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Bob Woodward fears paper airplanes, coloring books, Disney movies, and apologies

In a back-and-forth e-mail exchange with White House economic adviser Gene Sperling, fiction-posing-as-nonfiction author Bob Woodward told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that Sperling had threatened him in the e-mail, saying, "It makes me very uncomfortable to have the White House telling reporters, you're going to regret doing something that you believe in."

So, just what did Sperling say in this e-mail? Let me share that bit of information with you. Sperling said:

"I apologize for raising my voice in our conversation today. I do understand your problems with a couple of our statements in the fall -- but feel on the other hand that you focus on a few specific trees that gives a very wrong perception of the forest. but perhaps we will just not see eye to eye here. But I do truly believe you should rethink your comment about saying that Potus (President of the United States) asking for revenues is moving the goal post. I know you may not believe this, but as a friend, I think you will regret staking out that claim ... My apologies again for raising my voice on the call with you. Feel bad about that and truly apologize."

If that's not a threat, I don't know what is... It reminds me of this make-believe dialogue I'm going to concoct from the film Forrest Gump:

Forrest Gump: "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Dan. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Lieutenant Dan: "What? Are you threatening me? Do you wanna go?"

Gump: "I'm just saying I'm sorry."

Dan: "Oh, that's it! I'm calling the cops! You're going down, Gump!"

What makes this joke of a statement by Woodward on CNN even worse is after reading his response to Sperling's e-mail. In response to that oh so threatening e-mail I just shared with you, Woodward responded with the following words:

"Gene: You do not ever have to apologize to me. You get wound up because you are making your points and you believe them. This is all part of a serious discussion. I for one welcome a little heat; there should more given the importance. I also welcome your personal advice."

Given this quote, let's return to the fictional dialogue:

Gump: "I'm sorry, Lieutenant Dan. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Dan: "Oh, don't worry about it, Forrest. You don't need to apologize. It's all good in the hizzy as the kids say it nowadays. Wanna go get some shrimp?"

::hours later when speaking to a reporter::

Dan: "That no good, angry, sack of (bleep)! Gump threatened me! He threatened to kill me if I didn't accept his apology! Would you believe that? What a... What a... He's something else, I tell you. He should go to jail for what he did! Then he'll really be sorry for trying to say he was sorry!"

In light of this bit of news, rumor now has it that Woodward plans on releasing a new book in the fall, entitled, "Why I Fear Paper Airplanes, Coloring Books, Disney Movies, and Apologies."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/bob-woodward-emails-white-house-threat_n_2781052.html

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