The Tuesday, October 5, 2010 Charlie Rose Interview, Hour (sit down, chat, or whatever Rose calls these) with Bob Woodward

He doesn't want to over dramatize anything; he also doesn't want to under dramatize anything. That's the gist of this sit down. They're obviously pals, and Rose is working, and so is Woodward to an extent, but, really? Is that it? Chock it up to a bad relationship. Rose was pressing for something a little more definitive from the bottom line takeaway from the whole book, and it's basically: that The White House and the Military are of different ilk, obviously, and they don't get along, and they don't see eye to eye, and haven't, and won't, and that's that. Pepper in a bunch of exciting and fancy details about what the Oval Office smells like at 11:59 PM, or what 4 yards beyond "Employees Only" sign at the Pentagon looks like, and you've got the book. It took 45 minutes to get to what Woodward would have done, had he even imagined himself imagining that he could imagine a decision as to which we he might have gone, about the decisions that were made, amongst the actors in this story. It's an interesting read, no doubt about it. But really: it's fancy gossip. What is this, supposed to be influential at some strategic level? I get it; there's texture, there's enough narrative here to make a movie, and Ron Howard should do it. I get it. Watch that whole interview here. You can buy it for a few bucks on Amazon, but why would you?