Bob Woodward article in todays Washington Post offers some good

[whistle]

..advice to the new President. In summary, "Don't fuck-up the way Bush did".

<snip>
10 Take Aways From the Bush Years
By Bob Woodward
Sunday, January 18, 2009; B01

There's actually a lot that President-elect Barack Obama can learn from the troubled presidency of George W. Bush. Over the past eight years, I have interviewed President Bush for nearly 11 hours, spent hundreds of hours with his administration's key players and reviewed thousands of pages of documents and notes. That produced four books, totaling 1,727 pages, that amount to a very long case study in presidential decision-making, and there are plenty of morals to the story. Presidents live in the unfinished business of their predecessors, and Bush casts a giant shadow on the Obama presidency with two incomplete wars and a monumental financial and economic crisis. Here are 10 lessons that Obama and his team should take away from the Bush experience.

1. Presidents set the tone. Don't be passive or tolerate virulent divisions.
2. The president must insist that everyone speak out loud in front of the others, even -- or especially -- when there are vehement disagreements.
3. A president must do the homework to master the fundamental ideas and concepts behind his policies.
4. Presidents need to draw people out and make sure that bad news makes it to the Oval Office.
5. Presidents need to foster a culture of skepticism and doubt.
6. Presidents get contradictory data, and they need a rigorous way to sort it out.
7. Presidents must tell the public the hard truth, even if that means delivering very bad news.
8. Righteous motives are not enough for effective policy.
9. Presidents must insist on strategic thinking.
10. The president should embrace transparency. Some version of the behind-the-scenes story of what happened in his White House will always make it out to the public -- and everyone will be better off if that version is as accurate as possible.
<MORE in detail>

<LINK> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/14/AR2009011402791.html?referrer=emailarticle

[trumad]

1. Is this the same Woodward who performed fellatio on Dubya

at the beginning of his presidency?

[JDPriestly]

6. Regardless. It's great advice -- if a bit too general to be of much use.

Still, everyone should read this.

[pretzel4gore]

9. the same

this vile traitor was parachuted into one of journalism's top jobs (at washpost political beat) in the nixon era, a year before watergate broke, and, well, he has been selling crack to the kids on the street corner ever since, yet they limo him over to their ivory tower to sell there too? After seeing hundreds of dead/dying kids stagger away from his regular beat?
DOES NOT COMPUTE! DOES NOT COM--------------------PU-----t-------------------e------------
:hide:

[grytpype]

2. Everyone except Bush already knew all that.

[samdogmom]

3. I don't think President Obama NEEDS any advice from Bob Woodward!

Too bad Woodward never offered this advice to Dubya. He was a president WHO CLEARLY needed all the help he could get!

Besides...this is such obvious advice...you'd have to be a real dolt to not know these things already.

Is Woodward trying to become relevant again? People with a brain gave up all respect for him a long time ago.

[Me.]

4. I Don't Think Obama Needs Any Advice From Woodward

In his appearance on the Tweety show this morning his woe is me was all for the bankers.

[SpiralHawk]

5. Lesson Number 11: Don't go AWOL

The American public, and the planet, have had enough of Republicon Homelander Chickenhawks failing to show up and do their duty.

Especially Republicon Homelander Chickenhawks who bray loud propaganda demanding that everyone else do their duty, while they stay at home and count up their Obscene Profits and SMIRK at the suckers they have lied to and sent off to labor, to suffer, and possible to die.

[stillcool]

7. Some good advice to Bob Woodward...

go to Texas with Bush and write his memoir.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Sunday, January 18, 2009: not today.

This is from last week. And Woodward is an asshole who should be ashamed of his behavior over the last eight years.

[SpiralHawk]

10. You got it, War wren

You got it...