[Opinion] Plan of Attack

“Plan of Attack” by Bob Woodward, a deputy director of bureau at the Washington Post, a U.S. newspaper, was a number one bestseller on Amazon.com even before April 19, when the book officially went on sale. It is his 12th book investigating the background and decision process of the Iraq war.

Woodward is one of the most famous journalists in the world. As a journalist in his second year, he had a decisive influence on the resignation of Richard Nixon, former U.S. president, with his exclusive news of the Watergate scandal. Although there was some help from a closely guarded source, known as just “Deep Throat,” his exclusive news reporting would be impossible without his own prominent capability and tenacity.

His new book “Plan of Attack” took hard work. In it, he interviewed a current U.S. president for 3.5 hours and spoke to 75 other people at the core of power in person. He stands unchallenged in the field of “Access Journalism,” which interviews people at the core, such as the White House, Defense Department, CIA, and Supreme Court. While covering the Watergate scandal, according to Ben Bradley, a director of bureau at that time, Woodward would ask same question to fifty people and asked same question fifty times to the same person, if he thought he had a case.

“Plan of Attack” was recorded as a bestseller because it has explosive information regarding the Iraq war, which is a current event. Because the general election is upcoming in November, political authorities and journalists are also highly interested in it. However, we cannot disregard the U.S. journalism industry’s role in helping to make it a bestseller. The AP revealed the main contents of this book before it went on sale, regardless of the security of the publishing company, newspapers and broadcast TV covered it as news of value, and the author appeared on prime time TV interview programs.

The impact of “Plan of Attack” on the re-election of George W. Bush is also an issue. Regardless of a lot of debates, some people estimate that it will be a plus to the image of Bush. Whether it is because of this reason or not, “Plan of Attack” is listed on the homepage of Bush as the most recommended book. The Watergate scandal could not stop the re-election of Nixon. Nixon succeeded in the re-election. As he was driven to the wall due to the Watergate scandal, however, he resigned. I wonder about the future of Bush.