Award-winning journalist Bob Woodward was in Greensboro this afternoon for the fourth and final lecture in our Guilford College lecture series tickets. It was only about 70 minutes or so, but packed with wisdom and insight.
He began with a neutral third-party observation on the three remaining presidential candidates. Each has their positives: McCain has a willingness to accept and admit faults, Clinton was the de facto Chief of Staff during her husband's administration and was the organizational engine of his brain, and Obama is the fresh politician with a positive vision of the future.
He then discussed his superior at the Washington Post who gave him frank advice in 1973. When asked if he would ever be able to get to the bottom of the Watergate investigation, Woodward told her "he never would." She then retorted: "I never want to hear 'never'." He took that advice to heart from there on out.
President Ford's decision to pardon Nixon was next, discussing the initial shock and disbelief of the action. During later years, as Woodward interviewed living presidents for his book Shadow, Ford's decision was largely understood and accepted, resulting in Ford receiving a Kennedy Library Profile in Courage award in 2001.
President George W. Bush and the Iraq war were next on the docket. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld commenting on the "ignorance and incompetence" of the intelligence (Rumsfeld's words) was an eye-opener. Sources stated Iraqi WMD evidence was "shaky at best", but the sources believed themselves that WMD's in fact existed. Woodward's great regret was his lack of pushing those sources more and to print the empirical lack of evidence rather than the hunches of insiders.
Book Four in his Woodward's Iraq war history is on the way, with vigorous work to be done in the upcoming three months to finish it. (That will make it Bush at War, Plan of Attack, State of Denial, and the yet-unnamed Book Four.)
Next topic, the public has a right to know what is going on, good news or bad. Transparency heals all ills. This disturbing notion recently of "secret government" does no one any good. "Democracies die in darkness." Nixon's rage and hate toward his enemies ultimately destroyed him, and the Bush administration delicately walks that fine line. Those who hate the political enemies who hate you will end up ruined in the process. Those presently or recently employed towards the top of our "secret government" are teetering on this ruination.
Woodward wrapped it up with tying the three candidates back into the fold. None of the three in Woodward's opinion are "haters" with respect to possible self-ruination. So there may be hope for our government in the near future after all.
(Of course if you ask us, there's only one candidate who adequately expresses hope, but you already know who that is...)
He began with a neutral third-party observation on the three remaining presidential candidates. Each has their positives: McCain has a willingness to accept and admit faults, Clinton was the de facto Chief of Staff during her husband's administration and was the organizational engine of his brain, and Obama is the fresh politician with a positive vision of the future.
He then discussed his superior at the Washington Post who gave him frank advice in 1973. When asked if he would ever be able to get to the bottom of the Watergate investigation, Woodward told her "he never would." She then retorted: "I never want to hear 'never'." He took that advice to heart from there on out.
President Ford's decision to pardon Nixon was next, discussing the initial shock and disbelief of the action. During later years, as Woodward interviewed living presidents for his book Shadow, Ford's decision was largely understood and accepted, resulting in Ford receiving a Kennedy Library Profile in Courage award in 2001.
President George W. Bush and the Iraq war were next on the docket. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld commenting on the "ignorance and incompetence" of the intelligence (Rumsfeld's words) was an eye-opener. Sources stated Iraqi WMD evidence was "shaky at best", but the sources believed themselves that WMD's in fact existed. Woodward's great regret was his lack of pushing those sources more and to print the empirical lack of evidence rather than the hunches of insiders.
Book Four in his Woodward's Iraq war history is on the way, with vigorous work to be done in the upcoming three months to finish it. (That will make it Bush at War, Plan of Attack, State of Denial, and the yet-unnamed Book Four.)
Next topic, the public has a right to know what is going on, good news or bad. Transparency heals all ills. This disturbing notion recently of "secret government" does no one any good. "Democracies die in darkness." Nixon's rage and hate toward his enemies ultimately destroyed him, and the Bush administration delicately walks that fine line. Those who hate the political enemies who hate you will end up ruined in the process. Those presently or recently employed towards the top of our "secret government" are teetering on this ruination.
Woodward wrapped it up with tying the three candidates back into the fold. None of the three in Woodward's opinion are "haters" with respect to possible self-ruination. So there may be hope for our government in the near future after all.
(Of course if you ask us, there's only one candidate who adequately expresses hope, but you already know who that is...)
1 comment:
In regards to the last paragraph...it's not the 3 candidates being "haters" that is the problem. IMO, it is the people on the fringes on both sides of the political spectrum (not just politicians) that are the "haters". They inhibit political compromising-the hallmark of democracy-from taking place. Instead of "here's what we agree on...lets go from there and hash out our differeces", we more often hear "how could we ever agree with that [conservative/liberal] &@#$%*."
The politics of division has dominated us for the majority of my life. It makes me sad.
Love,
Duke
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