Two of a Kind
By Pat Caddell
It is not without a bit of irony that, in the 40 years since the
explosion of the Watergate story, Bob Woodward would again be under
attack from the White House for trying to tell the truth. But this time
the attack is coming from a Democrat.
While Barack Obama may not share the Nixon pedigree, he and his White
House are the closest thing to the Nixon regime of any that we have
seen since then -- both in the extent of their paranoia and their
willingness to suppress the truth and push the boundaries of law.
In my lifetime, in over 40 years in national politics, Mr. Obama is
the only president who comes close to rivaling Richard Nixon for
fundamental disingenuousness.
In my lifetime, Barack Obama is the only president who comes close to rivaling Richard Nixon for fundamental disingenuousness.
However, some things never change, just as Woodward and Bernstein
were attacked then by the establishment mainstream media for daring to
question a president -- or do a story that they wouldn't touch -- they
are once again attacking Woodward the way they did when he and Carl
Bernstein pursued Watergate.
As the youngest person on Nixon's enemies list in 1972, I am
particularly sensitive to a White House where they have utter disregard
for trampling on dissent and on the rights of individuals.
Since Benghazi, when I raised the alarm about a media that was not
only willing to blatantly support one political party or one political a
candidate but for the first time seemed willing to suppress or ignore
the facts and truth as related to a disaster of American foreign policy,
my fear has been that we are now on a slippery slope. Almost everything
since then has helped to realize that fear. Chuck Hagel, the sequester,
Mr. Obama's speeches -- all of these have revealed a mainstream press
that has absolutely decided to wear its bias openly as outriders of the
Obama administration. Except for one issue -- when the president refused
to allow reporters to cover him and Tiger Woods playing golf together.
Now that's something they can get riled up about.
What this Woodward, White House sequester battle highlights is the
crisis in our democracy. Not so much for what it says about Mr. Obama
and his administration but for what it says about the establishment
press and all the members of my own party.
During Watergate, there were a number of Republicans who were willing
to stand against the president of their party in defense of the United
States of America.
Sadly, as as Democrat, I must confess, that today there is no
Democratic Senator or member of the House who appears to be willing to
publicly put the country ahead of Barack Obama's White House.
As important as these other issues are, however, nothing rivals Benghazi.
During the Chuck Hagel confirmation fight, it was revealed that to
this day, neither the public nor the Congress know the names of those
who were evacuated out of Benghazi. Nor have we ever seen the
transcripts of the interviews which were conducted immediately after the
event.
The White House's excuse, that this information cannot be revealed
because of an FBI investigation, is eerily and frighteningly similar to
Nixon telling H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman to "turn off" the
Watergate investigation as it threatened national security.
Sadly, it now appears that Director Mueller and the FBI are willing
to serve, once again, as an instrument of cover up for an administration
-- this time following a tragedy in which 4 Americans are now dead.
As much as I have always admired Bob Woodward and admire now him in
the sequester fight and for his willingness to take on the White House, I
cannot refrain from expressing my disappointment that this man, who did
such a service for the country 40 years ago, has essentially taken
himself off the boards of the Benghazi fiasco. I wish that if Woodward
were to get in a fight, he would do it on an issue that really matters
to the safety of the United States.
Patrick
Caddell is a Democratic pollster and Fox News contributor. He served as
pollster for President Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Joe Biden and others.
He is a Fox News political analyst and co-host of "Campaign Insiders"
Sundays on Fox News Channel and Mondays at 10:30 am ET on "FoxNews.com Live."
http://tinyurl.com/afy2eyg
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