Woodword’s Title Is Untrue. Meant to Attract Sales?

That the first term in office of President Obama suffered a “leadership gap” is a very wrong statement by Bob Woodward, the Watergate-famed reporter and the author of a recently published book, ”The Price of Politics.” Could it be that Woodward chose a title that can do well in a rapidly changing book market, attract talk show hosts and rake in more money?

The so-called “leadership gap” is not that of the President, who, in spite of the recalcitrant and stubborn, Tea-Party-manipulated Republican Party, recorded the following significant triumphs:

He confronted head-on the economic meltdown; turned around the auto industry, caused money to flow again to help states, communities and schools, arrived at $25 billion settlement with the country’s banks to provide relief to homeowners, stopped more than 800,000 foreclosures, established new rules for Wall Street, revamped the health care system to help some 50 million uninsured and underinsured, reduced taxes (which largely went unnoticed), and succeeded in difficult negotiations on the debt ceiling with Republicans hell-bent on paralyzing the government. He brought back the troops and decimated the perennial threat of Osama bin Laden. These were no mean accomplishments.

If there was a lack of leadership it was the lack of statesmanship, fair play and decency on the part of the Republicans who believed from the beginning that the path to success in 2012 is through non-cooperation and continued badmouthing of the President. They continually fought against every move of the President designed to help the common person. They painfully prolonged the debt ceiling and balanced budget debate and continually fought against the health care bill even after it became the law of the land. When Obama sent the $447 billion jobs bill that would bring jobs to the unemployed and veterans, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said it would dead on arrival. At one time in the heat of the debt ceiling crisis, Speaker of the House John Boehner even refused to return the President’s call. It was appropriate that once the President quoted Jimi Hendrix’s song, “They treat me like a dog.”

Therefore, it is grossly inappropriate and a dereliction of responsibility and civic duty to provide unbalanced reporting on any president, more so this president who will become one of the nation’s greatest when he wins a second term. Mr. Woodward brought down one president; he should not, through false analytical reporting, bring down another.

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