Word: woodwarding
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...uncertainty and darkness of that time. The excerpts of TV appearances by Nixon, Agnew, Kleindienst, and other Humpty Dumpties about to fall are simply funny; their straight-faced optimism and flat denials sound ludicrous. The power to inspire fear and loathing has gone out of these men. So Woodward and Bernstein seem to be working against paper tigers that we know don't stand a chance. This curious impression is strengthened by the fact that the "bad" characters appear only on TV news clips. All the President's Men is something of a morality play, yet the only characters portrayed...
That criticism of the new Bob Woodward-Carl Bernstein Watergate book, The Final Days (Simon & Schuster; $10.95), is typical of the reaction of most Nixon associates. By and large: 1) they make no claims that the book contains any substantial factual errors; 2) they protest that the total portrayal is a distortion; 3) they offer criticism with the stipulation that the source of the complaint not be publicly named...
...behavior have been published? Kissinger authorized a statement deploring the authors' "indecent lack of compassion." Betty Ford argued that parts of the book "could have been omitted." One of Watergate's heroes, former Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, went further, saying of those who talked to Woodward and Bernstein: "They should be ashamed of themselves...
...second criticism deserves more attention. The scolding reporters and editors are right, in a sense: a reporter shouldn't put quotation marks around something he can't prove was said, seactly as he quotes it. But in this extraordinary case, Woodward and Bernstein had to choose between quoting nothing of the important drama that paralleled Nixon's disintegration, writing a version attributed to the principals in the episode (whose statements for the record were certain to be self-serving of false), or reconstructing quotes as best they could from anonymous sources, many of whom kept detailed diaries. They made...
...first criticism argues that evidence of a president's insanity is privileged information. Undoubtedly its strongest supporters are those who protested, as Woodward and Bernstein were unraveling the Watergate scandal three years ago, that it was improper to ask about a president's criminality...