two of the most famous journalists in America and became forever identified as the reporters who broke the biggest story in American politics."
Remember when Robert Redford played Bob Woodward in this movie?
All the President's Men "All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. The film starred Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, respectively; it was produced by Walter Coblenz, written by William Goldman, and directed by Alan J. Pakula."
National Journal ".... I essentially broke ties with a senior White House official.
"Yes, I iced a source– and my only regret is I didn’t do it sooner. I decided to share this encounter because it might shed light on the increasingly toxic relationship between media and government, which is why the Woodward flap matters outside the Beltway."
...."I had angered the White House, particularly a senior White House official who I am unable to identify because I promised the person anonymity. Going back to my first political beat, covering Bill Clinton’s administration in Arkansas and later in Washington, I’ve had a practice that is fairly common in journalism: A handful of sources I deal with regularly are granted blanket anonymity. Any time we communicate, they know I am prepared to report the information at will (matters of fact, not spin or opinion) and that I will not attribute it to them."
Woodward and Bernstein's Watergate papers that brought down the Nixon Administration "Between 1972 and 1976, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein emerged as two of the most famous journalists in America and became forever identified as the reporters who broke the biggest story in American politics."
Remember when Robert Redford played Bob Woodward in this movie?
All the President's Men "All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post. The film starred Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, respectively; it was produced by Walter Coblenz, written by William Goldman, and directed by Alan J. Pakula."
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Alan Caruba: Too Much Obama
...."Peggy Noonan, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, put her finger on Obama’s growing problems. “It’s always cliffs, ceilings and looming catastrophes with Barack Obama. It is always government by freakout.” After a while, even his supporters grow weary of that and, more importantly, it creates an image in their minds that he is incompetent and either unable or unwilling to govern.
....
Why Does Anyone Need to Read About Celebrities?
Ann Coulter " "I don't see why anyone needs ..." is code for: "I don't do it, so let's ban it." The corollary is: "I enjoy this, so you have to subsidize it."
Environmentalists say: "I don't know why anyone needs to shower once a day -- my French friends and I take two showers per month. We think we smell fine."
"That's the difference between a totalitarian and a normal person. Liberals are obsessed with controlling what other people do.
"As Sen. Dianne Feinstein said this week, so-called "assault weapons" are a "personal pleasure" and "mothers and women" have to decide whether this personal pleasure "is more important than the general welfare."
"The "general welfare" is every tyrant's excuse, going back to Robespierre and the guillotine. Free people are not in the habit of providing reasons why they "need" something simply because the government wants to ban it. That's true of anything -- but especially something the government is constitutionally prohibited from banning, like guns. "
Environmentalists say: "I don't know why anyone needs to shower once a day -- my French friends and I take two showers per month. We think we smell fine."
"That's the difference between a totalitarian and a normal person. Liberals are obsessed with controlling what other people do.
"As Sen. Dianne Feinstein said this week, so-called "assault weapons" are a "personal pleasure" and "mothers and women" have to decide whether this personal pleasure "is more important than the general welfare."
"The "general welfare" is every tyrant's excuse, going back to Robespierre and the guillotine. Free people are not in the habit of providing reasons why they "need" something simply because the government wants to ban it. That's true of anything -- but especially something the government is constitutionally prohibited from banning, like guns. "
UPDATED: Ladies, Uncle Joe says to buy a shotgun. Buy a shotgun!
Hat tip to Rich Cutter Avallone
"According to Delaware attorneys contacted by U.S. News, in Biden’s home state it is only legal to use deadly force if there is reason to fear imminent loss of life. Shooting a gun in the air could result in felony reckless endangering and aggravated menacing charges, in addition to misdemeanor charges, the lawyers said."
Instapundit commented on this post: "FOLLOWING JOE BIDEN’S ADVICE ON PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING IS NEGLIGENCE PER SE: "
"The governor will also correct a mistake in the quickly passed and shoddily written bill, which makes all New York law enforcement’s guns illegal due to having magazines that hold more than seven shots. The country’s laws are in the best of hands."
Jewish baby stoned by Arabs near Haifa, Israel (Revised)
Odelya Rottem on Facebook; Hat tip to Rich Cutter Avallone
What do you expect from these people?
92 Year Old Palestinian Woman: Palestinians Should Massacre Jews Like We Massacred Them in Hebron.
Home: The Tunnel Wall
Bob Woodward begins to pay the price for taking on the regime of Obama
Breitbart gives us a wealth of information:
Cult of Obama: List of Journalists Throwing Woodward Under Bus When the news hit that the Obama White house had threatened [B]ob Woodward, many in the media immediately chose to protect Obama by ridiculing Woodward, questioning his motives, and/or dismissing his reporting. Meet the members of the Cult of Obama…
Lanny Davis: Obama White House Threatened Washington Times Over My Column "Lanny Davis, who served under President Bill Clinton as special counsel to the White House, told Washington, D.C.'s WMAL this morning that the Obama White House had threatened the Washington Times over his column, warning that the Times would suffer limited access to White House officials and might have its White House credentials revoked. Davis, a centrist Democrat, is sometimes critical of the Obama administration's policies."
Woodwardgate: Media Gang-Tackle Iconic Journalist to Save Obama "It's an incredible story of the White House attempting to bully Bob Woodward, the most iconic reporter of the 20th century – the reporter who, along with Carl Bernstein, took down a president of the United States. So you might expect the rest of the media to stand with Woodward. You’d be wrong. They’re too busy spending time playing defense for the White House."
WH Senior Adviser Plouffe: Woodward Washed Up "Wednesday night, in the aftermath of the blow-up regarding the White House’s email to Bob Woodward suggesting he would "regret" his reporting of sequestration, White House Senior Adviser David Plouffe took to twitter to bash Woodward as a past-his-prime hack."
Media Matters' Boehlert Mocks Bob Woodward's Age "Today, though, because Woodward's reporting has uncovered facts inconvenient to Obama's sequester narrative, Boehlert's publicly mocking Woodward as "funny" and "sad" because he "doesn't seem to understand" sequester. Boehlert then takes a direct shot at Woodward's age with this parting shot: "time to retire." "
Woodward Emails Back Claim of White House Intimidation "The emails reveal a kind of psychological manipulation and intimidation that many should be familiar with. I call them "screamers." Others might call them bullies; but these are people who intimidate through screaming when they don't get their way. Then, when that doesn't work, they always come back and apologize but the passive-aggressive bullying remains. "
Cult of Obama: List of Journalists Throwing Woodward Under Bus When the news hit that the Obama White house had threatened [B]ob Woodward, many in the media immediately chose to protect Obama by ridiculing Woodward, questioning his motives, and/or dismissing his reporting. Meet the members of the Cult of Obama…
Lanny Davis: Obama White House Threatened Washington Times Over My Column "Lanny Davis, who served under President Bill Clinton as special counsel to the White House, told Washington, D.C.'s WMAL this morning that the Obama White House had threatened the Washington Times over his column, warning that the Times would suffer limited access to White House officials and might have its White House credentials revoked. Davis, a centrist Democrat, is sometimes critical of the Obama administration's policies."Woodwardgate: Media Gang-Tackle Iconic Journalist to Save Obama "It's an incredible story of the White House attempting to bully Bob Woodward, the most iconic reporter of the 20th century – the reporter who, along with Carl Bernstein, took down a president of the United States. So you might expect the rest of the media to stand with Woodward. You’d be wrong. They’re too busy spending time playing defense for the White House."
Media Matters' Boehlert Mocks Bob Woodward's Age "Today, though, because Woodward's reporting has uncovered facts inconvenient to Obama's sequester narrative, Boehlert's publicly mocking Woodward as "funny" and "sad" because he "doesn't seem to understand" sequester. Boehlert then takes a direct shot at Woodward's age with this parting shot: "time to retire." "
Woodward Emails Back Claim of White House Intimidation "The emails reveal a kind of psychological manipulation and intimidation that many should be familiar with. I call them "screamers." Others might call them bullies; but these are people who intimidate through screaming when they don't get their way. Then, when that doesn't work, they always come back and apologize but the passive-aggressive bullying remains. "
The horror of sequestration!
Frankenquester unraveling: DHS official 'retires' over release of illegals "It didn't a lot of brains to call out the administration for releasing illegal aliens from prison and then blame budget cuts that hadn't even occurred yet."
Frankenquester fail #2: Education Secretary Duncan lies about teachers getting 'pink slips' already "This is getting silly. And it is turning into a political disaster for Obama."
Gene Sperling is the guy who threatened Bob Woodward (Updated)
Yid With Lid "Well that didn't take long! This morning the liberal political site Buzzfeed it
was Gene Sperling, the director of the White House Economic Council who sent the
threatening Email to Wapo reportner(sp) Bob Woodward:
Proof: White House Threatened Bob Woodward "Now the left is toning it down and claiming that Woodward is exaggerating, but think about it for a minute. A top spokesperson, a lawyer for the President of the United States, tells a far less powerful man that he will regret reporting the truth, how would you take it? What if it were you?"
Jonathan S. Tobin; War on Woodward May Be a Tipping Point
"But there is more at work here than just a case of White House flacks picking a fight with the wrong guy. The problem here for President Obama is that the willingness of Woodward to expose the falsity of the administration’s position on the sequester, as well as their threat, could mark the beginning of the end of the administration’s magic touch with the mainstream press."
One can hope, but we're taking on a celebrity president here, remember.
Bob Woodward called a senior White House official last week to tell him that in a piece in that weekend’s Washington Post, he was going to question President Barack Obama’s account of how sequestration came about - and got a major-league brushback. The Obama aide “yelled at me for about a half hour,” Woodward told us in an hour-long interview yesterday around the Georgetown dining room table where so many generations of Washington’s powerful have spilled their secrets. Digging into one of his famous folders, Woodward said the tirade was followed by a page-long email from the aide, one of the four or five administration officials most closely involved in the fiscal negotiations with the Hill. “I apologize for raising my voice in our conversation today,” the official typed. “You’re focusing on a few specific trees that give a very wrong impression of the forest. But perhaps we will just not see eye to eye here. … I think you will regret staking out that claim.”
Gene Sperling was a guest on a recent Fox News Sunday. See the difficulty of interviewing an Obama administration official as they filibuster each question. Numerous times Brett Baier tries to cut Sperling off with another question, but like a robot, Sperling refuses to stop until he has read off the Democrat talking points. I'd say he seems perfectly able to lecture Mr. Woodward for half an hour, wouldn't you?
You knew this next was coming, didn't you?
Update with added posts:
'What the hell happened to Bob Woodward?' "Is there dissension in the ranks of the Big Media over the Obama administration’s heavy hand on even friendly media?"
...."But far from the press establishment rallying around Woodward, some elements are wondering how and why he wandered off the reservation with his criticism of the administration."
Many in the press will eat their own to protect Obama.
...."But far from the press establishment rallying around Woodward, some elements are wondering how and why he wandered off the reservation with his criticism of the administration."
Many in the press will eat their own to protect Obama.
Proof: White House Threatened Bob Woodward "Now the left is toning it down and claiming that Woodward is exaggerating, but think about it for a minute. A top spokesperson, a lawyer for the President of the United States, tells a far less powerful man that he will regret reporting the truth, how would you take it? What if it were you?"Jonathan S. Tobin; War on Woodward May Be a Tipping Point
"But there is more at work here than just a case of White House flacks picking a fight with the wrong guy. The problem here for President Obama is that the willingness of Woodward to expose the falsity of the administration’s position on the sequester, as well as their threat, could mark the beginning of the end of the administration’s magic touch with the mainstream press."
One can hope, but we're taking on a celebrity president here, remember.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
What will the White House do to Bob Woodward for his "madness" remark?
Mark Levin just reported that Woodward was sent an email saying he would regret his ‘Madness That I Haven’t Seen In A Long Time’ statement.
We will continue to watch for comment on this. Here is what we have so far:
BOB WOODWARD: A 'Very Senior' White House Person Warned Me I'd 'Regret' What I'm Doing "Bob Woodward said this evening on CNN that a "very senior person" at the White House warned him in an email that he would "regret doing this," the same day he has continued to slam President Barack Obama over the looming forced cuts known as the sequester.
"CNN host Wolf Blitzer said that the network invited a White House official to debate Woodward on-air, but the White House declined.
"I think they're confused," Woodward said of the White House's pushback on his reporting." Read more.
CNN: Bob Woodward on threat from White House staff: "...it makes me very uncomfortable to have the White House telling reporters, you're going to regret doing something that you believe in"
"Today on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward told CNN that he has been threatened by White House staff over his budget cut challenge. Highlights from the interview are below; a full transcript will be posted on http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/sitroom.html
.We will continue to watch for comment on this. Here is what we have so far:
"CNN host Wolf Blitzer said that the network invited a White House official to debate Woodward on-air, but the White House declined.
"I think they're confused," Woodward said of the White House's pushback on his reporting." Read more.
CNN: Bob Woodward on threat from White House staff: "...it makes me very uncomfortable to have the White House telling reporters, you're going to regret doing something that you believe in"
"Today on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, The Washington Post’s Bob Woodward told CNN that he has been threatened by White House staff over his budget cut challenge. Highlights from the interview are below; a full transcript will be posted on http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/sitroom.html
Megyn Kelly Panel Fights Over White House’s Trashing Bob Woodward Due To His Account Of The Sequester
“I would imagine this is the last time Bob Woodward is going to have intimate access to the White House,” Shapiro replied. He said that the White House rewards reporters who behave as “lap dogs” and refuse to report information that the White house regards as being politically unhelpful."
Obama Uses Intimidation Tactics and has for a long time
“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us…
"Why is Fox News AWOL?
"Is it because the network is gun-shy after getting smeared by the White House and Democrats? Is it because princes from Saudi Arabia, where much of CAIR's foreign sponsorship emanates, maintain key ownership holdings at Fox's parent company? Or is it just a journalistic oversight? Time will tell."
President's Schedule - February 27, 2013
WhiteHouse.gov with thanks to Mark Levin
9:30 am |
The President and the
Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing. Oval Office; Closed Press
|
| 10:00 am |
The President meets
with senior advisors
Oval Office; Closed Press.
|
| 11:00 am |
The President
delivers remarks at the unveiling of a statue of Rosa Parks. United States Capitol; Pooled Press
(In-Town Travel Pool
Gather Time 10:25AM – North Doors of the Palm Room)
|
| 7:30 pm |
The President
delivers remarks at the Business Council dinner and answers questions
Park Hyatt Hotel; Pooled Press
|
For Hypocrisy, Push Juan
HopeNChange
"While Hope n' Change didn't really want to revisit the sequester debate again today, we couldn't let Janet Napolitano's shameless fear mongering slip by without comment because our freaking heads would explode."
....
"There is nothing in the upcoming sequester which should raise fears of doom in the American public. Rather, our fears should be directed at the willingness of our elected officials to deliberately inflict hardship and misery on us in order to protect their addiction to insane spending."
"While Hope n' Change didn't really want to revisit the sequester debate again today, we couldn't let Janet Napolitano's shameless fear mongering slip by without comment because our freaking heads would explode."
....
"There is nothing in the upcoming sequester which should raise fears of doom in the American public. Rather, our fears should be directed at the willingness of our elected officials to deliberately inflict hardship and misery on us in order to protect their addiction to insane spending."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)