FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
In 1974, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon with their reporting on Watergate.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/09/23/art.book.jpg caption="The cover art for Bob Woodward's latest book: 'Obama's Wars'"]
But Bob Woodward was just getting started on the occupants of the White House.
In 1994, he wrote "The Agenda" about President Clinton, in which he revealed disputes, temper tantrums and heated debates in the president's second year in office.
In 2004 he wrote "Plan of Attack" about Pres. George W. Bush in which he famously revealed how CIA Director George Tenet told Bush it was a "slam dunk case" that Saddam Hussein had WMDs.
In 2006, he wrote "State of Denial" - also about Bush - and revealed how the president failed to tell the truth about how badly the Iraq war was going.
Woodward's 16 books are all bestsellers. He's a writer/reporter who stays on the story until he has something no one else has.
It used to be said the worst news you could get at the office is "60 Minutes is on the phone and wants to talk to you." The idea being that no good would come of a conversation with them.
The same applies to Bob Woodward.
So you have to wonder, looking at his body of work, why anyone would open the door to him when he knocks and says he wants to write a book about the president. But that's exactly what the Obama administration did.
The result is Woodward's latest, "Obama's Wars."
How good or bad it will be for the Obama White House remains to be seen. But it's too late to worry about that now.
Here’s my question to you: Why do presidents choose to cooperate with Bob Woodward when he wants to write a book about them?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Jan in Atlanta writes:
The same thing that makes one think they have the tools to run a country makes then think they can control one pesky reporter.
John in Watertown, Massachusetts writes:
Easy answer on this one: Any individual who wants this thankless job has such a towering belief in themselves that even when they do wrong, they simply do not believe that it matters one bit. Bush lied, he knows it, but what does he care? His main concern is the building of a library which will bear his name.
Bob in Louisville, Kentucky writes:
They're probably afraid that if they don't co-operate they will have to undergo the type of scrutiny that led up to Watergate.
Eric writes:
Hubris. They never consider the possibility that the book will portray them badly.
Paulette in Pennsylvania writes:
They cooperate with Woodward because they know that he's going to get the information anyway.
Dennis in Minneapolis writes:
Not cooperating is probably even worse.
N. writes:
I think presidents participate because if they did not, their side of the story would be told by someone else or would not be told at all. Participating with someone like Woodward shows courage and confidence! No administration gets everything right all of the time. Hats off to those that are brave enough to tell it like it is!
Frank writes:
It's vanity, Jack. They all think they are a gift to us all and that their view of how great they are is shared by everyone. Their mirror has a flaw filter.