Defending Bob Woodward

Our Zoom group takes on ethics and morality. But we're still friends. Right?

Our little Zoom group had quite the lively discussion last week. Mostly retired journalists, we’re people with opinions and happy to share them.

We get together virtually and semi-regularly. And, at no cost to you, we solve the world’s major problems. You’re welcome.

Last week we got on a hot topic in media circles, whether Bob Woodward should have made his tapes with Donald Trump public back when he recorded them in the spring. In interviews for his book, Rage, Woodward taped Trump saying the pandemic is far worse than he’s been admitting.

Some of our group emphatically believe that Woodward had an ethical and moral right to release the tapes immediately. Others (raises hand) disagreed.

We went back and forth. And when we were still sending follow-up emails days later, I realized it would be a good topic for the newsletter. (Which, since I am writing it, may reflect a bias on one side of the issue.)

Let’s start by splitting some hairs. No one knew these tapes existed until Woodward revealed them to create buzz for his book. There was no public outcry: “Release the tapes.” It was all Woodward’s call and he made it.

Now, if you gave him truth serum he might say, “Look, I was researching a book that is going to be a best seller. In the course of it, I got some information that is going to make it a blockbuster. And you want me to give it away for free to honor the news cycle? No way.”

We don’t know that’s what he thought, but that’s what happened. Feel free to judge Woodward on his news cycle ethics.

But if the reason you are using to second-guess Woodward is that releasing the tapes would have saved thousands of lives, I disagree.

That argument is that if only people had heard Trump say those things, they’d realize that COVID-19 was really serious. It would have been a game changer.

C’mon. They’ve been told.

We all have.

For six months the Centers for Disease Control has been begging us to wear a mask. Dr. Anthony Fauci is constantly on TV, contradicting whatever crackpot theory Trump has tossed out. Masks have become a political statement.

Our cities are boarded up and closed. Businesses have folded, many never to return. We are working at home — if we are still employed — and can’t go to a restaurant, see a concert or hug our kids.

And mostly there’s death. 200,000 Americans dead. The numbers rose by the thousands all over the country. Over 30,000 died in New York, where they had to bring in refrigerated trucks to store the bodies.

It isn’t that people haven’t been told how terrible this is. They don’t want to listen.

And sure, a big part of the reason is Trump. He is, as Bernie Sanders says over and over, “a pathological liar.” He lied when he said they had the virus under control. He lied when he said young people were “virtually immune.” And he lied this week when he claimed the Democrats made up Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death bed statement.

I don’t think there’s much dispute. None of that is true. Not that it seems to matter. When he’s caught in a lie, Trump shows the same shamelessness that has him bragging about fake accomplishments and made-up awards.

The point is, I don’t think anyone was gobsmacked to hear that Trump was lying about his response. You have to give him credit for raising the bar — lying about his lying — but at the end of the day, Woodward’s tapes are right on brand for Trump.

Which we’ve also been told in book after book and interviews with one former staffer after another. It’s exactly who he is. Not surprised.

In conclusion, now the game-changing tapes have been released. Trump’s juiciest quotes were on a continuous replay loop on every TV news show — network and cable — 24/7. When they weren’t playing the tapes, pundits were discussing the tapes. It went on for days.

And what happened? Have we seen a landmark shift in perception of the virus? Are people who previously disregarded it now suddenly taking the pandemic seriously?

I don’t see it. If anything, Trump has staged more super-spreader rallies with people crowded in next to each other. This week, the Lt. Governor of Ohio got on stage at one and suggested everyone put on a mask. He was booed and heckled.

The polls haven’t really moved, the deaths have declined slightly, but if Woodward’s tapes were going to be such a turning point wouldn’t we see it by now?

Instead, the author of Rage got to do a “full Woodward.” He booked a sweet spot on “60 Minutes,” made the rounds of news shows and watched his book climb the best-seller list.

And now we are on to the Supreme Court. Granted the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg was huge news, but we would have moved on to something else. We always do.

It is possible Woodward figured that releasing the tapes in the Spring would have only created a temporary news blip. In the Chaos Presidency, the next crazy crisis would soon overtake it.

Maybe it would be more impactful to drop the tapes just before the election, hoping to encourage a Trump defeat.

Of course, we don’t know if that’s what Woodward was thinking.

But that’s how it worked out.

OK, I understand that some people don’t want to subscribe to the newsletter. But you? C’mon. I’m not going to pretend that I’m not a little hurt. Or, you could click this button.

The Coronavirus upends sports. Maybe forever

Almost all the major sports are playing games now: MLB, NFL, NBA and golf and tennis.

It leaves me with conflicting feelings. Do I admire professional sports for gamely doing everything they can to play games? Or do I shake my head and wonder why they put so many players at risk in order to keep the money spigot open?

Either way, there isn’t any question that there have been a lot of changes in how sports are conducted across the country. As I said in my Sunday Santa Rosa Press Democrat column the better question might be: How many of the changes will become permanent?

Football, as we know, shortened the run-up to the season and cancelled exhibition games. The players have always hated the pre-season games, but now that injuries are piling up two games into the regular season, the question has to be asked: Did the NFL rush too quickly to start the season?

We know that the owners are eager to get fans in the stands again, but after a season of watching in comfort (and COVID safety) at home, will fans see virtual viewing as the new normal?

And what if the pandemic persists into next year? The NBA’s “bubble” worked great for a few regular season games and the playoffs, but there’s no way the entire league can play a full 82-game season with all 30 teams in a single, contained community.

Apparently it is all part of 2020.

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Why Shanahan suggested hitting Jimmy G with a bat . . . and other thoughts after the Jets win

Last Sunday’s game was such a weird one. The 49ers took a lopsided lead in the first half, but it took some really nice plays to make it happen. Early on, when it was 7-3, the Jets were looking tough. And losing two in a row to start the season would be catastrophic.

But then Jimmy Garoppolo and new addition Jordan Reed turned into Joe Montana and Dwight Clark. Reed made two sensational touchdown plays on Garoppolo passes, which completely changed the game.

But then there was an almost surreal run of injuries: Garoppolo’s ankle, Nick Bosa’s knee and, minutes later, Solomon Thomas’ knee. The ligament and tendon tears took them out of the game, and in Bosa and Thomas’ case, out for the season.

As I said in this week’s Inside the 49ers blog it was interesting to see how head coach Kyle Shanahan reacted. It was great that they won, but — remembering the team had a long injury list coming in — the medical issues are going to be hard to overcome.

Yet, he was mostly chipper. Part of it, he said, was that he feels their depth is much better now. They’ve added some people, like Reed, tackle Trent Williams and RB Jerick McKinnon, who can make plays. (McKinnon was under-appreciated in this game.)

Garoppolo’s injury was bad timing. He was having a nice stat-padding, critic-quieting game when he got hurt. Oddly, he seemed to play better when limping on the sore ankle that forced him out of the game at halftime.

Shanahan said it is a trend with his QB. Once he gets hit a couple of times he plays better. Even Jimmy G says it.

“So,” Shanahan said, “we told him we could hit him with a bat on the way out.”

Contact C.W. Nevius at cwnevius@gmail.com. Suggestions and compliments cheerfully accepted. Complaints not so much. Twitter: @cwnevius