State of Denial

Many of us on the left, myself included, criticized Bob Woodward's previous books about the Bush administration. Too chummy, too cocktail party gossipy, too inside the beltway.

Well we were right, but then so too was Bob Woodward. With his latest book, Woodward uses all those inside connections we so rightly criticized, and puts them to devastating use against the Whitehouse.

(Some review and analysis here, here, and here).

In retrospect I have to wonder whether Woodward was consciously or unconsciously setting BushCorp™ up. Perhaps his reporter's instincts simply told him that to ultimately get to the evil heart of the Bush crime family he would have to go into deep cover, if you will, by pretending to buy their load of bull, and convince them that he was indeed buying sincerely.

But regardless, as the flurry of Whitehouse denials indicates, Woodward has indeed struck a nerve.