What Do You Know?

Bob Woodward, editor of WASHINGTON POST, once half of reporter team Woodward & Bernstein that wrote investigative pieces which exposed Republican Party dirty dealings -- "Watergate" --led to hearings which led to tape recordings and admission of guilt in the form of Tricky Dick Nixon's resignation from presidency in disgrace...talking about "State of Denial" his latest book, to David Letterman.

Significant part of the book: material based on classified documents, which he said were difficult to obtain. Some came from people who wanted him to know things. He also got interviews. One: ON the Record with the President of Vice, so enraged "judge" Scalia's hunting partner, that one day Woodward picked up his phone, he said, to hear President of Vice swear, slam the phone. Ahhh...so dignified...veneer peeled....

Which part didn't the President of Vice care for --classified documents --insiders' sharing --or: that he opened his mouth and truth flew out, for a change--while a reporter was there to 'capture the moment'....

Woodward Told a Story
Woodward and his wife went to a social event in Washington and was seated at table with Vice President Al Gore and wife Tipper. He talked to Mr. Gore about the difficulty of getting information and he said:
"you were part of an administration for eight years, you were on the inside, you saw everything, you sat in on meetings, you know what it's like. How much do we know about what goes on?"

Vice President Gore: "1%"

Woodward was stunned. "Okay, supposing you wrote about your experience in office, what you saw and learned and you wrote a memoir. How much would we know then?"

--Woodward to Letterman: --I asked him --from all the things that happened while he was in office, what he knew, I figured if he wrote about it he would say something like 90% or maybe 80%.

Vice President Gore: "2%"

--Woodward: I was shocked. It keeps me up at night...wondering what we don't know...things I want to know....



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Mini Pop Quiz: How many military bases does the US have?
(No fair Googling the answer, just think about it.)

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Remember: Post Office Closed Saturday
--to honor the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month --Peace Accords & Treaties signed, ending World War I, the "war to end all wars"...we didn't learn much... germans declared War on the world, for the second time because of humiliation from the first one...11 million people died --6 million murdered plus 5 million babies, grandparents, beautiful young strong healthy men, writers, poets, mothers, painters, cousins and twins, architects, aunts and uncles, pilots, doctors, lovers...people with dreams... because the world wanted freedom and had no better remedy than to fight for it with life....


tag: Bob Woodward, book "State of Denial" mysteries, right-wingers, Watergate, Nixon, cancer of arrogance, war, politics, remedies