Unfortunately, he misses the point. Woodward always reflects the current DC consensus, and never probes any deeper than transcribing what he's been told on the beltway.

Trump is a symptom. In this case, an untreated brown recluse bite rotting a permanent hole in the flesh of this decade. He's also propped up by voters who have been hurt by the disparity run by the 1%; the same 1% that then pass tax bills increasing that disparity, that in turn increases the anger of those voters who work all the harder for them, hoping things will get better, and it is all fed, sustained and kept riled up by Fox-News.

The problem did not begin with Trump This has been going on for decades. Certainly for as long as I've been aware of politics.

1) the disparity run by the 1%; the same 1% that then pass tax bills increasing that disparity
2) Trump

are two different problems.

When the ship is taking on water at an alarming rate and is in imminent danger of sinking, it’s undoubtedly helpful that someone point a finger at the giant hole in the hull that a large fraction of the crew is pointedly ignoring and shouts, “Hey, we’ve got a problem here. Don't fucking ignore it!” It is also important and relevant that the ship is blithely sailing through a field of mines and icebergs that will surely doom the voyage unless the navigation crew gets its shit together and change course. While fact 1 may be a direct consequence of fact 2, fact 2 does not in any way diminish the importance or urgency of fact 1.

Hopefully the writing quality in this one will be better than what's been in the others. They are all rushed out so fast there's glaring typos and errors, and even after rushing, these seem to be out-of-date in a month.

This is Woodward. Look up his bio- he is one of the most respected political authors in the States, and the prime contributor to TWO Pulitzers for the Washington Post.

This is the author of "All The President's Men" (Robert Redford in the movie, for those of you who don't read). This is the journalist who spent the most time with W after 9/11, and covered his presidency extensively.

This is NOT a kook with a grudge, or a fool with some info.

This is a big fish, a Republican who covers Republicans in a positive light- this man believed it when he was told that Iraq had WMDs, and he later feuded with the Obama administration.

In short, this is about the most respected political writer Republicans can bring forth....... and he just told the world that (amongst other things) Trump is clearly unfit for office in the eyes of both the Republican party and HIS OWN STAFF, and that his aides are hiding things from him in the interest of National Security, so that shit doesn't REALLY go sideways.

This is your America.

Thank you - I'm definitely putting this in the 'To Read' pile.

We're so fucked.

Live in this district, voted for Capuano. The way the media is spinning this story is pretty much backwards.

Pressley actually had the support of establishment figures and had previously been a Clinton surrogate. Capuano is further left than she is especially on economic issues. Hopefully Pressley can do some good things but I can't help but feel this is a net loss for progressivism.

I read it as a tossup as far is progressive vs 3rd way...I could agree as slight loss for the progressive side. But a definite win for new blood at the top.

(+1 informative but can't vote.)

Y'know i usually keep an eye on these kinds of posts for the "robust discussion" that goes around, but it's been awfully quiet on one side of the room...

The West Wing came to a virtual standstill yesterday after The Washington Post published the first excerpts of Bob Woodward’s upcoming book, Fear. The book by the veteran White House chronicler portrays Donald Trump as an unhinged and ill-informed commander in chief surrounded by aides who doubt his intelligence and question his fitness for office. “It’s pandemonium.
He literally isn’t talking to anyone. He’s canceled meetings and is on the phone calling up his friends,” one source said. Current and former staffers, meanwhile, pointed fingers in all directions as they sought to deflect blame for the damaging leaks. “I’d rather be an unapologetic defender of Donald Trump than Judas,” one West Wing official told me.


“Everybody on the Inside Knows It’s True”: Woodward’s Reality Bomb Is Blowing Up the West Wing “Pandemonium” reigns as Trump cancels meetings, a top aide bemoans “Judas” colleagues, Jared and Ivanka try to talk sense into the president, and Gary Cohn wonders how he came off.

He has friends?

Sure. John Barron, John Miller, and David Dennison.

A politician finally gives the people who voted for him exactly what they wanted, and everybody's all up in his business.

And in the 2018 elections. I have maintained that there is a +10 dem advantage in the generic ballot. according to the newest polls it is climbing

Emersen - DEM +13
Washington Post/ABC - DEM +14
USA Today/Suffolk - DEM +11

DEMS hold double digit lead over GOP in weekend CONG polls

I'll old to my +10 for a while longer to see if this turn into a trend...if it does it means the Senate is up for grabs. +15 flips the Senate.

80% chance of +15 for the Democrats on the low end, at this point, according to 538. Nate & Co. certainly have a good track record and solid number sources. Median is about 30, high is 56. But there's always a chance that you roll a 1 or a natural 20 on your Save Against Politics throw.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2018-midterm-election-forecast/house/?ex_cid=rrpromo

Oh, in the house I see a 30 to 56 as a reasonable number of seat pick up. I was talking about the generic number...would you prefer a dem or a GOP...I still see it at 10...10 gets us the 30 a 15 gets us 60 and the senate.

The good news is that this guy is just a "place sitter" not an up and comer. The bad news is the have dug up a dinosaur. This guy is curmudgeon.

In terms of what to expect from McCain’s successor, Republicans wanted a reliable partisan, who’ll stick to GOP orthodoxy, and Kyl will fill that role perfectly. He’s a predictable, doctrinaire Republican who can be expected to vote with his party in nearly every instance.

For example, it was Kyl who argued in 2011 that “well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does” is provide abortion services. When confronted with evidence that he was brazenly lying, Kyl’s defense was that his argument “was not intended to be a factual statement.”

Two years earlier, during a committee debate on the Affordable Care Act, Kyl complained bitterly about proposed benefits that would be included in a standard benefit package. To drive home his point, the Arizona Republican said, “I don’t need maternity care.”

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) replied, “I think your mom probably did.”

Arizona governor taps former senator to fill John McCain’s vacancy

Dowd, Trump’s lead attorney with the Russia probe, led a practice session for Trump’s potential testimony with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 election. According to the book, the president stumbled, contradicted himself and lied so much during the practice session that he eventually lost his cool, ranting, “This thing’s a goddamn hoax,” before deciding, “I don’t really want to testify.”

The Wildest Things About Trump From Bob Woodward’s New Book, ‘Fear’ The veteran journalist’s new book says Trump’s behavior is similar to former President Richard Nixon’s during his final days in office.

This is the case well made

I doubt it helps the vote but I am graceful somebody said this out loud.

Sheldon Whitehouse Says Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Hearing Is ‘A Sham’

Robert Costa
‏Verified account @costareports

Read the Woodward book twice. Explosive reporting. Vivid scenes in every chapter. Includes documents, dates, details. Top Trump advisers took papers off of the president's desk to stop him from making decisions. Mattis ignored his order to kill Assad.

Apparently over the weekend Nancy Pelosi pre-committed to crippling progressive governance if Democrats win in 2020 so that’s nice. @mattyglesias

So I presume she will roll back the tax cuts and deficit spending for the military first?

Unidentified sources

Wait just a minute...This is not a news story written by a reporter. This is a Op-ed piece written by a Senior Member of the Presidents staff. Published by the editorial board by a person Known To Them.