Bob Woodward, assistant managing editor of investigative news at The Washington Post, spoke in Shriver Hall this past Thursday to open up the 2001 MSE Symposium.
Woodward had originally planned to speak about the role of the media, but in light of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, elected to revise the itinerary.
"[The recent events] are topic A," said Woodward. "You should always be talking about topic A and never topic B or C. What I had prepared to talk about used to be topic A, but it isn't anymore."
Instead of discussing the role of the media, Woodward discussed a wide array of topics, all ultimately relating to the terrorist attacks. In an arrangement created on the day of the speech, Woodward spoke for an hour and then yielded to Shriver's movie screen, where he and the audience viewed a projection of President George W. Bush's special address to a joint session of Congress. After Bush's speech, Woodward commented on the address and continued a discourse with the audience.
Before speaking about the events of Sept. 11, Woodward engaged the audience in a discussion on what factors contributed to making former President Bill Clinton a successful politician. After hearing several different answers from various audience members, Woodward went on to share an anecdote about a time he interviewed Clinton in the Oval Office.
"He had eye contact like a gravitational force," said Woodward. "He drilled his eyes into mine, watching to see if he was making a sale."
Woodward went on to say that Clinton's communication skills made Ronald Reagan, "The Great Communicator," look like an amateur. But Woodward emphasized that the American people need to do their best to forget about Clinton when listening to President Bush in the future.
"The job of the Commander-in-Chief is not to be the Communicator-in-Chief," said Woodward. "It's one of the jobs, but we need to focus on what Bush is saying, and not how he says it, because what he's going to say is important."
Woodward said that the job of a President is simply to define what the next stage of good is and how to get the country there. Woodward said that while Clinton was not able to figure out what the next stage of progress should be, after Sept. 11, Bush seems to know what the next stage of good is - wiping out global terrorism.
After watching Bush's address to Congress, Woodward polled the audience on their reaction to Bush's speech and fielded more questions concerning the President's address and the recent terrorist attacks.
Woodward said Bush's speech was "remarkable," and that the country had "just witnessed the transformation of President Bush."
Woodward went on to relate an encounter he had with former Editor Ben Bradley during the Watergate scandal. Reacting to The Washington Post's criminal accusations against President Nixon, Bradley said, "What the hell do we do now?"
Woodward said Bradley's question was a good one, and the right one to ask, and he hoped that the President and senior administration officials were asking the same question right after the terrorist attacks. Woodward said that he feels that it is of the utmost importance that decisions are made on good, accurate, verified information. He said that we must continue to be skeptical and ask ourselves if our information is correct before acting rashly.
Woodward also said the President has raised the bar extremely high and that wiping out global terrorism is a mammoth task that cannot realistically be accomplished since the terrorist network is not an organization in the Western sense of the word, but a shadowy and intangible collection of terrorist cells that are extremely difficult to penetrate.
Woodward stressed his opinion on the American response to terrorism by reciting the words President Nixon used after resigning when he addressed his staff upon leaving the White House for the final time: "Others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."
Woodward said it is apparent that those who attacked America hate us. But he worries that if America's response is simply one of hating back, the country will destroy itself.
After speaking in Shriver, Woodward attended a reception in the Mattin Center, where, for a good period of time, he signed autographs and chatted with students.
After a lengthy stay at the reception, Woodward posed for a few photographs and made his way to with MSE Symposium staff to a car where he gave his final farewell and departed the University.
"We were really very pleased with the turnout, especially because it was raining, " said MSE Symposium co-Chair Audrey Henderson.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.