1. Make no mistake: the taped comments Trump made to Woodward in February & March are very damaging to Trump. But as so often in Trump era, elite norms have given Trump an out: it's fair to ask why, given import of Trump's words, Woodward was silent for months. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1304042651147284480 …
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3. To reframe: what is Bob Woodward? He himself says he's a kind of historian -- writing the second draft of history after daily newspaper writers do the first draft. But if he's a historian it's a very narrow sort: a court chronicler.
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4. As a court chronicler Woodward is following in the footsteps of Sima Qian, Suetonius, Claremont & the duc de Saint-Simon, writing books that are long on gossip & palace intrigue & short on analysis.
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5. In a brilliant 1996 dissection of Woodward, Joan Didion noted, “Mr. Woodward’s rather eerie aversion to engaging the ramifications of what people say to him" and the “disinclination of Mr. Woodward’s to exert cognitive energy on what he is told.”
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6. Some more thoughts on how Woodward uncovered a new scandal but himself became part of the scandal.https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/woodward-scoop-trump-coronavirus/ …
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End of conversation
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On balance, I think that Woodward should have released the tapes right away, because it could have saved lives. However, I also believe that, in reality, it would not have saved lives. Most people would have shrugged and moved on. At least now, the tapes might have more impact.
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But Woodward didn’t act as an American, did he?
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