Oh Spare Me, WaPo

Today’s Editorial in the Washington Post defends Bob Woodward and, of course, totally misses the point. Dear WaPo Editors: It’s not the fact that Bob Woodward protected his sources that has outraged us, you morons. It’s that Bob Woodward was swanning around downplaying the Wilson/Plame outing while at the same time he was in the thick of the Wilson/Plame outing himself. It’s that Bob Woodward was protecting the White House while he knew full well that White House officials had divulged Valerie Plame’s CIA status to punish her husband for revealing Bush administration lies. We all know that Bob Woodward can keep secrets. We’re not upset that Bob Woodward would not reveal a source. We’re upset that he made on-the-record comments about how insignificant the Wilson/Plame case was, while knowing that he himself had key info and that the Wilson/Plame case was of vital importance. The current issue of Time mag reports that Woodward came forward when he realized on October 28th that his informant had told him about Wilson’s wife earlier than Libby’s informant. Oh really? Here’s a man, Bob Woodward, who has extraordinary access to the White House. He comes and goes and interviews the Prez and the Prez’s men as he damn well pleases. And he suddenly realizes what he knew and when he knew it was before Libby’s epiphany? I don’t think so. Bob Woodward has known all along that he was the first reporter to have gotten the poop about Valerie Plame from a White House official. And for whatever reason…maybe someone threatened to rat Woodward out…but for whatever reason, Woodward suddenly understood he could no longer protect the White House and therefore he came forward. The Time mag article says Woodward asked his source three times to release him from their confidentiality agreement—once in 2004 and twice in 2005. Woodward says that when he told his source that their conversation was earlier than Libby’s conversation with his source, Woodward’s source said, "he or she had no alternative but to go to the prosecutor." Please! See, Mr. and Mrs. Washington Post, the whole thing doesn’t scan and we don’t trust Bob Woodward anymore. We think he’s a lying sack of shit just like the guys in the White House that he has been protecting. So Bob Woodward can wave the flag, and talk about protecting his sources, all he wants. And you can defend this lying sack of shit all you want. But it’s been 34 years since Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein made the Washington Post proud with their reporting on Watergate. So whether you want to admit it or not, little by little and inch by inch, Bob Woodward has used the Washington Post to advance his position as paid shill for the GOP. And now you can take your apologia and shove it.