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NanceGreggs

(27,817 posts)
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 09:38 PM Aug 2016

Oh, No You DON’T!

An Open Letter to Bob Woodward

Sir:

Having read your recent comments about “excessive rhetoric” from Trump’s opponents contributing to his completely unhinged statements, they are not only ludicrous, they are demonstrative of your own inability to responsibly opine on the current state of the presidential race – or, for that matter, to comment on anything of import.

As the oft-cited line of movie dialogue goes, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” What we presently have is an abysmal failure on the part of the mainstream media to accurately communicate the true nature of the current campaigns, and the positions held by the candidates.

We’ve all heard Trump’s outlandish remarks about Mexicans, Muslims, African-Americans, women, the disabled, et al. To seek to excuse those comments with the ”well, both sides are doing it” meme is beyond reprehensible. When was the last time you heard Hillary Clinton state that Mexicans are rapists, or that Muslim-Americans should be monitored by the government due to their penchant for terrorism?

“I think it's got to be said this is not just about Trump. A lot of the people who really are opposed to Trump, I think, are engaged in some excessive rhetoric also.”

I hate to be the one to break it to you, Bob, but what “people who are really opposed to Trump” and “people who are really opposed to Hillary” say is of zero consequence outside of the MSM’s constant need to devote their news coverage to “some people are saying”. The only thing that matters is what the candidates themselves are saying – and a candidate who suggests that gun-owners could take matters into their own hands to stop his opponent’s bid for the presidency far outweighs whatever “ungenerous rhetoric” you attribute to those who oppose him.

Perhaps you should review some old Sesame Street videos entitled “One of these things is not like the others …” They were developed as an educational tool to demonstrate to children that drawing equivalencies between three vegetables and a lug wrench is just plain silly – in the same way attempting to equate a candidate who speaks to the important issues of our times and a candidate who calls Barack Obama the “founder of ISIS” is beyond silly, and is especially ridiculous coming from an adult who really should know better. And you really should know better, despite the notion of your actually being a functioning adult being questionable for years.

We all understand that the mainstream media has to cast any presidential election as a horserace; it’s what keeps ill-informed asses firmly planted on the couch. The fact that you – a once revered and well-respected journalist – are contributing to this “well, both sides are equally responsible for ‘hyperbolic rhetoric’” is just another classic example of a washed-up has-been desperately trying to remain relevant in a world where washed-up has-beens serve no purpose beyond being the punchline to late-night talk-show political jokes.

To again reference a piece of movie dialogue, Bob: You could have been somebody. You could have been a contender. Instead you chose a one-way ticket to Palookaville. Maybe it’s time to stop pretending you’ve still got a shot at the title.

Yours Truly,
--- NanceGreggs


70 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Oh, No You DON’T! (Original Post) NanceGreggs Aug 2016 OP
Righteous Rant Sistah! Nt pkdu Aug 2016 #1
Thank you. Perfectly put. Glorfindel Aug 2016 #2
About time somebody calls out Woodward. bulloney Aug 2016 #3
Another one note footnote in history Augiedog Aug 2016 #10
Thanks, Nance. Sad, but Woodward's become just Hortensis Aug 2016 #66
Bob Woodward has been full of shit for a long, long time. MADem Aug 2016 #4
Completely agree mdbl Aug 2016 #30
Yeah, he coughed up all his journalism credentials for access to Bush so he could write . . . brush Aug 2016 #50
He's been banking on Watergate to avoid criticism for a long time. Lord Magus Aug 2016 #55
Really--I suppose those years in Naval Intelligence taught him how to coast along! nt MADem Aug 2016 #63
Wish I could rec 100 times! MoonRiver Aug 2016 #5
I will help with one REC now. did not see this OP earlier. Thank you Nance riversedge Aug 2016 #51
What an asshole. sheshe2 Aug 2016 #6
You could send that same letter to half of the blowhards on cable news channels Tobin S. Aug 2016 #7
The truth will out; sorry bob but you been truthed. Augiedog Aug 2016 #8
Please tell me you sent this to him mcar Aug 2016 #9
Sent! NanceGreggs Aug 2016 #12
That must be completely nauseating mdbl Aug 2016 #40
Great! mcar Aug 2016 #47
Woodward is intellectually lazy Dirty Socialist Aug 2016 #11
K&R!!! Haveadream Aug 2016 #13
DAYUM! BlancheSplanchnik Aug 2016 #14
Already sent. NanceGreggs Aug 2016 #16
Ohhhh yeah! BlancheSplanchnik Aug 2016 #34
My sentiments exactly major debacle Aug 2016 #17
K&R KMOD Aug 2016 #15
Thank you, Nance. SusanCalvin Aug 2016 #18
OMG ladym55 Aug 2016 #19
Well written and argued! Buckeye_Democrat Aug 2016 #20
Well Stated! WiffenPoof Aug 2016 #21
This is great Nance, thanks still_one Aug 2016 #22
Glad to see Nance telling it like it is! NT abbeyco Aug 2016 #23
K&R. nt UtahLib Aug 2016 #24
Tremendous, believe me! spooky3 Aug 2016 #25
Absolutely!! Rec! bravenak Aug 2016 #26
Boom madamesilverspurs Aug 2016 #27
You were too kind. madaboutharry Aug 2016 #28
K&R Gothmog Aug 2016 #29
Again. You've done it AGAIN, Nance. calimary Aug 2016 #31
Woodward quit being a "journalist" decades ago. (eom) oasis Aug 2016 #32
Whatever resepct he may have garnered because of Watergate is long gone amb123 Aug 2016 #33
Hope to see your letter in the NYT Editorial Page. Spot on!! Thanks. nt glennward Aug 2016 #35
Yeah, but remember 45 years ago when he did something worth while? world wide wally Aug 2016 #36
This is awesome! blondie58 Aug 2016 #37
This is nothing short of Brilliant! BooScout Aug 2016 #38
Thanks, Nance, Bob Woodward is full of Bob Woodward. What's he done since Watergate, anyway? marble falls Aug 2016 #39
What's he done since Watergate, anyway? mdbl Aug 2016 #41
The tragedy of being a one trick pony. marble falls Aug 2016 #43
Well Said! UCmeNdc Aug 2016 #42
Master weaver.......... MyOwnPeace Aug 2016 #44
Great letter. TrishaJ Aug 2016 #45
Yes we missed you voteearlyvoteoften Aug 2016 #46
Woodward is like a MSM power tool. StrictlyRockers Aug 2016 #48
Nothing unusual about "excessive rhetoric" cleveramerican Aug 2016 #49
in how many campaigns has there been talk of the size of candidates' penises? how many niyad Aug 2016 #57
Over the top is the new normal cleveramerican Aug 2016 #58
once again, I am going to point out that "both sides are NOT doing it", so stop it. niyad Aug 2016 #59
Quotation marks have been misused here cleveramerican Aug 2016 #60
Preach it, girl! leftofcool Aug 2016 #52
Woodward is not a journalist. He's a stenographer. kstewart33 Aug 2016 #53
He's an errand boy, awoke_in_2003 Aug 2016 #67
KA...BOOM!!! bearssoapbox Aug 2016 #54
I wish I could rec this as many times as it deserves. and I wish you could deliver niyad Aug 2016 #56
I hope this sizzling rant went out as an LTTE Hekate Aug 2016 #61
A Super Smackdown! ffr Aug 2016 #62
You're right, Nance WhiteHat Aug 2016 #64
K&R - Brilliant! SharonClark Aug 2016 #65
Fallacy of the golden mean Cary Aug 2016 #68
lolwut? Warren DeMontague Aug 2016 #69
I'm surprised... Mike Nelson Aug 2016 #70

bulloney

(4,113 posts)
3. About time somebody calls out Woodward.
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 09:46 PM
Aug 2016

I don't know what happened to Woodward since his Watergate investigation days. Maybe he's had a taste of being a big time celebrity and figures the only way to stay there is to be a big suck-up to big money interests in the media.

Hortensis

(58,785 posts)
66. Thanks, Nance. Sad, but Woodward's become just
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 04:39 PM
Aug 2016

another hack running with the pack and saying what'll get him invited back.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
4. Bob Woodward has been full of shit for a long, long time.
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 09:46 PM
Aug 2016

He is the walking definition of ten pounds worth in a five pound bag~! A pompous blivet~!

brush

(53,843 posts)
50. Yeah, he coughed up all his journalism credentials for access to Bush so he could write . . .
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 10:12 AM
Aug 2016

those fawning, ass kissing books.

What a maroon — both Woodward and W.

Lord Magus

(1,999 posts)
55. He's been banking on Watergate to avoid criticism for a long time.
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 11:38 AM
Aug 2016

I have to wonder if he was just riding Bernstein's coattails for that too.

Tobin S.

(10,418 posts)
7. You could send that same letter to half of the blowhards on cable news channels
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 09:50 PM
Aug 2016

and it would also apply. Just change the name.

mcar

(42,372 posts)
9. Please tell me you sent this to him
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 09:58 PM
Aug 2016

It is perfect. I once greatly admired him as a real journalist. Now he's just a tool.

NanceGreggs

(27,817 posts)
12. Sent!
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 10:14 PM
Aug 2016

I always send copies of my "open letters" to the intended recipients - which explains why I regularly receive emails from people like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan et al.

They automatically add your email address to their fundraiser rolls - too stupid to actually READ what you've had to say.

mdbl

(4,973 posts)
40. That must be completely nauseating
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 06:10 AM
Aug 2016

"I regularly receive emails from people like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan et al."

Once in a while I receive some whacked out flyer from one of the RWNJ's in congress. It's like listening to Mush Limpballs, Neil Buttz or Fux Nooze. Intentionally misleading, manipulative and false. Feel free to add your own distasteful right wing propaganda organization to the list.

BlancheSplanchnik

(20,219 posts)
34. Ohhhh yeah!
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 02:12 AM
Aug 2016

That's what I'm talkin about

Wish we could see his face.

Send it to NY Times op eds page, Washington Post, etc. too!

ladym55

(2,577 posts)
19. OMG
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 10:33 PM
Aug 2016
Perhaps you should review some old Sesame Street videos entitled “One of these things is not like the others …” They were developed as an educational tool to demonstrate to children that drawing equivalencies between three vegetables and a lug wrench is just plain silly




On a day when all the M$M BS was really getting to me, your letter to Bob ("I was a journalist way back in the day&quot really hit home.

Thanks for calling out the stupid.

WiffenPoof

(2,404 posts)
21. Well Stated!
Fri Aug 12, 2016, 10:40 PM
Aug 2016

As usual...

But I think the quote is "What we have here is failure to communicate." Not "What we have here is a failure to communicate."

-P

calimary

(81,458 posts)
31. Again. You've done it AGAIN, Nance.
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 12:53 AM
Aug 2016

That false equivalency shit drives me nuts! It's a lazy asshole's attempt at alleged "journalism" - to do the "Both sides! Both sides! Both sides do it!" WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!! Both sides DO NOT do it!!!

I remember watching Rachel Maddow make that point almost to the point of ridiculousness - that sometimes there IS NO "opposing view," and to elevate "both sides" to an equal footing is really a dereliction of journalistic duty. She gave, as an example, how you do NOT invite someone from the Flat Earth Society to opine about something NASA just did in Earth orbit, okay? You just don't do it. There is no justification for it whatsoever. But too many people on the air these days feel the need to prove their graduation from the Chuck Todd School of "Journalism" - wherein you've "done" your "job" by inviting opposing representatives in, and representative A says blah-blah-blah and then cue the representative B who says blah-blah-blah, and then you the host wind it up with your trusty-musty "well, we're gonna have to leave it there." Yay. You've given equal time. So you're done, right? WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!!

DAMMIT! Any wonder why the public is so abysmally ill-informed? THERE'S your answer. Right there.

amb123

(1,581 posts)
33. Whatever resepct he may have garnered because of Watergate is long gone
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 02:11 AM
Aug 2016

and gone forever. Now he's a mere talking-head just like the rest of the MSM.

Hey MSM (now including Bob). I've got some news for you: EQUIVALENCY IS NOT FACT!

blondie58

(2,570 posts)
37. This is awesome!
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 03:58 AM
Aug 2016

And please- send it as an op Ed to the NYT or the Washington Post. It would be a shame to keep this from so many eyes.

Nice to see you again!

MyOwnPeace

(16,937 posts)
44. Master weaver..........
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 08:13 AM
Aug 2016

What I've missed from Nance is the marvelous way she weaves her arguments - until the spider has completely entrapped the prey in the web - as has been done SO well in this tome.
SESAME STREET (who didn't start singing the song after reading the first few words!) - just a fantastic way to drive it home.
Welcome back, Nance - I've missed your brilliance!

StrictlyRockers

(3,855 posts)
48. Woodward is like a MSM power tool.
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 10:00 AM
Aug 2016

He's such a freaking tool. He gets access by writing self-serving drivel like this that the powers that be want to hear.

"What we in the MSM are doing is fine. Our false-equivalencies are fair and balanced. I'll add to it with my well-reasoned piece on 'excessive rhetoric'".

niyad

(113,550 posts)
57. in how many campaigns has there been talk of the size of candidates' penises? how many
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 12:26 PM
Aug 2016

campaigns have called for foreign interference? how many campaigns have called for the assassination of an opponent?

the worthless piece of filth that is donald trump has gone far beyond "excessive rhetoric", and NOTHING the democats do or say comes even close. so no false equivalencies, thank you.

cleveramerican

(2,895 posts)
58. Over the top is the new normal
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 12:34 PM
Aug 2016

With each cycle it ramps up and we are never ever going to see it return to polite exchange of ideas

Of course we've taken a few huge steps downward, We always do

kstewart33

(6,551 posts)
53. Woodward is not a journalist. He's a stenographer.
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 11:31 AM
Aug 2016

Woodward wrote glowing books about GW Bush when he was popular. They read like overly long press releases issued from the White House. Then Bush's popularity died, and Woodward followed suit with a negative tome. Whatever direction the wind blows, Woodward follows.

bearssoapbox

(1,408 posts)
54. KA...BOOM!!!
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 11:38 AM
Aug 2016

Well Stated!

With the work that Woodward has done since WaterGate has made me wonder how much of WaterGate was his work.

Always love reading your posts.

niyad

(113,550 posts)
56. I wish I could rec this as many times as it deserves. and I wish you could deliver
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 12:24 PM
Aug 2016

that letter to that bloviating jerk in a manner befitting his behaviour.

Hekate

(90,788 posts)
61. I hope this sizzling rant went out as an LTTE
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 12:59 PM
Aug 2016

I've wondered for a long time whatever happened to the hero of Watergate. He should be so ashamed.

 

WhiteHat

(129 posts)
64. You're right, Nance
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 03:56 PM
Aug 2016

It's been literally decades since Bob Woodward, a one-time hero of mine, has demonstrated any interest in the literal truth.

He's been simply going through the motions for over 20 years. How sad. Once I thought Woodward was a hero. Now it's obvious he's just "mailing it in," filling column inches with wordswordswords that have no value whatsoever.

Mike Nelson

(9,966 posts)
70. I'm surprised...
Sat Aug 13, 2016, 08:46 PM
Aug 2016

...Woodward hasn't published a negative Hillary "hit" book about now. Either he's slipping or knew it wouldn't sell in the Trump coverage.

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