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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2. One oft-made defense of Woodward is that he was acting as an "author" and not a "journalist." But that hardly makes sense since his books are themselves a form of journalism. And journalism carries ethical obligations.pic.twitter.com/3wKJGSwz0y
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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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Replying to @HeerJeet
I think you mean Clarendon, unless you think Claremont was just recounting court gossip about Professor X.
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Argue yes Clarendon. But now that you mention it, Claremont was also a court chronicler!
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