Gushy press coverage of Bob Woodward's new book is a disgrace

September 5, 2018
Gushy press coverage of Bob Woodward's new book is a disgrace
By Jack Hellner
A
https://www.americanthinker.com/blo..._of_bob_woodwards_new_book_is_a_disgrace.html

Washington Post biggie Bob Woodward's swamp bestseller, called "Fear," claiming the Trump administration is having a 'nervous breakdown,' is now out, and the press is having a field day.

They're busy repeating the claims of this anonymously sourced book, chapter and verse, because it's a book that says exactly what they want it to say. And who knows, maybe they'd like a job from him, too.

But this kind of uncritical reportage is problematic, and not for just minor reasons.

Why does the media just repeat the stuff in Woodward's book with no independent verification? They're so-called reporters, so it's their job to treat everything they cover with some reasonable skepticism. In this, they don't show it.

What's more, Woodward's book, with all its unsubstantiated, and oh, by the way, noticibly negative claims, breaks the most basic rules of journalism, which ought to be a red flag to the rest of them.

All it seems to be is third parties, and anonymous sources supposedly telling Woodward what others have said.

How is that any different from the recent press scandal, that where Woodward's former partner in crime, (or whatever), Carl Bernstein, got caught quoting the lies from Lanny Davis about Michael Cohen?

And this being the Woodward end of that Woodstein team, how is it any different from the controversy Woodward ginned up for himself back in 1987, when he claimed to have gotten a 'deathbed confession' from the dying former Reagan-era CIA director, Bill Casey knew about arms trafficking during the Iran-Contra scandal because "I believed." Casey's widow said that was an utter fabrication. Something he made up to sell books. Others speculated that Casey, who was barely able to speak from his hospital bed, was telling Woodward "please leave."

Now we have more of the same from 'deathbed confession' Woodward, claiming that President Trump's chief of staff, General John Kelly, called Trump an "idiot" and said he had a terrible job. Weird, because Kelly just signed up for two more years. Why is an anonymous source more credible than Kelly?

It gets worse. Supposedly, Defense Secretary, General Jim Mattis, said President Trump knew little about foreign policy, but Mattis obviously didn't tell Woodward that.

What we have is another gossip book from cowards too cowardly to come out and say what they want to say, probably fearing they'd get the slander and libel lawsuits they's deserve. But since the book trashes Trump, the media treats it as if it is the truth.

As if this hasn't been habitually happening in the mainstream press since the beginning of the Trump administration. Remember Michael Wolff's hideous book. Remember the strange claims from Omarosa Manicault-Newman's book. It's rubbish and distortions. How many anonymous sources have to give the media made-up info before they quit printing it?
Yet this is the same media that buried stories about the Clintons and women, and the same media that buried the Weinstein story, most notably NBC.

The press doesn't look good in this. And it's playing the same game that has got it into so much discredit with the public. Now they're trying to shove this on us. We're not buying.

Jim Mattis Calls Woodward Book ‘Fiction’: ‘Product of Someone’s Rich Imagination’
by KRISTINA WONG 4 Sep 2018

https://www.breitbart.com/big-gover...fiction-product-of-someones-rich-imagination/

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Tuesday slammed Bob Woodward’s book about the Trump administration, which claimed he had said the president had the understanding of a “fifth or sixth grader.”
“The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward’s book were never uttered by me or in my presence. While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility,” Mattis said in a statement.

Notably, the statement came while he was traveling to South Asia, to work on advancing the U.S.-India defense relationship. It came just hours after the Washington Post published an article on the book, which also claimed that Mattis and Chief of Staff John Kelly had made derogatory remarks about the president.

Mattis continued:

While responsible policy making in the real world is inherently messy, it is also essential that we challenge every assumption to find the best option. I embrace such debate and the open competition of ideas. In just over a year, these robust discussions and deliberations have yielded significant results, including the near annihilation of the ISIS caliphate, unprecedented burden sharing by our NATO allies, the repatriation of U.S. service member remains from North Korea, and the improved readiness of our armed forces. Our defense policies have also enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress.

Click to expand...

Since he took office, Mattis has repeatedly batted down to reporters the notion that he is out of step with President Trump. Earlier this year, he called an NBC News story that Pentagon leadership had gone into “damage control mode” hours after Trump left the NATO summit “fiction.”

Breitbart News exclusively reported that Mattis had actually told senators that the summit was one of the “most productive” he had ever attended. He said publicly last week during a press conference that others felt the same.

Finally, he called the suggestion that he would show contempt for Trump or tolerate disrespect for the office within the Pentagon a “product of someone’s rich imagination.”

“In serving in this administration, the idea that I would show contempt for the elected Commander-in-Chief, President Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the President from within our Department of Defense, is a product of someone’s rich imagination.”

I was chatting with my very liberal sister-in-law yesterday about the book.

We were both in agreement that the media coverage, especially from CNN, was hysterical. There was really nothing new in the book. We know that 'insiders' and 'establishment' people do not like Trump. We know they insult him. We know that he is a hard to work for boss. There were all "breaking news" stories, albeit a good bit more sensationalized by CNN, on the TV yesterday.

WTF? Nothing new. Nothing breaking. Nothing exciting. Just CNN drooling because someone agrees with them.