Why every White House talks to Bob Woodward

"Woodward has never had such access as to the Bush White House. Period," says Mr. Blumenthal. "They believed this was going to be extremely positive. They were expecting an almost official book which would depict Bush as a strong leader at war. and they wanted to get it 'just right.' "

Of course, this White House is not the first to work with Woodward. Over the years, talking to Woodward has become common practice for high-ranking officials. David Gergen, who served as director of communications for President Reagan and held positions in the Nixon, Ford, and Clinton administrations, tells of being "astonished" when Clinton's staff encouraged him to talk to Woodward. "They told me," he said on NPR last week, "this is sort of de rigueur within the administration that you talk to Bob Woodward every week."

One reason for this openness could be Woodward's style. First, he's no "gotcha" journalist. He is not after scoops, or headlines, but is, he often insists, trying to present the facts and understand what happened.

"Journalistically speaking, he is not doing his job, which is to get the news out to his readers, instead of saving it up and charging $28 for it eight months later," says Fellings. "But on the other hand, I am sure it helps interviewees relax and confide in him."

Also, those who know Woodward or have been interviewed by him talk of a "rock star quality" and a "power of seduction" that makes a person feel privileged to be interviewed by him at all. "You feel you can talk to him and say things to him that perhaps you would not say to anybody else - maybe to a priest in a confessional, maybe to your psychiatrist in the quiet of his study," Mr. Gergen told NPR.

And, the more people talk to him, the more others feel they would be missing out not to. Felling calls this "implicit muscle," and compares Woodward to Tony Soprano, the character on the popular TV show. He does not look frightening, says Felling, but he wields great power and everyone knows it.

Edward Luttwak of the Center for Strategic and International Studies calls it intimidation. "If you don't talk to him, you get slammed," he says. "If you talk, you get your perspective in." Mr. Luttwak recalls consulting to the CIA during the tenure of director William Casey, a key source for Woodward's book on the Iran-contra scandal of the Reagan years.

"Woodward did a whitewash in that book - everyone was guilty except Casey," Luttwak says. "In fact, Casey was guilty.... But because he talked to Woodward, he got his point of view in." Word about this sort of thing gets around fast, concludes Luttwak, and soon enough, in this town of power and perception, "everyone wants to talk to Woodward."

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