"In the midst of all the excitement over the GOP congress’s under-age cyberstalking, I hope that we don’t lose sight of the other white meat — Woodward’s astonishing revelations in his new book ‘State of Denial.’"
Slate’s John Dickerson says:
The book paints the administration as clueless, dishonest, and dysfunctional. The behind-the-scenes anecdotes are irresistible. Laura Bush telling her husband he should fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Vice President Cheney pushing aides to call the chief weapons inspector in the middle of the night with coordinates for a site in Syria that might have those elusive weapons. Secret White House visits by Henry Kissinger. Bush having to tell Rumsfeld to return Condoleezza Rice’s calls. Memos describing Rumsfeld’s "rubber glove syndrome" — he didn’t want to leave fingerprints on decisions.
State of Denial is a significant blow to the president both politically and strategically. Politically it comes after the 9/11 anniversary restored some of Bush’s popularity and improved voters’ feelings about his administration’s competency…. As a policy matter, the book undermines Bush’s attempts to strengthen the national will for the long and drawn-out fight ahead…. [Woodward] charges the president has not been straight with the American people about how bad things are in Iraq and how much worse it’s going to get.
The thing about Woodward’s book is that — like his prior books favorable to the Bush Administration — it is an account based on factually accounts from inside the White House. Woodward isn’t merely espousing his opinion; he’s reporting facts which shed light on the most secretive of all presidencies.