As reported by Jim Vanderhei and Mike Allen in today's Politico article, "Woodward at War", the legendary investigative reporter Bob Woodward, has been threatened by the Obama Administration. The culprit. Gene Sperling, top economic aide to President Obama.
According to Woodward, in the above Politico article, Obama's adviser emailed to Woodward the following:
"You're focusing on a few specific trees that give a very wrong impression of the forest. But perhaps we will just not see eye to eye here. ... I think you will regret staking out that claim."
That sounds like a threat to me, Gene. You have a lot of explainin to do, Lucy!
Sperling's threat was in response to Washington Post journalist Woodward contacting the Obama Administration and giving them a heads up. Woodward wanted to warn the Obama Administration that he would be running a story which points the finger directly at President Obama and his staff for being the architect of the dreaded "sequestration".
Sequestration is the automatic "across the board" cutting of US defense and non defense federal government expenditures, for this fiscal year, of roughly $85 billion,( out of a $3.5 trillion annual government spend). Give or take, a few billion here or there.
Sequestration is coming down, the non-Alberta tar sands pipe, folks. As of this Friday night, March 1. It is a done deal. As of March 1, the Obama government will be forced to make immediate cuts to the defense department budget and to all other government programs.
For the last several weeks, President Obama and his supporters, have taken to the airwaves, trying to pin the blame on the dastardly Republicans for allowing these cuts to government services, to proceed.
President Obama has been warning that the economy will take a tumble. The economic recovery will be threatened. Recession is around the corner.
More specifically, the Obama Administration is trying to scare the American public by stating that 40,000 teachers could lose their jobs. 5,000 border patrol agents may be put on leave. There will be fewer air traffic controllers. Longer airplane delays. National Parks will close sooner.
Not exactly, Financial Armageddon. Frogs will not fall from the skies. There will be no plague of locusts.
The Angel of Death. Still wintering in Europe.
Nonetheless, according to the polls, until now, the American public seems to be blaming the GOP for these government cuts. That is, until the very trusted Woodward laid the smelly sequester at Obama's feet.
No wonder Sperling and the Obama Government have their knickers in a knot.
The Woodward piece will unwind the "Obama " spin.
Hence the explicit threat against Bob Woodward.
In the bad old days, ( the 70s) before computers, the internet, Twitter, Facebook and Fox News, the then President Richard Nixon compiled an "Enemies List" of all those people who questioned or were critical of his Presidency.
Bob Woodward, who broke the Watergate story, was on the President's list.
Apparently, Woodward is on the President's list again.
It is deja vu, all over again.