Bob Woodward: A People's Advocate

I recently had the honor of being invited to a state dinner at which Bob Woodward, one of two journalists famous for exposing the corruption of President Richard Nixon, was to be the keynote speaker. I honestly doubted that he would speak on politics all that much but was pleasantly surprised when my doubt was disproven. He spoke of Watergate and of politics since the infamous scandal. He also spoke in great depth on the state of politics today. I would like to record for you some of what he said for much of it will likely be surprising to both Liberals and Conservatives.

Watergate: Symptom Of A Corrupt President

The first thing Woodward said of Watergate was that it is, to people in his generation, "like Vietnam- a memory seared into your mind." He said that it proves why journalists and other investigators need to have anonymous sources. Without them, he suggested, it's too easy for the powerful to use fear and manipulation to prevent the truth of their actions from getting out.

"The President has immense power, and the possibility of having someone setup a secret government as Nixon did is the greatest danger we face," he said. "Watergate wasn't one event but a series of secret, criminal events and operations. When we published Watergate, most people didn't believe it. It was overpowering to see such a small man (Nixon) use the Presidency as an instrument of revenge."

At this point, a student asked Woodward if he thinks, as so many Americans seem to, that there are no good journalists in the business today. He responded that there are good journalists and said he believes the problem with today's media is that most people focus on the 24/7 broadcast media, which care more about being first with the story than first with the facts. "Journalists should be strict constructionists, not advocates of one way or another," he said.

To illustrate his point, he brought up a recent luncheon he had with former Vice President Al Gore. At the luncheon, he said Gore asked him, "Why aren't you bringing Bush down?" To which Woodward replied, "Becoming a political tool isn't my job; Being a people's advocate and providing facts is."

After this, he returned to the subject of live media and said that he believes it has gone downhill because, "pomposity has infected the profession and now they (the live reporters) are judging instead of describing."

At this point, the subject of discussion turned to President Bush.

An Interview With President Bush

At this point, Woodward began the discussion with a few questions to the audience. The first question was, "How many of you voted for President Bush last year?" The audience was split with about 60 yeas and about 60 neas. "How many of you in the audience think Bush's tax cuts were good?" The audience was biased on this with only about 20 yeas to 100 neas. "How many of you support the war in Iraq?" The audience was biased on this also, with only about 20 yeas to 100 neas.

"The Iraq war has become the center of the emotional state in this country," he noted. "The decision to go to war is the most serious a President can make and it defines us to the world but more importantly it defines us to ourselves."

Working on a book about Bush, he said he once interviewed the President for three-and-a-half-hours. He said that contrary to the experiences of many other journalists, Bush gave direct answers. When he asked Bush what his motives were for the war, Bush said, "We have a duty to free people." Woodward said he followed this answer with the question that turned out to be the last of the interview. "How will history remember the war, Mr President?" Woodward said Bush stood up, walked around the Oval Office for a bit and then turned and said, "I don't know- we'll all be dead."

Woodward said going to war takes courage, whether for the right or wrong reasons. Courage is the most important trait for any President to have. "Courage often means walking the road alone and re-examining your decisions," he explained. "I believe every President since Nixon truly believed their policies would help America. They had courage."

Again, Woodward returned to the matter of judging people. He said it is impossible to judge people and their actions without understanding the full scope of those actions and their consequences. Bush is judged for the war but until we know how it will play out in the end, Woodward said, we can't truly know the story. That makes it very hard to judge.

Just before he finished his address, Woodward said he doesn't think Bush invaded Iraq for oil. He said Bush truly believes he is doing the right thing. "I think Bush's goal is to liberate Iraq, Iraqi oil and then hand Iraqi oil over to Iraqis," he said. With this, he took a few small questions about his books then sat down to dinner.

Conclusion

In short, I will leave my readers to draw their own conclusions. I enjoyed the address and felt that Woodward's vast knowledge of Washington only proves what I already believe: that good and evil do exist but that they are not absolutes which can be judged with rhetorical opinions and bias. Only by collecting all the facts of a story and looking at each detail equally can we even come close to accurately judging whether something is good or evil. Apart from that, I will leave you good people to your own thoughts.