All the President's Men II
As the Plame-gate story widens, perhaps the greatest scandal revealed so far is the level of communication going on at the Washington Post between the reporters (Walter Pincus) and the editors (Bob Woodward). The New York Times reports on this critical exchange:
"The way [Bob Woodward] describes it, which is he walked by and said something about Wilson's wife being at C.I.A., I have absolutely no memory of it at all," Mr. Pincus said in a telephone interview. "And I think he may say that my reaction was 'What!' " like I was surprised. He now thinks I may never have heard him, and said, 'What?' "
And the fate of a nation hangs on an implied punctuation mark.
The foundations of journalism of have always been taught as "Who, What, Why, When, Where, and How?" I think the Washington Post needs to take a step back and start teaching "Hunh? What?, Eh?, Pardon? and Whachu talkin' 'bout?"
It's the primary political story in the country and the accuracy of the Washington Post coverage hinges on a two sentence conversation held while Bob Woodward doesn't break stride on the way to the caffeteria. It'll be interesting to see how Robert Redford handles this in the movie.
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