Gene Sperling and “regret”
I have known Gene Sperling for more than a decade, and interacted with him often. During 99 percent of our policy discussions, we have had opposing views, and I can remember him making the case to me that “Kevin, you are wrong, and when you find out you are wrong, you are going to regret saying that.” It is his style of argument. As far as I can recall, I have never felt such regret, but I can say that Gene is an old-fashioned honorable and generous man who speaks directly and truthfully. There are plenty of thugs in this town, but he is not one.
The fact is, the media is for the most part wildly biased in favor of this White House, but that is likely because many reporters covering the White House share the White House’s views, not because of scare tactics. The story that there is blatant intimidation going on will likely be fed by this exchange, but it should not be.
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Whew. Then it’s settled. He’s a prince, like everyone else at 1600 Pennsylvania.
Glad that’s settled.
CycloneCDB on February 28, 2013 at 1:22 PM
Honorable and generous men do not scream at friends who hold opposing views. IMO. There is no doubt that although Woodward may not have been directly threatened, he was definitely intimidated by the scream job Sperling gave him in their previous phone conversation.
KickandSwimMom on February 28, 2013 at 1:24 PM
Fun to watch the beltway R’s suck up to D’s on this, cowards.
clearbluesky on February 28, 2013 at 1:25 PM
What about the yelling, the half hour of yelling?
petefrt on February 28, 2013 at 1:25 PM
It’s all a diversion. Goebbels is having way too much fun.
Idiots, the land is burning. Fiddle!!!
Schadenfreude on February 28, 2013 at 1:26 PM
You’re supposed to ignore that, and Lanny Davis, and all the other omissions and threats. Just fiddle.
Rome lasted much longer.
Schadenfreude on February 28, 2013 at 1:27 PM
So, Bob Woodward really is just a senile old geezer that needs to be put out to pasture..? Dear Leader’s administration is just full of good hearted aide’s that argue in strange ways.
d1carter on February 28, 2013 at 1:28 PM
Sheesh, get a room, RINOnline
When your opponent is sinking throw him an anvil.
sauldalinsky on February 28, 2013 at 1:29 PM
“Retreat!!! Retreat!!!!!!!”
-NRO
portlandon on February 28, 2013 at 1:32 PM
…and let’s just forget about the 1/2 hour long screaming phone call he delivered to Woodward prior to that wussy email apology.
singlemalt 18 on February 28, 2013 at 1:33 PM
I love how the NRO is so willing to give the Libs the benefit of the doubt, yet the Libs would destroy the NRO on far less evidence.
This attitude is why McCain & Romney lost.
“Obama is not a bad guy.”
portlandon on February 28, 2013 at 1:33 PM
It is disgusting how the Republicans are rushing to rescue Obama from a scandal that might actually harm him. Really, the Republicans are no better these days than phony opposition parties set up in dictatorships to offer some illusion of democracy.
Doomberg on February 28, 2013 at 1:39 PM
You can’t spell RINO without NRO.
steebo77 on February 28, 2013 at 1:39 PM
In order to save Obama the leftists have resurrected Nixon and ‘killed’ Woodward.
What a world!
Schadenfreude on February 28, 2013 at 1:39 PM
Only 6% Rate News Media As Very Trustworthy
Schadenfreude on February 28, 2013 at 1:41 PM
Of course there are no scare tactics coming from the Obama Campaign. that’s just paranoid.
Now that that is settled, I’m heading to my bomb shelter before the sequester detonates. I will re-emerge in 2 weeks to see if anyone else has survived. Meantime, I’ll pray that we handle our fate with dignity and that God has mercy on our souls.
forest on February 28, 2013 at 1:44 PM
Don’t you just love it when a well meaning conservative feels the need to rush to defend the honor of a liberal Democrat serving at a high level in the admin of a radical leftist president? Over what a a liberal Democratic journalist said about him, no less.
Got any emails to back your claims, Kevin? I’m sure Gene won’t mind you publishing them, since his honor and reputation are at stake. Or do we have only your expressed opinion on this?
This is why the GOP is called the Stupid Party and why they keep losing so many elections. Only the Libertarians are dumber when it comes to fighting political battles.
farsighted on February 28, 2013 at 1:46 PM
Did Gene ever yell at you on the phone for about a half hour, Kevin?
farsighted on February 28, 2013 at 1:53 PM
Doesn’t matter. The constant bombardment and drum beat of leftist lies and Democratic talking points is eventually subliminally internalized through sheer repetition. That’s one of the ways propaganda works.
Advertising works the same way. Few take advertised claims at face value. However, advertising works very well.
farsighted on February 28, 2013 at 1:57 PM
Apparently this is one of those cases where “I’m sorry if you were offended” rather than “I’m sorry I offended you.”
Passes the buck to Woodward for interpreting Gene Sperling’s style of communicating his displeasure as an implied threat.
katiejane on February 28, 2013 at 2:04 PM
Yes, now Woodward is suddenly a right-wing fruitcake and Nixon got a raw deal.
AND it’s ridiculous to infer a threat in an email from someone in power, someone who is presumably in a good position to get the ball rolling on spurious legal action of some kind against you, that says “you will regret staking that claim” — even if the email purports to be an apology for screaming like a maniac at the recipient for half an hour over the claim. Even if other lefty reporters are now starting to speak up about being screamed at and/or threatened too.
Aitch748 on February 28, 2013 at 2:44 PM
The wheels on the bus go round and round.
kim roy on February 28, 2013 at 2:52 PM
The word Orwellian comes to mind.
Yes, Woodward has always been a Republican.
farsighted on February 28, 2013 at 2:52 PM
So Sperling remonstrating with Woodward is actually kind of like Miss Cupp scolding Touré?
Picture that.
Congrats again, Miss Cupp.
Seth Halpern on February 28, 2013 at 2:58 PM
Of course, the issue is whether Sperling was trying to intimidate a reporter, not an economist and former adviser to the Romney campaign.
Oh,well…I’m sure he is as right about Sperling as he and Glassman were about Dow 36,000
http://www.amazon.com/Dow-36-000-Strategy-Profiting/dp/0609806998/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362089888&sr=1-1&keywords=dow+36000
EastofEden on February 28, 2013 at 5:26 PM