Bob Woodward – buckraker and hypocrite

Not muckraker but buckraker. No wonder Woody has wanted that quasi-independent editorial stance vis-à-vis the WaPost all these years. Not only has it let him write new books in advance as serialized pre-releases in the paper, it’s insulated his buckraking from Ben Bradlee criticism.

And, Bobby W. doesn’t come cheap. Ken Silverstein says he makes $30-$50,000 every time he opens his mouth on a dais.

Woodward, meanwhile, tries to halowash (my term for charity-focused whitewashing) his grubby fingers and image:

In a 1996 Frontline interview, Woodward said he gave all of his lecture money to charity, the charity in question being a foundation run by him and his wife, the Woodward Walsh Foundation. Woodward seems to have greatly increased his speaking appearances in recent years, which probably helps explain why his foundation’s assets have soared, from assets of $347,602 in 2000 to about $1.8 million last year.

Yet the foundation doesn’t seem to do much genuine charitable work. Last year it doled out a meager $17,555 in grants. Over recent years more than half of the foundation’s money went to Sidwell Friends, one of the richest private schools in Washington (with a reported endowment of over $30 million) that caters primarily to the children of the local elite (like Woodward’s children). Meanwhile, the foundation has also supported needy causes like “Citizens for Georgetown Trees,” which prettifies Woodward’s neighborhood, the “Little Folks Nursery School” (“For the 2007-2008 school year, the tuition is: For morning only–$12,150. For the full day–$14,900”), and In Town Playgroup, a private daycare outfit.

Beyond that, Woodward giving the money to charity doesn’t take full account of how he profits from the speeches.

First, he gets a tax deduction for all these charitable contributions. So, actually, he gets back one-third the value of his charitable donations.

Second, I’m sure he’s paid airfare, motel, etc. to show up at these places. He’s not donating a cash equivalent of that to charity, is he? Nor the frequent flier miles he’s racking up, assuming he buys his own flights and then gets reimbursed.

Third, what if he takes advantage of corporate largesse to get comped an extra night’s lodging by the organization to whom he is speaking, or by the hotel chain, and takes a little vacation time?

So, to sum up, his charitable donations actually only cost him about 67 cents on the dollar, they help him lower the cost of his kids’ education and boost his property values, he’s not donating everything to charity anyway and he’s probably taking some freebie vacations in there somewhere.

In addition, as Silverstein hints, other people at some of Woody’s speaking gigs are the type of people he used to investigate for their financial dealings.

And, Woody’s suck-up-itis shouldn’t be surprising anyway.

Update: Ken Silverstein reports that Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell is giving both Woody and Broder a slap on the wrist, while promising “further investigation.” Why does this sound like the Bush Administration?