Caveat lector

THERE’S ONLY ONE WORD FOR JUDY WOODRUFF! Woodruff “interviewed” Sidney Blumenthal. And the Clinton wars only dragged on:

TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2003

THERE’S ONLY ONE WORD FOR JUDY WOODRUFF: The “Clinton wars” dragged sadly on when Sidney Blumenthal appeared on CNN’s Newsnight last night. Sadly, Judy Woodruff sat in for Aaron Brown. Believe it or not, here’s the way she introduced the brief interview session:

WOODRUFF: Remember the days of the little blue dress, the vast right-wing conspiracy, the scandals, the gossip, the wild accusations—and equally wild counter-accusations? Well, that was back before we talked about White House morning prayer sessions, parties that end at 8:00 p.m., back before there was a war in Iraq or a war on terror. It was a war, but a different kind: a fight for political survival, for posterity, from the inside of the Clinton administration.

Tonight, we have with us a man who was on the front lines of that war and who has written a book about his experience, it seems almost every minute of it.

Sidney Blumenthal, welcome to NEWSNIGHT. 800 pages! Someone said to me, this book is almost a counterattack, if it is anything at all. Is this administration, the Clinton administration, an administration that needed defending?

1. First thing mentioned? “The little blue dress.” Translation: Always make it All About Monica. Mention Monica first every time.
   
2. “Remember the wild accusations—and equally wild counter-accusations?” Translation: Prejudge the author’s theme. Say that Clinton’s people were just as crazy as the people who went after Bill.
   
3. “White House morning prayer sessions, parties that end at 8:00 p.m.” Translation: President Bush has restored honor and dignity to the White House.
   
4. “It was a war from inside the Clinton administration.” Translation: Misstate the theme of the author’s book. The “wars” of its title are conducted against Clinton, not by him.
   
5. Blumenthal “has written a book about his experience, it seems almost every minute of it.” Translation: This fuckin’ guy just won’t shut up. Sidney Blumenthal is deeply self-involved.
   
6. “Sidney Blumenthal, welcome to NEWSNIGHT. 800 pages!” Translation: See point 5, above.
   
7. “Someone said to me, this book is almost a counterattack, if it is anything at all.” Oh, just go ahead and laugh out loud! How’s this for a compliment: Blumenthal’s book is a counterattack, if it is anything at all! Translation: Try to convey your complete contempt for the book you’re pretending to profile.
   

WOODRUFF: Why did Bill Clinton—help us understand why he had the relationship he did with Monica Lewinsky?

WOODRUFF: You report—very quickly, Sidney Blumenthal—about Monica Lewinsky trying to get messages to the White House after she was subpoenaed by Ken Starr. How did those messages get to the White House, just quickly?

WOODRUFF: You also write about how the president, during the campaign of 2000, wished that he could, in so many words, have at the George Bush, George W. Bush campaign. At one point, you quoted, you said, because he would have, quote, “run their asses down.” What would Bill Clinton have done differently than Al Gore did, do you think?

Make no mistake—“the Clinton wars” are still being fought. They won’t stop until Woodruff’s cohort is gone. The invaluable web site, mediawhoresonline, has created the language for moments like this. Let’s face it: There’s nothing Judy Woodruff won’t do and say to keep asserting her cohort’s world view. It was they who conducted the “wars” of Blumenthal’s title, and they don’t intend to stop fighting them now. As we’ve told you, our public discourse lies in the hands of a deeply dysfunctional, deeply corrupt group. Judy Woodruff, spinning hard, makes us a genius once again.

VISIT OUR INCOMPARABLE ARCHIVES: During Campaign 2000, Woodruff and company expressed their contempt for Clinton by actively opposing his successor, Al Gore. During the primary season, of course, this required a Complete, Total Pander to Bradley. Sadly, Woodruff moderated the final Gore-Bradley debate in New Hampshire. Her opening “question” was one for the ages. See THE DAILY HOWLER, 8/7/02.

Be sure to read this report about Woodruff’s prior clowning—and mourn your corrupted public discourse. Yes, there’s only one word for Judy Woodruff. That other fine website has coined it.